Liam McGeary vs. Chris Fields set for Bellator 173 Fighting for the first time since losing his light heavyweight belt to Phil Davis in November, Liam McGeary will now take on Chris Fields at Bellator 173. Bellator president Scott Coker announced the matchup on ESPN.com, with the card set to take place February 24th at SSE Arena Belfast in Belfast, Northern Ireland. McGeary (11-1) won the Bellator light heavyweight title by submitting former champ Emanuel Newton and would successfully defend the belt in earning a submission win over Tito Ortiz. Fields (11-7-1) was on Season 19 of The Ultimate Fighter and is coming off a submission win over Dan Konecke last February. He’s 1-4-1 in his last six fights. In addition, promising SBG Ireland product James Gallagher (5-0) is also set to appear on the card against an unnamed opponent. In his last fight, he submitted Anthony Taylor at Bellator 169. RFA champion Jordan Johnson signs with UFC, faces Luis Henrique da Silva at UFC on FOX 23 After a report from MMAKings about RFA light heavyweight champion Jordan Johnson signing with the UFC, MMAFighting revealed Tuesday that his opponent will be Luis Henrique da Silva. Johnson (6-0) won the RFA light heavyweight title with a decision win over Lemarcus Tucker, his first decision victory after five stoppage wins. Da Silva (12-1) is coming off a submission setback to Paul Craig at UFC on FOX 22, which dropped his UFC record to 2-1. Here’s an interview I did with Johnson prior to the Tucker fight… UFC on FOX 23 takes place at the Pepsi Center in Denver on January 28th. 2017 World MMA Awards nominees announced Fighters Only has released their 2017 World MMA Awards. Nominations are below, and if you’d like to vote, click here http://worldmmaawards.com/vote Charles ‘Mask’ Lewis Fighter of the Year Michael Bisping Donald Cerrone Cody Garbrandt Conor McGregor Stipe Miocic Female Fighter of the Year Cris Cyborg Angela Hill Joanna Jedrzejczyk Angela Lee Amanda Nunes Breakthrough Fighter of the Year Yair Rodriguez Cody Garbrandt Doo Ho Choi Derrick Lewis Michael Page International Fighter of the Year Michael Bisping Joanna Jedrzejczyk Conor McGregor Gegard Mousasi Khabib Nurmagomedov Fight of the Year Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit (UFC 195) Cub Swanson vs. Choo Ho Choi (UFC 206) Michael Bisping vs. Anderson Silva (UFN 84) Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz 2 (UFC 202) Michael Chandler vs. Benson Henderson (Bellator 165) Knockout of the Year Anthony Johnson (vs. Glover Teixeira, UFC 202) Landon Vannata (vs. John Makdessi, UFC 206) Michael Page (vs. Cyborg Santos, Bellator 158) Yair Rodriguez (vs. Andre Fili, UFC 197) Michael Chandler (vs. Pitbull Freire, Bellator 157) Submission of the Year Ben Rothwell (vs. Josh Barnett, UFC on FOX 18) Nate Diaz (vs. Conor McGregor, UFC 196) Miesha Tate (vs. Holly Holm, UFC 196) MacKenzie Dern (vs. Montana Stewart, Legacy 61) Thiago Moises (vs. David Catillo, RFA 35) Comeback of the Year Michael Bisping (vs. Anderson Silva, UFN 84) Nate Diaz (vs. Conor McGregor, UFC 196) Dan Henderson (vs. Hector Lombard, UFC 199) Miesha Tate (vs. Holly Holm, UFC 196) Dominick Cruz (Career) Upset of the Year Michael Bisping (vs. Luke Rockhold, UFC 199) Bryan Barberna (vs. Warlley Alves, UFC on FOX 18) Joe Taimanglo (vs. Darrion Caldwell, Bellator 159) Brandon Moreno (vs. Louis Smolka, UFN 96) Zac Riley (vs. Hugo Viana, RFA 34) Shawn Tompkins Coach of the Year Jason Parillo Din Thomas John Kavanagh Marcus Marinelli Greg Jackson Trainer of the Year Jake Bonacci (S&C coach) Mike Dolce (Nutrionist) Lawrence Herrera (S&C coach) Loren Landow (S&C coach) George Lockhart (Nutrionist) Gym of the Year American Top Team SBG Ireland Jackson-Wink Arena American Kickboxing Academy Team Alpha Male Referee of the Year Marc Goddard Herb Dean John McCarthy Yves Lavigne Leon Roberts Ringcard Girl of the Year Arianny Celeste Brittney Palmer Mercedes Terrell Carly Baker Jhenny Andrade Leading Man Dana White Scott Coker Victor Cui Marc Ratner Jeff Novitzky Best Promotion UFC Bellator MMA One Championship KSW Legacy Personality of the Year Joe Rogan Jimmy Smith Jon Anik Matt Serra Brendan Schaub Analyst of the Year Brian Stann Dan Hardy Robin Black Chael Sonnen Dominick Cruz Best MMA Programming UFC Embedded Ultimate Fighter Lookin’ for a Fight The MMA Hour UFC Breakdown MMA Media Source of the Year MMA Junkie MMA Fighting Bloody Elbow Sherdog Flocombat MMA Journalist of the Year Ariel Helwani Shaun Al-Shatti Brett Okamoto Ben Fowlkes Karim Zidan MMA Clothing and Equipment Brand of the Year Hayabusa Bad Boy Virus Everlast Venum
