Two more fighters advanced to the semifinals and the semifinal match ups were revealed on the eleventh episode of The Ultimate Fighter: Live.

Chris Saunders and Vinc Pichel prepared to face each other in the first of two fights on the episode.  Both coaches believed they had the better fighter heading into the bout.

Saunders’ game plan was to keep it standing and put Pichel away with strikes.  Pichel planned to close the distance, eliminating the space needed for Saunders to throw kicks, and get the fight to the ground where he expected to have an advantage.

Chris Saunders vs. Vinc Pichel:

Pichel closed the distance and got to the clinch position early in the round, but it was Saunders who secured the takedown.  Pichel worked his way back to his feet and began to apply pressure.  The first round was competitive but Pichel did enough in the clinch to take the round on two of the three judges’ scorecards.

Pichel controlled the pace and action through the second round.  He was able to get inside and work from the clinch position, pressing Saunders against the cage.  On the feet, Pichel landed more strikes.  After two rounds of action, the judges scored Pichel the winner by majority decision.  The scorecards read: 20-18, 20-18, 19-19.

Pichel praised Saunders’ toughness following the fight and hoped there would have been a third round.

“I was kind of hoping I was (going to a third round).  It’s my first decision.  It’s only a two round fight. I’m happy, but I wanted that third round so I could get the finish,” said Pichel following the fight.

Saunders felt he won the first round and Pichel won the second.  He expected a third round when the decision was read.

“I thought we were going to sudden victory for sure,” said Saunders.  “I got the first round.  He got the second round clearly.  It sucks we’re not going to a third round.”

Team Faber teammates Al Iaquinta and Andy Ogle fought to determine the final spot in the semifinals.  Ogle planned to stick and move while Iaquinta’s game plan was to “go with the flow” and react to what happens.

Al Iaquinta vs. Andy Ogle:

In the early going, Ogle did exactly what he wanted to.  He moved in and out and made Iaquinta chase him.  Late in the first round, Iaquinta caught Ogle with a right hand as he moved in, knocking Ogle to the canvas.  Ogle worked his way back to his feet only to be knocked down with another right hand.  Iaquinta swooped in with a pair of hammer fists forcing the referee to call a stop to the action.  The official time of the technical knockout was 4:44 of the first round.

Iaquinta talked about how odd it was to have to fight a teammate after the win.

“We’ve sparred the whole time here so we kind of knew each other.  It was just weird,” said Iaquinta.

Ogle took defeat like a true sportsman and had an optimistic outlook.

“Each dog has his day.  It really hurts, but everybody loses.  Everybody wins and it’s what you do after the loss.  You’ve got to come back and show everybody what I’m made of,” he said.  “It’s a competition.  There’s only going to be one winner.  I’m good that it’s not me.  What can I say?”

UFC president Dana White announced the semifinal match ups.  James Vick will face Michael Chiesa while Al Iaquinta will meet Vinc Pichel to determine the finalists.

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The Bellator Season 6 Middleweight Tournament came to a close Friday night as Maiquel Falcao earned a unanimous decision victory over Andreas Spang and secured his shot at the Bellator middleweight world championship, while Karl Amoussou moved one-step closer to an opportunity at the Bellator welterweight world championship with a hard fought win against a game David Rickels. Also, Jessica Aguilar and Mark Holata picked up impressive wins at Bellator 69 from L’Auberge Casino Resort in Lake Charles, La.

“Two of the most highly anticipated tournament fights of the season were scheduled on the same night from L’Auberge Casino Resort and they did not disappoint,” Bellator Chairman CEO Bjorn Rebney said. “Maiquel Falcao and Andreas Spang definitely lived up to the billing; and Karl Amoussou vs. David Rickels was a back-and-forth battle that could’ve went either way. It was a great night for Jessica Aguilar as well, as she proved she is the best in the world beating the world’s greatest pound-for-pound female fighter Megumi Fujii.”

