Wilson Reis

Bellator Inks Former EliteXC Champ Wilson Reis

BELLATOR FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS EXCLUSIVELY SIGNS UNDEFEATED WILSON REIS; PHILADELPHIA-BASED FIGHTER TO BE FEATURED ON ESPN DEPORTES IN APRIL 2009

LOS ANGELES, CALIF. – Bellator Fighting Championships, a first of its kind Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion, officially announced today the exclusive signing of elite grappler Wilson Reis.

Reis will enter the inaugural season as a member of the Featherweight (145 lb.) division of Bellator’s tournament style events, premiering on ESPN Deportes April 4, 2009. A native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) phenom moved to Philadelphia in 2007 to further his career in MMA. Upon arriving in the United States, Reis kept his nose to the grindstone, earning his black belt from BJJ instructor Roberto Godoi.

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Reis Decisions Cullum to Claim EliteXC Belt

SANTA YNEZ, Calif. – In an excellent, competitive matchup between skilled, determined, well-conditioned fighters, unbeaten Brazilian Wilson Reis (6-0) of Philadelphia registered a close, unanimous five-round decision over Abel Cullum (11-2) of Tucumcari, N.M., to capture the first-ever EliteXC bantamweight title Friday in the main event on ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series.

Los Angeles-based ProElite, Inc.’s live fight division, EliteXC presented the crowd-pleasing event from the Chumash Casino Resort. It aired on Showtime at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

In other fights, Shane Del Rosario (5-0) of Irvine, Calif., scored a second-round TKO (strikes) over Carl Seumanutafa (4-1) of San Francisco, Calif.; in perhaps the fight of the night,  David “Tarzan” Douglas (6-1) of Antioch, Calif., registered an upset third-round TKO (strikes) over Malaipet (3-3) of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Jaime Jara (20-5) of North Highlands, Calif., earned a hard-fought split decision over previously undefeated Giva Santana (12-1) of Laguna Niguel, Calif., and Eric “Bad” Apple (10-1) of Orange County, Calif., submitted (rear naked choke) Matt Makowski (3-1) of Philadelphia in the second round.

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Quach, Murphy Withdraw from ShoXC

Bao Quach and Jon Murphy have both withdrawn from their respective bouts at the latest edition of ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series, which is scheduled to take place at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, California on September 26th, according to reports by Five Ounces of Pain and MMA Junkie.

Quach, who was slated to take on skilled grappler Wilson Reis for EliteXC’s vacant featherweight title, has been forced off the card after suffering a “facial injury” during a recent training session. A timetable for his return is unknown at this time.

MMA on Tap has since confirmed with EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw that King of the Cage flyweight champion Abel Cullum will move up in weight to challenge Reis for the belt.

Murphy’s manager, East Coast fight promoter Ed Hsu, has also stated that Murphy has withdrawn from the show due to unknown reasons. His opponent, Shane Del Rosario, is now expected to face Carl Seumanutafa.

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Reis-Quach Moved to ShoXC on Sept. 26

Rising prospect Wilson Reis will now take on a streaking Bao Quach for the vacant EliteXC featherweight title in the main event of the organization’s next edition of ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series, which will take place at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, California on September 26th.

MMA on Tap confirmed the switch with EliteXC VP Jared Shaw earlier this evening. The event will be broadcast on Showtime. It was previously rumored as happening weeks ago but Reis’ camp cited concerns over Quach’s interest in the bout. The two were originally slated to clash at EliteXC’s “Showdown at the Pit” event on September 20th in New Mexico but that event has since been cancelled by the organization.

Reis has won his first five bouts to begin his professional career. He joined the ranks of EliteXC in January of this year, submitting Zach Makovsky at a ShoXC event. Reis went on to win his next two bouts under the EliteXC banner, submitting Justin Robbins in May and most recently, scoring a unanimous decision over Bryan Caraway at EliteXC’s “Unfinished Business” show last month.

Quach brings an impressive nine-fight winning streak into the fight. He knocked off both Bobby McMaster and UFC veteran Doug Evans in consecutive ShoXC bouts before winning his two most recent fights outside of the organization. Quach won a hard-fought decision over Mark Oshiro at ICON Sport’s “Hard Times” event earlier this month.

Report: Reis, Quach to Battle for EliteXC Belt

Rising prospect Wilson Reis will reportedly take on a streaking Bao Quach for the vacant EliteXC featherweight title at the organization’s scheduled “Showdown at the Pit” event on September 20th at the University of New Mexico.

The news comes from Sam Caplan of Five Ounces of Pain, whom Wilson informed of the finalized bout yesterday. The fight is expected to take place on the televised portion of the Showtime broadcast. It was previously rumored as happening last week but Reis’ camp cited concerns over Quach’s interest in the bout.

Reis has won his first five bouts to begin his professional career. He joined the ranks of EliteXC in January of this year, submitting Zach Makovsky at a ShoXC event. Reis went on to win his next two bouts under the EliteXC banner, submitting Justin Robbins in May and most recently, scoring a unanimous decision over Bryan Caraway at EliteXC’s “Unfinished Business” show last month.

Quach brings an impressive nine-fight winning streak into the fight. He knocked off both Bobby McMaster and UFC veteran Doug Evans in consecutive ShoXC bouts before winning his two most recent fights outside of the organization. Quach won a hard-fought decision over Mark Oshiro at ICON Sport’s “Hard Times” event earlier this month.

