Bobby Lashley Finally Gets His Opponent For Bellator 138

With major developments across weight classes, promotional bounds, and the world as a whole, it’s been a busy week in the world of MMA. Over the last seven days, fans of the sport have seen everything from historic fight cards, to awesome matchup announcements, to major shake-ups, and of course, an expected dose of controversy.

Here is a roundup of the week’s biggest headlines for those who have been away from the World Wide Web.

Cro Cop Dazzles in Poland

Eight years after being flattened by a Gabriel Gonzaga head kick, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic found his revenge. With a salvo of savage elbows, the Croatian legend put his old nemesis away for a third-round TKO. The victory, which went down in the main event of Krakow, Poland’s UFC Fight Night 64, thrusts Cro Cop back into the UFC heavyweight top-15. It’s a comeback nobody anticipated, but a very exciting development for old school fans.

Elsewhere on the card, Jimi Manuwa and Pawel Pawlak defeated Jan Blachowicz and Sheldon Westcott respectively, while Maryna Moroz became the first woman to defeat Scotland’s Joanne Calderwood, and Leon Edwards scored the second fastest knockout in UFC welterweight history over Seth Baczynski. All in all, it was a solid card, and as the UFC’s first foray into Poland, one that won’t soon be forgotten.

Chris Camozzi Steps up to Fight “Jacare” Souza on Short Notice—Again.

Two years ago, middleweight journeyman Chris Camozzi stepped up on short notice to fight long-time, top-5 staple, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. It was impossible not to admire Camozzi’s cojones, but in the end, it was clear that he did not belong in the cage with competition of Jacare’s caliber. He lost by first round submission, and the two fighters moved on, probably expecting to have little to do with one another from then on.

Fast-forward to this week. Two years after their first—and completely one-sided—meeting, Camozzi will once again fight Jacare. On just 6 days notice, he’s stepped up to replace the injured Yoel Romero at this Saturday’s UFC on Fox 15.

Was it a rematch fans were clamoring to see? The furthest thing from it. Does it mean anything from a rankings standpoint? Not in the slightest. What matters, however, is that Jacare has an opponent for this weekend’s card. He’ll get his payday, and we’ll get to watch him do his thing. And of course, there’s always the chance of an upset for the ages, should Camozzi put on the performance of his career, and somehow score a W.

UFC on Fox 16 Expands with Three Awesome Fights

UFC on Fox 16, which goes down on July 25th, is beginning to take shape, as this week, several key matchups were announced for the card.

First up, we’ve got an appealing women’s bantamweight matchup pairing top-5 fighters Miesha Tate and Jessica Eye. From the looks of it, the winner of this one will be paired with the winner of Ronda Rousey vs. Bethe Correia.

The card will also feature Anthony Pettis’s first fight since losing his lightweight title to Rafael Dos Anjos in March. He’ll be taking on prospect Miles Jury, who recently tasted defeat for the first time against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. The winner of this bout takes an important step toward title contention, while the loser sinks deeper into the shark-infested depths of the UFC lightweight division.

Finally, the card’s main event will feature a long-awaited rematch between former bantamweight champion Renan Barao, and the man who dethroned him, TJ Dillashaw. The two were originally paired last year, but an issue with Barao’s weight cut nixed that plan on the eve of fight night. They were then scheduled to rematch at the upcoming UFC 186, but that fight fell through when Dillashaw sustained an injury. So, hopefully, third time’s the charm. With a little luck, the two bantamweights will finally settle their score this summer.

Bobby Lashley Gets his Next Opponent

Former pro wrestler Bobby Lashley now knows who will be standing across the canvas from him in his next MMA fight. He’s been booked for a rematch with hulking Brit James Thomson at Bellator 138, which goes down on June 19.

Come fight night, Lashley will look to avenge a 2012 loss to Thompson, and extend his 5-fight win-streak to 6 in the process. If he does so, he might just be in walking distance of a Bellator heavyweight title fight. Then again, Bellator might choose to pair him with the winner of the card’s main event, a borderline ludicrous matchup between former street fighter Kimbo Slice and 51-year-old MMA pioneer, Ken Shamrock.

Anderson Silva Looks to the Future

MMA great Anderson Silva is currently awaiting sentencing for a recent performance enhancing drug bust. That, however, hasn’t stopped him from looking to the future. This week, the Brazilian legend stated that he’d like a rematch with Nick Diaz down the road, and that he’ll also look to compete in Tae Kwon Do in the upcoming Olympic trials. And while the fate of his fighting future hinges on the punishment for his PED slip-up, it’s nice to know that, even at 40, the former middleweight king has still got some competitive fire left in him. It’ll always be a pleasure to watch him fight.

McGregor Trashes Mayweather

It’s probably the most trivial of all this week’s developments, but it has sure gotten people talking. Of course, love him or hate him, getting people talking is what Conor McGregor does best. The Irishman’s latest controversy? He says he can beat up boxing’s pound-for-pound king, Floyd Mayweather—in less than 30 seconds. And really, he’s probably right.

Mayweather’s is a game of punches, after all, while McGregor’s is one of punches, kicks, knees, elbows takedowns and submissions. The outspoken Irishman has infinitely more weapons at his disposal, and would most likely tap Mayweather out, or shut him off with a head kick pretty darn quickly. But the two compete in different sports, so it really, really doesn’t matter. And anyway, McGregor would be much better served to focus on the task at hand: a looming showdown with featherweight great Jose Aldo.

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