One of the most heated rivalries in all of MMA came to a close in the Bellator cage Friday night as noted striker Maiquel Falcao and knockout artist Andreas Spang fought for the Bellator Season 6 Middleweight Tournament Championship, $100,000 and the right to fight Alexander Shlemenko for the Bellator middleweight world title.

The first round saw a flurry of punches by Spang (8-2) that had his Brazilian foe stunned. Falcao (31-4), visibly hurt from the blows, was able to clinch with Spang and recover. Later in the round, Falcao landed an illegal knee to the head of Spang while Spang was grounded. After Falcao suffered a one-point deduction, the fight continued. For the final two rounds, Falcao was able to utilize his extensive Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to control Spang and avoid multiple guillotine attempts. When cage announcer Michael C. Williams read the judges’ scorecards, all three scored the fight 29-27 in favor of Maiquel Falcao.

“I brought the best team in the world,” said a satisfied Falcao. “I have the best grappling coach in the world. There’s no way I won’t improve my grappling game.”

Karl Amoussou and David Rickels had some strong words for each other at the Bellator 69 weigh-ins on Thursday that certainly added fuel to the fire of their Bellator Season 6 Welterweight Tournament Semifinal bout. The Lake Charles faithful were fully in support for the duration of the action-packed contest as both fighters exchanged powerful blows standing and on the ground.

In the first round, Amoussou (15-4) was able to land crushing strikes and displayed his impressive Judo. Rickels (10-1) remained unfazed with his opponent’s fast start as he battled back in a closer second round. The third was all Rickels. “The Caveman” controlled the majority of the round with vicious ground-and-pound from the top position that resulted in a mouse under the left eye of “Psycho.” After three hard fought rounds, the fight went to a decision. Two of the three judges scored the fight 29-28 to give Karl Amoussou the split-decision win.

“I think the fight was really close,” said Amoussou. “(Rickels) really earned my respect tonight.”

Two of the top female fighters in the world squared off inside the Bellator cage Friday night as Jessica Aguilar met Megumi Fujii. Through three razor-thin rounds, Fujii (25-2) looked to finish with her relentless submission attack, while Aguilar (14-4) worked her boxing and appeared content to counterstrike with her Japanese opponent. When the decision was announced, all three judges scored the fight 29-28 for Jessica Aguilar.

“This is a legend,” said Aguilar regarding Fujii. “It’s an honor for me to have competed against her and to have earned my victory against her.”

In the first fight of the evening, heavyweights Mark Holata and Abe Wagner looked to earn a spot in the Bellator Season 7 Heavyweight Tournament. Holata (12-3) immediately took Wagner (10-6) to the ground with a single-leg and went to work in his opponent’s guard. After landing multiple hammerfists, Holata dropped back and grabbed Wagner’s leg where he was able to secure a fight-ending leg lock as Wagner verbally submitted at 2:24 of the first round.

“I’m honored because this is the place to be,” said Holata “It’s where I want to compete. It’s the best of the best.”

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Urijah Faber (26-5 MMA, 2-1 UFC) has his opponent for UFC 148′s co-headliner and interim-bantamweight-title fight.

During tonight’s new episode of “The Ultimate Fighter: Live,” UFC president Dana White confirmed surging 135-pound contender Renan Barao (28-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has gotten the slot.

The fight was booked after reigning champion Dominick Cruz (19-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) was forced out of a rubber match with Faber following a recent ACL injury.

Cruz and Faber currently are coaches on “TUF: Live,” and their season-ending fight was slated for UFC 148, which takes place July 7 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Faber vs. Barao, which will be contested over five rounds, is the pay-per-view co-headliner behind the night’s main event of middleweight champion Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen.

Barao initially was slated to fight Ivan Menjivar (24-8 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at UFC 148. Menjivar’s next move is at this point unknown.

Michael McDonald (15-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) also was in the running for the Faber fight, but an injury reportedly left him unavailable for the fight.

Faber, the most famous fighter and a former featherweight champion with the now-defunct WEC, is 2-1 since his move to the UFC. After opening his promotional run with a decision victory over Eddie Wineland, he met Cruz and suffered a title loss at UFC 132. (Faber won their first meeting back in 2007 at WEC 26.) However, in a title eliminator at UFC 139, he choked out former WEC champ Brian Bowles to get another shot at the belt.