Evening News and Notes - August 9, 2009

Report: Rothwell-Rizzo to Happen at Affliction II

Former IFL heavyweight champion Ben Rothwell will attempt to bounce back from his first loss in three years when he reportedly takes on three-time UFC heavyweight title challenger Pedro Rizzo at Affliction’s “Day of Reckoning” event on October 11th in Las Vegas according to MMANews.com, which cites Affliction VP Tom Atencio as confirming the fight.

At Affliction’s debut show last month, Rothwell suffered a third-round knockout loss to former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski while Rizzo was defeated in a rematch against Josh Barnett, another former UFC title holder. Barnett knocked Rizzo out with a left in the second round of their fight.

WVR Announces Middleweight GP Participants

World Victory Road has announced four of the fighters that will compete in their inaugural middleweight grand prix, which will begin at “Sengoku V” on September 28th at the Yoyogi National First Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan. Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos, Jorge Santiago, Kazuhiro Nakamura, Siyar Bahadurzada will all compete in first-round bouts.

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Lawler Stops Smith to Retain EliteXC Belt

Robbie Lawler prevented history from repeating itself Saturday night as he wore down Scott Smith before finally finishing him with a barrage of knees in the second round of their EliteXC middleweight title fight at the Stockton Arena in California.

The two exchanged blows for the second time in two months, this instance serving as the main event of EliteXC’s “Unfinished Business” event, which became the promotion’s second such show to be broadcast on primetime network television via CBS. Their original meeting saw both men battle back and forth for fifteen minutes before Lawler inadvertently poked Smith in the eye in the third round. The ringside doctor ultimately ruled that Smith was unable to continue due to vision problems and the fight was ruled a no-contest.

Early on, it looked as if Lawler would once again earn a decisive opening round in his favor, stunning Smith with a trio of jabs. Smith bounced back however, continuing to push the pace and catching Lawler with a right hand late in the round, following up with a flurry that swung momentum in his favor. Smith then opened up a cut just inches away from the previous one Lawler suffered in their first bout. The blood forced Lawler to turn it up a notch, leading to a flurry of knees in the clinch that knocked Smith down twice.

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EliteXC: Unfinished Business Weigh-In Results

The official weigh-in results for tomorrow night’s EliteXC: Unfinished Business event, which will take place at the Stockton Arena in California, are below. All fighters successfully made weight. The fight card will be joint-broadcasted by CBS and Showtime - A one-hour special will air on Showtime starting at 8:00 PM ET and will continue on CBS at 9:00 PM ET. Additional weigh-in photos are after the jump.

Heavy hitters Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith will battle it out once again for Lawler’s EliteXC middleweight title, this time in the show’s featured attraction. Additional main card bouts include the second of three championship bouts as Jake Shields and BodogFight transfer Nick Thompson will fight for the vacant EliteXC welterweight strap as well as hometown favorite Nick Diaz attempting to extend a two-fight winning streak against journeyman Thomas Denny.

CBS Bouts:

Robbie Lawler (184.5 lbs) vs. Scott Smith (185 lbs)
Jake Shields (169.5 lbs) vs. Nick Thompson (169.5 lbs)
Nick Diaz (159.5 lbs) vs. Thomas Denny (159 lbs)
Shayna Baszler (139 lbs) vs. Cris Cyborg (140 lbs)

Showtime Bouts:

Antonio Silva (257.5 lbs) vs. Justin Eilers (218 lbs)
Rafael Fejiao (203.5 lbs) vs. Travis Galbraith (202 lbs)
Wilson Reis (139.5 lbs) vs. Bryan Caraway (140.5 lbs)

Preliminary Fights:

Jeremy Freitag (205 lbs) vs. Anthony Ruiz (206 lbs)
Mike Cook (232.5 lbs) vs. Carl Seumantafa (255.5 lbs)
Brandon Tarn (252 lbs) vs. Drew Montgomery (224 lbs)
David Douglas (157 lbs) vs. Marlon Mathias (161 lbs)

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Full TV Card for EliteXC on CBS and Showtime, July 26

The female bout between Shayna Baszler of Sioux Falls, S.D. and Brazil’s Cristiane Cyborg has been added to the lineup for the second primetime broadcast of CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fights, live from the Stockton Arena in Stockton, Calif. on Saturday, July 26 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Baszler and Cyborg, who are fighting in the 140 pound weight class, complete the primetime matchups for the CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fights on July 26.  Other CBS fights include:

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More Details on EliteXC’s Next Show on CBS

With EliteXC’s next network television event on CBS being officially announced for July 26th, additional details have surfaced regarding a potential venue for the show, some of the participants on the card, and the potential of featuring three title fights on the broadcast as well.

In his latest column for Yahoo! Sports, Dave Meltzer is reporting that EliteXC officials will work with executives from both Showtime and CBS on a dual-network show that would have Showtime air a 60-90 minute lead-in show that would feature a couple of preliminary fights before the main card goes live on CBS later that night, marking the first time in the history of this sport where two networks have combined to air a single event.

The promotion has already revealed the main event of the show as EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler will go head-to-head with Scott Smith in an anticipated rematch of their exciting bout that took place just two weeks ago during Memorial Day weekend. The first bout between the two ended in a no-contest after Lawler inadvertently poked Smith in the eye in the third round of their bout.

The ringside doctor ultimately ruled that Smith was unable to continue due to vision problems, despite protests from Smith himself to let the fight continue. However after the fight, Smith admitted that he would have likely been knocked out by Lawler because he couldn’t fully see out of his eye. Distraught as well after the fight was Lawler, who may now find solace in the fact that EliteXC officials have been working to bring the event to his hometown of St. Louis. Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall seems to be the second option.

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