By: Andre Fleites

Jonatas Gurgel, a 2x Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Cup Champion, is ready to make his return to the cage. Gurgel has had a

rather illustrious career and is highly decorated on the BJJ circuit. Having already a 4-0 record in MMA Gurgel has not competed in the cage since 2009. When asked why he stepped away from mixed martial arts for such a long time he states that there were still some goals he wanted to reach before moving on to MMA. Most would agree that, “mission accomplished,” when considering Gurgel’s BJJ accomplishments.

By Andre Fleites

How would you like to have MMA’s next big superstar on your event before he gets the call up to the “BIG SHOW?” Allow me to introduce you to Cristiano “Soldier” Souza. Cristiano is one of the elite up-n-comers out of the famed American Top Team in Coconut Creek, FL. Being a 17 year Capoeira practitioner, Soldier or Soldado to his Brazilian friends and fans, is a superb striker which is obviously most appealing to all. Souza is also a BJJ Brown Belt under Master Ricardo Liborio, which is quite an honor in and of itself. Having competed all of his matches, except his first, in the welterweight division one only needs realize that in his first 3 fights he finished his opponents in a combined time of 5:28 to know how extremely talented he is and what great potential he possesses. Soldier is not one to shy away from even the toughest competition available, as noted in his last opponent having over 2x the competitive experience, and still standing and trading blows for a unanimous decision victory in what was an all out WAR at Bellator 50.

Unfortunately it has got to a point where few are willing to risk their records in such a fight against someone of only a 5-0 record. Thus creating a problem to bring him legitimate top level competition. So here is our plea and fairly open challenge: promoters bring on your best welterweights! Let’s make a great fight that will have all your fans in attendance talking about this, “battle to be,” until your next great show.  Winner’s in, to the UFC hopefully, and for the loser it’s back to the drawing board, UNFORTUNATELY.

Sherdog Profile: http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Cristiano-Souza-54489

For booking info and details please contact Andre Fleites at: info@tkomanagement.net

Two new bouts have been added to the Internet-broadcast preliminary card for Bellator Fighting Championships 58, this Saturday at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla.

Promotion sources Monday confirmed to Sherdog.com that Kyrgyzstani wrestling convert Farkhad Sharipov will take on Brazilian import Fabio Mello at bantamweight, while American Top Team submission artist Ailton Barbosa will face Valdir Araujo at welterweight. Both fights will be part of the Spike.com live undercard stream, which begins Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.

The MTV2- and Epix-televised portion of Bellator 58 is set to be headlined by lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez, who defends his belt against fourth-season tournament winner Michael Chandler in a scheduled five-round affair. In addition, company middleweight ace Hector Lombard will face veteran Trevor Prangley in a non-title, 195-pound catchweight affair, and recent featherweight tournament finalist Marlon Sandro will meet countryman Rafael Dias.

Fighting out of Gracie Barra Orlando, 27-year-old Sharipov has compiled a 13-4 mark during his four-year MMA career, 10 of those wins coming by way of unanimous decision. He holds a 1-1 record in the Bellator cage, having most recently dropped a split decision to flyweight standout Jessie Riggleman in September.

Mello, 36, holds an 8-6 record and has been stopped only once in his 10-year career, a 2004 loss to Pride Fighting Championships lightweight ace Takanori Gomi. The American Top Team representative in January returned from a year-plus hiatus to take a split decision over another Pride veteran, Charles Bennett.

The winner of Bellator’s June open tryouts in Florida, Barbosa made his promotional debut at Bellator 50 in September, finishing Ryan Keenan via rear-naked choke in less than two minutes. The 35-year-old currently rides a six-fight win streak and has finished eight of his 10 career victories via submission.

A native of Bahia, Brazil, Araujo now trains with MMA Masters in Miami. He drops to welterweight following an unsuccessful middleweight debut with Bellator which saw Araujo thumped by two-time tournament participant Brett Cooper.

via Bellator 58 Undercard Gets Araujo-Barbosa, Sharipov-Mello.

Veteran welterweight fighter Ailton Barbosa (8-2 MMA, 0-0 BFC) was the winner of this past weekend’s Bellator open tryouts in Hollywood, Fla.

Officials today confirmed with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Barbosa topped the 60-man field and now has earned a spot on the Bellator 50 fight card.

