Bellator‘s first Philadelphia show is already shaping up to be a great celebration of Pennsylvania and New Jersey mixed martial arts. After announcing Eddie Alvarez vs Roger Huerta as the main event on Monday, Bellator adds another local champion to the card. Bellator Welterweight Champion Lyman Good will defend his strap for the first time against Missouri wrestling sensation Ben Askren.
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Popularity: 9% [?]

Yesterday I talked about why this October’s Bellator is different from other shows going on down here in Philly. Today I’m going to talk about the challenge in promoting this show.

As we mentioned yesterday, Eddie Alvarez will fight in Philly for the first time in October against Roger Huerta. This fight could mark the beginning of a paradigm shift on local mixed martial arts events.

The great thing about this Bellator fight is that Eddie Alvarez is worth at the very least 7,000 tickets in Philadelphia. The Liacourus Center, where Bellator 33 will be held, seats 10,000 for basketball, so I think the final seat tally will be in the ballpark of about 10,750 (don’t quote me on the number). So that leaves just short of 4,000 tickets to be sold on the strength of the other fighters on the card. A big show in Philly at The Arena, for example, sells 1,500 seats (that’s including giveaway tickets). So the local promoter will have to sell almost twice as many seats to fill the building. I know that’s some Numerology type math where 2+2=whatever the hell I want. But I hope you follow my logic.
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Popularity: 9% [?]

I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about the quality of fight cards in the Philly/Atlantic City game recently and for some reason I’ve had an impossible time expressing in words my thoughts. Some of that is because the path of least resistance in that sort of post would stomp on toes of promoters and matchmakers that I like and respect. Part of it is that its tough to tell the story without giving a wide open look into the business side of a sport that I may not entirely have the privledge of knowing or exposing.

Over the last ten months, I’ve been incredibly fortunate that almost to a man, every promoter in the region has welcomed me to their show, more often than not with seats at the commission table, and a very honest and trusting view of how they do business.
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Popularity: 9% [?]

After weeks of speculation, MMA Junkie has confirmed that Bellator 33 will happen in Philadelphia. The hot mustard on that awesome sandwich is the main event: Philadelphia’s own Eddie Alvarez faces internet sensation, and notorious football hater Roger Huerta in a three round non-title fight.

Expect some familiar faces on the undercard. Bellator has traditionally booked local fighters on all their undercards. Expect to hear some updates here as we get closer to fight night. Which, by the way is October 21 at the Liacouras Center on North Broad St in Center City Philadelphia.

Popularity: 8% [?]

According to multiple sources, Eddie Alvarez‘s next fight will be a non-title fight against Roger Huerta at Bellator 33, rather than the 155 lbs title defense against Season 2 champion, Pat Curran. Huerta is riding a wave of popularity after going Pride Rules on some douche outside a bar in Austin Texas.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Weigh-ins are over and all fighters made weight for tomorrow evening’s 6 fight show. But as Matrix 2 proved, its about quality, not quantity. The show was put together with the help of Steve Rivera’s Elite Wrestling, and features Dante Rivera and Dan Cramer in the main event with Chris The Story Liguori and Robert Conner in the co-feature. Also take note of Adam Fearon (who had Eddie Alvarez and Lyman Good back to back in his last amateur and pro debut respectively) taking on a gamer in Justin Herbst on the under card.

A couple things that to remember about this show. Some UFC veterans will be in attendance for a meet & greet, including New Jersey’s own Frankie Edgar and Kimbo Slice. There will also be an all day grappling tournament. And one more thing: the show is in an outdoor theater. MMA under the stars.

All that said, I’m spending the night in the City of Champions: Toms River, NJ. Look for some videos tonight, and coverage of the show tomorrow.

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On the latest edition of HDNet’s Inside MMA, current Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez called out Philadelphia’s Eddie Alvarez, current Bellator champion. Melendez successfully defended his Strikeforce lightweight championship against Shinya Aoki in a fight that was much more exciting to talk about than watch. Alvarez’s last loss was to Aoki in 2008 for Dream.
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Popularity: 8% [?]