It now comes against Barao, who has a three-fight win streak in the UFC. He also holds a record virtually unblemished since his professional debut in 2005; after a defeat in that debut, he’s undefeated (28-0 with one no-contest) over his past 29 fights. Barao most recently outpointed Scott Jorgensen at UFC 143, which built on another key win over Brad Pickett at UFC 138.

Cruz is the only fighter to hold a bantamweight title in the UFC, which adopted the weight class in 2011. The Faber vs. Barao winner will become the second.

For the latest on UFC 148, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.

(Pictured: Renan Barao)

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The Bellator 69 weigh-ins were completed on Thursday in Lake Charles, Louisiana in preparation for Bellator’s Friday night event at L’Auberge Casino Resort, which features the Bellator Season 6 Middleweight Tournament Finals between Maiquel Falcao and Andreas Spang. Also, Megumi Fujii will square off against Jessica Aguilar in a women’s feature fight, while Ron Sparks will face Kevin Asplund in a heavyweight match-up. Additionally, a highly anticipated Bellator Season 6 Welterweight Tournament semifinal will take place, as Karl Amoussou takes on David Rickels. Both fighters had choice words for their opponent as Rickels began the verbal sparring.

“He can play head games,” Rickels said. “I know he has a heart in there. I’m going to find it and I’m going to crush it.”

The imposing Amoussou stared down his opponent and responded: “I just know I’m going to run right through him. Look at him; he’s ugly. Look at his body and look at my body. I’m going to destroy him.”

The heated rivalry between Maiquel Falcao and Andreas Spang for the Bellator Season 6 Middleweight Tournament Championship was ignited once again by both fighters’ post weigh-in interviews.

With Spang stepping off the scale and telling the L’Auberge Casino Resort crowd to “expect fireworks,” Falcao responded by saying, “I came to win. If I have to hurt him, I will.”

Bellator 69 will be broadcast live on Friday, May 18, at 8:00 pm ET/7:00 pm CT on MTV2 and in commercial-free HD on EPIX. The undercard will begin at 7:00 pm ET/ 6:00 pm CT and will be streamed live and free around the world on MMAWeekly.com.

Bellator 69 Weigh-in Results

Main Card:
Maiquel Falcao (186 lbs.) vs. Andreas Spang (185.8 lbs.)*
David Rickels (170.6) vs. Karl Amoussou (170)
Megumi Fujii (116) vs. Jessica Aguilar (115.6)
Ron Sparks (264.6) vs. Kevin Asplund (239)

Preliminary Card:
Abe Wagner (248.8) vs. Mark Holata (250.6)
Andrey Koreshkov (170.8) vs. Derrick Krantz (170.8)
Kalvin Hackney (156) vs. Emanuel Brooks (156)
Booker Arthur (145.4) vs. Shanon Slack (146)
Josh Burns (206) vs. Richard Hale (205)
Josh Quayhagen (158.2) vs. Cliff Wright Jr. (155.6)**

*Falcao weighed in at 186 pounds on his second attempt. He originally weighed in at 188 pounds.

**Quayhagen and Wright Jr. have agreed to fight at a catchweight of 158 pounds. There was a 20-percent purse deduction from Quayhagen.

For more MMA News and MMA Rumors, follow MMAWeekly.com on Twitter and Facebook.

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Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez and challenger Josh Thomson have been friends. They share a mutual respect for one another. And Melendez it looking at getting a second victory over Thomson so that they can stop keeping a professional distance from each other and possibly ramp their friendship back up.

But first, he’s “gotta try and kill” Thomson, keeping the Strikeforce strap firmly around his waist. The two square off at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier on Saturday night in San Jose, Calif.

If he does get the better of Thomson again, what’s next for Melendez? Are there more Strikeforce talents on the horizon? Is becoming the latest fighter to jump ship to the UFC a possibility?

Check out MMAWeekly.com’s one-on-one exclusive interview with Gilbert Melendez and find out…

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