The season-five event takes place Sept. 17 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood.

The night’s main card airs on MTV2, though Barbosa likely will compete in a featured preliminary-card attraction.

Barbosa, a Deerfield Beach, Florida-based fighter and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt from American Top Team, owns a four-fight win streak and six victories in his past seven fights. He also owns six career submission wins.

The 34-year-old said he won the Bellator tryout for one reason.

“I think I just showed a ton of heart at the tryout,” he stated. “That’s what caught the eye of Bellator. They could see my game was on point, but what separated me from everyone else was the heart.

“This is a dream come true. I get to fight under the lights with Bellator in front of friends and family. It’s unbelievable.”

While content with the Bellator 50 slot, he said he eventually hopes to land in one of the organization’s eight-man tournaments for a shot at champion Ben Askren.

“I know I’m going to get a fight at Bellator 50, but I want a tournament shot, and I want the belt,” he stated. “I’ve rolled with Askren before actually. (He’s) a really good wrestler, but my jiu jitsu is better. I’d love a shot at Ben.”

Barbosa joins fellow fighters such as Kenny Foster, Tyler Stinson, Anthony Lapsley, Anthony Leone, Jose Vega, John Orr and Jared Downing, who also have earned Bellator contracts from the open tryouts.

via Ailton Barbosa wins Bellator open tryout, earns spot on Bellator 50 card | MMAjunkie.com.

Ratings for this past weekend’s “Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum” event, which continued the organization’s heavyweight grand prix, scored the second biggest ratings in Strikeforce-Showtime history.

Overall, the June 18 event earned a 1.7 household rating, an average audience of 624,000 viewers, and a peak audience of 719,000 viewers.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today confirmed the figures with an industry source.

The event, which took place at Dallas’ American Airlines Center with an Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum headliner, trailed only a February “Strikeforce: Silva vs. Fedor” event, which scored a record 741,000 viewers. Like this past weekend’s show, that February event also featured two opening-round matchups from the eight-man heavyweight tournament.

In addition to Overeem, Josh Barnett advanced in the tournament by submitting Brett Rogers this past weekend. They now join Antonio Silva and Sergei Kharitonov, who won back in February, in the tournament’s semifinals this fall.

Four of the top-five Strikeforce-Showtime ratings figures now have been registered in 2011.

The five top-rated Strikeforce-Showtime shows, as compiled by MMAjunkie.com, include:

1. “Strikeforce: Silva vs. Fedor” (February 2011): 741,000 viewers
2. “Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum” (June 2011): 624,000
3. “Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg” (August 2009): 576,000
4. “Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg” (January 2011): 561,000
5. “Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley” (April 2011): 528,000

Strikeforce first began airing on Showtime, a premium-cable station with approximately 18 million subscribers, in April 2009.

via “Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum” ratings on Showtime rank second all time | MMAjunkie.com.

All of the fights from the UFC’s upcoming card will be available for free.

Sunday’s UFC on Versus 4 main card airs live on Versus with a Nate Marquardt vs. Rick Story headliner from CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh.

UFC officials since have revealed that all eight of the night’s preliminary-card fights will stream for free on Facebook. Notable competitors from the card include Tyson Griffin, Joe Stevenson and Joe Lauzon.

Griffin and Stevenson, who are former UFC lightweight contenders, make their featherweight debuts against respective opponents Manny Gamburyan and Javier Vazquez.

Additionally, Lauzon takes on fellow lightweight Curt Warburton, and former middleweight Rich Attonito drops to welterweight to take on Daniel Roberts.

The Facebook stream begins at approximately 6 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT), and the Versus card airs ay 9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT).

The full UFC on Versus 4 card includes:

MAIN CARD (Versus)

Nate Marquardt vs. Rick Story

Pat Barry vs. Cheick Kongo

Matt Brown vs. John Howard

Matt Mitrione vs. Christian Morecraft

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)

Manny Gamburyan vs. Tyson Griffin

Joe Stevenson vs. Javier Vazquez

Joe Lauzon vs. Curt Warburton

Rich Attonito vs. Daniel Roberts

Charlie Brenneman vs. T.J. Grant

Nik Lentz vs. Charles Oliveira

Matt Grice vs. Ricardo Lamas

Edward Faaloloto vs. Michael Johnson

The UFC’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ufc) has been used to stream a host of events this year. As MMAjunkie.com recently reported, UFC president Dana White plans to make the social-networking giant a frequent complement to its future TV broadcasts.

via UFC on Versus 4 preliminary card to stream on Facebook | MMAjunkie.com.

Rich Attonito got hip to the arms race of weight-cutting pretty quickly.

It was one thing to fight on the local circuit against part-timers who, like him, probably liked a trip to the buffet every once and a while. But the more success he had in MMA – and the higher his stature rose – the more he noticed flab turning to muscle in the physiques of his opponents.

“I always knew in the back of my head that to put myself in the best possible position to be successful, I’d probably have to take that extra step,” Attonito recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio).

There were actually three steps, to be exact. Coming from light heavyweight, Attonito and his American Top Team coaches planned to fight at middleweight until a setback, then make the drop to the welterweight class. It would be tough. But one look at teammates Thiago Alves and Gleison Tibau – who cut big numbers to get to welterweight and lightweight, respectively – convinced him he could do it.

Attonito (9-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) meets Daniel Roberts (12-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) this Sunday at “UFC on Versus 4: Story vs. Marquardt,” which takes place at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh. The event’s main card airs live on the Versus channel, though Attonito vs. Roberts is part of the preliminary card.

Unlike Alves, Attonito is employing willpower over a diet manager to meet his weight goals. But with a background in the fitness industry, he’s been able to cull a good regimen to make the weight cut palatable.

Now, the only hunger he’s focused on is that driven by his most recent appearance. After a successful transition from “The Ultimate Fighter 11″ to the UFC’s middleweight roster, Attonito suffered a setback in his most recent appearance, which came against Dave Branch, who outpointed him this past December at The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale. More than providing a springboard for a change in division, it’s motivated him to put his career back on track.

“You feel that extra incentive to get back on the winning track,” Attonito said. “You don’t want to take two losses in a row. That can be used as a motivational tool along with other things that you do to motivate yourself.

“I think about coming off a loss, but I don’t focus too much on it. I just focus on what I need to do to learn and improve from what happened in my last fight, and use that knowledge to get better in certain skill areas.

“I’m confident I could have won that fight if it went a different way, but I just press forward and get ready to perform.”

Of course, Roberts is coming into the fight with much the same mindset. After a trio of wins in the octagon, he delivered a listless performance in his most recent fight, which came against Claude Patrick at UFC 129. He needs a win to restore much of the hype he earned this past year; he was undefeated before entering the octagon.

Attonito has tasted defeat before. There was a time during his rise where a win streak was hard to come by. Ten fights into his professional career, he had three losses on his ledger. So he’s confronted questions about whether to continue in a sport in which the payoffs aren’t that great and the competition is staggering. But he’s also risen to the occasion and gained entry into the world’s biggest fight promotion. That counts for something.

“I had this goal and vision of what I wanted to be, and I wasn’t going to jump on that,” he said. “You’re going to have setbacks. You’re going to have good days and bad days at the gym. I remember leaving the gym at (American) Top Team feeling like the world was coming together, and other days feeling like I’m horrible and going to get killed against anybody. Maybe this isn’t the career that I thought it would be.

“That happens along the way, but the lesson in the story is perseverance and hard work. Everybody always says that, but it really is true. Day in and day out, you’re focusing on ways you can improve. You make the effort to do the stuff that might not be that exciting. When you’re working on your boxing, it’s fun to hit the pads, but you get in front of the mirror and practice your head movement and where your body is moving – all those little details make a difference.”

The hope is, of course, that all of his efforts in training and diet have added up to success. He won’t know whether it will until Sunday. It’s been eight years since he began the journey.

But the way he feels now at welterweight, he’s put himself in the best position to succeed.

via ATT teammates prompted UFC on Versus 4’s Rich Attonito to drop a weight class | MMAjunkie.com.

Jorge Masvidal’s path to victory at Strikeforce “Overeem vs. Werdum” was paved by one of the most elementary techniques in all of combat sports.

The Floridian lightweight used his jab to establish range against K.J. Noons Saturday night at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, gauging his distance before inflicting serious damage to Noons’ face in a unanimous decision victory.

“[The jab] is what set everything up,” said Masvidal in a post-fight interview with Showtime Sports. “To all you young fighters out there, learn how to jab. It’ll take you places.”

Using his trademark upright stance, the American Top Team fighter kept Noons on the outside of his range in the first frame of their 155-pound contest before dropping his foe with a perfectly timed round kick to the face. Though the strike was clearly the most damaging blow of the fight, it was Masvidal’s constant counterpunching which stopped Noons in his tracks again and again.

“I’m a good counter-fighter. If you’re coming forward, I’m going to catch you. If you’re just staying back, [it makes landing punches tougher],” said Masvidal. “That’s always been a criticism from my coaches and a lot of my fans, is that I don’t attack much.”

Though “Gamebred” used effective counterstrikes to stifle and bloody Noons, he also opened up considerably more than fans saw in his March performance against Billy Evangelista. In control of both bouts from start to finish, Masvidal asserted that his increased work rate against Noons was simply a product of the Hawaiian’s fighting style.

“No change in style,” said Masvidal. “Billy just posed different threats. He has decent takedowns. He wrestled for a while, and he wasn’t as aggressive [as Noons]… If you’re aggressive like K.J., I’m going to put you on your butt.”

Though the 26-year-old father of two does not know what the future holds, he hopes that Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker may present him with a gift for Father’s Day: a shot at Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez.

“I don’t know if Melendez is next for me, but I’m ready for the shot. It’s up to Mr. Coker, but hopefully he can give me a good Father’s Day gift and let me fight for the title.”

via Masvidal Credits Jab, Counterpunching for Bloody Win Over Noons.

Jorge Masvidal might have lost the foil-shirted, metal-loving, intoxicated market of MMA fans, but that’s a price he’s willing to pay.

He’s going to stick to what he knows best, no matter how much criticism he may or may not receive for shirking an out-and-out brawl.

“I just want to make sure I get the W,” Masvidal told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “You’ve got to pick your shots. I want to last a long time in this career. I can’t be getting dropped every time I fight.”

Fists are on everyone’s mind as lightweight standout Masvidal (21-6 MMA, 2-0 SF) approaches a bout with onetime Strikeforce welterweight challenger K.J. Noons (10-3 MMA, 2-1 SF) this Saturday at “Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum,” which takes place at American Airlines Center in Dallas. Noons brings his pro boxing experience to every match he takes, and it’s been confirmed that the winner of the fight could get a shot at the title.

Naturally, people want to know how Masvidal will approach the seasoned striker. Maybe more so because of his most recent fight, a decision victory over Billy Evangelista this past March, that failed to deliver fireworks.

Masvidal said he did what he normally does, which is to take what’s offered him. Unfortunately on that night, there weren’t a whole lot of offerings, and he may not have fully taken the ones that were there.

“Sometimes the opening is just there and I take it,” he said. “Sometimes not. I’m just more of a counter-fighter. I like to punch and not get hit.

“I should have jumped on Billy after watching the tape. I wasn’t able to see it live – maybe because of the ring rust. Maybe I just wasn’t as sharp that night offensively. But looking at the tape, I could have had a couple more openings.”

With less cage rust on his frame, Masvidal promises to find and seize the openings presented by Noons. But he’s a little irked by the comparisons between he and Noons given the fact that both like to test their skills in the standup realm.

“I think we’re completely different, man,” Masvidal said. “Just like when I fought Paul Daley, everybody was saying that we’re both strikers and we’re both completely different. Both of those guys are aggressive head-hunters coming forward throwing bombs, and that’s not like me.

“I move, I hit. The drunk fans want to see that. But I’m moving my head, I don’t get hit. I’m not a sock ‘em, rock ‘em tough guy.”

So alas, there could be disappointment in the air at American Airlines Center. But from the sound of it, there could also be shock – when Noons realizes he’s in a fight, Masvidal said.

The onetime challenger has made little attempt to hide his feelings that Saturday’s meeting is a mere stepping stone to a shot at lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez. And that’s just grand for “Gamebred,” who’s perhaps not as well-known stateside because he’s fought a large portion of his career overseas or in Bellator. It doesn’t help that his biggest hit was also his biggest flop when Toby Imada choked him out cold with an inverted triangle in the tournament-based promotion’s first season.

Noons might be looking at the wrong footage.

“It’s good for me, man,” Masvidal said. “Because the only thing he’s going to be looking at is the doctor after his fight. He’s going to have a tube in his mouth being rushed to a nearby hospital. I’m looking at K.J. and nothing else.”

And Noons as the favored striker? Get out of Texas.

“He’s a solid boxer, but he’s not a boxer-boxer,” Masvidal said. “He’s in between a brawler and a guy that kind of knows how to box. He gets hit a lot. He throws from weird angles. He has power; he has endurance. But he’s not a polished boxer.

“It’s not like he was a high-level amateur that went to the pros. I don’t know his record, but I think it’s 16-4 or something like that. Sounds like a journeyman.”

One thing is certain – a Noons loss could mean a long journey back to title contention. Masvidal hopes to get a title shot with a win, but he’s ready to prove himself further.

“If I have to fight another three guys, so be it,” he said. “If I get to fight for the title, I’ll be happy as hell.”

For now, though, he has one person on his mind. While it would be great to put on a show for the fans, it’s more important to Masvidal that he comes out ahead. He’d rather keep his brain cells with a win than gamble with a brawl.

“Not everybody feels my style,” he said. “Because I’m not taking one to give one. There’s an art form to it.”

via Strikeforce’s Masvidal plans to remain patient, send Noons scrambling for doctor | MMAjunkie.com.

DALLAS – When 40-year-old Jeff Monson (42-11 MMA, 0-0 SF) makes his Strikeforce debut at Saturday night’s “Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum” event, it won’t exactly be a new experience.

The near-14-year veteran has more than 50 fights to his credit, including a failed bid for the UFC’s heavyweight title back in 2006.

Nevertheless, Monson admits his bout with undefeated prospect Daniel Cormier (7-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) will be special, and he knows his future may hinge on a positive result.

“I’ve fought all over the world, but Strikeforce and the UFC are obviously the biggest promotions in the world,” Monson told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “You want to fight the best, and this is where it happens.

“It’s kind of weird coming back from a fight or something like that and get on the airplane and someone goes, ‘Oh, Jeff Monson. When are you going to fight again?’ I go, ‘Oh, I fought last night.’ If you’re not on TV, you’ve got to be a really hardcore fan to know. I’m excited to be here. This is a great opportunity for me. I just have to perform.”

Monson certainly has the abilities to deliver. The American Top Team-trained fighter counts a who’s who list of MMA among his past opponents that includes Josh Barnett, Kazuyuki Fujita, Forrest Griffin, Mark Kerr, Chuck Liddell, Roy Nelson, Pedro Rizzo, Ricco Rodriguez and Tim Sylvia, among others.

That said, Monson insisted he’s not looking past an opponent with less than two years experience as a professional fighter.

“I can’t outwrestle him,” Monson admitted. “I think my grappling speaks for itself, but wrestling, I’ll never be on the same level he is. He’s a two-time Olympian. I think I won the Pac-10 one time or something like that, and he’s a two-time Olympian. That’s not even the same league. But my grappling on the ground is pretty good. It depends on where the fight is.

“He works with [American Kickboxing Academy], and they have a pretty good camp. He’s got the best guys surrounding him right now, and he’s motivated. He’s doing this full-time. He went to the highest level of wrestling, so I don’t see why this would be any different. Great athlete, young guy. The sky is the limit.”

And while Monson’s assessment of his opponent is incredibly fair, “The Snowman” carries his own eight-fight win streak into the contest, and five of the wins came via submission.

Monson has recently suggested his future actually lies at 205 pounds, and at just 5-foot-9, the muscular grappler would seem a prime candidate to make the switch from his current heavyweight status.

But for now, he’s fighting with the big boys, and after prior stints in the UFC, DREAM, PRIDE, Sengoku, and many others, Monson knows what’s on the line Saturday night.

“I just walked in and saw (Alistair) Overeem, and I’m like, ‘I’m in the same weightclass as you?’” Monson joked. “Maybe 205 pounds is calling.

“I think I have to look good. I fight to win. That’s in my own head. I can’t make those decision, so I don’t know, but I have to look good, and I have to perform well. We’ll see what happens after that.”

via Despite past experience, 50-fight veteran Monson values Strikeforce chance | MMAjunkie.com.