I can never quite understand why fighters have so many "visa problems" when fighting outside their native countries, especially when they know well in advance the location and date of their fight. Of course there is the occasional short notice fight that doesn't work out, but I think in most cases, it is a way out of a fight that may not favor the said fighter. I'm not saying that is the case here, but Mostapha Al-Turk will not be fighting our friend Rolles Gracie on Saturday at UFC 109. The UFC has brought in newcomer, Joey Beltran, who just finished Houston Alexander in January, to face off with Rolles. Reportedly, the UFC has also brought in TUF 10 contestant, Jon Madsen, as further back up. It's nice to see the promotion doing the best they can to provide viable opponents and let these guys get paid, but it stinks that a fighter has trained for months, only to have his opponent not fulfill their obligations.

Watch our exclusive interview with Rolles Gracie here:  Rolles Gracie Interview

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I have long been a proponent of HDNet and their commitment to the sport of MMA. The network owned by Mark Cuban, has brought us Strikeforce, WEC, Dream, K1, Sengoku, MFC and many other promtions, as well as some of the great up and coming fighters. Now, the network has partnered with King of the Cage and reality TV producer, Mark Burnett (Survivor), to broadcast a monthly MMA show, featuring fights and some of the sport's rising personalities. Plus, it's in HD! This is a great way to promote the sport, support smaller organizations and allow us to see guys that may be fighting in major promotions in the future. It should be interesting to see how they package the product with Burnett on board. KotC premieres on HDNet February 12th, so check your listings for time and channel.

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Strikeforce is looking to compete with the UFC in the MMA market, but Saturday's card put them more into a competition with Ambien. Despite an exciting moment or two, the overall poor production served as a great sleep aid. Hopefully their next big card, rumored for CBS in April, will more than make up for this show.

Full results and a little commentary are after the jump as always!

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The evolution of fighters to MMA continues, as upstart Shine Fights has signed 2009 Abu Dahbi champion, Braulio Estima. While details have not been disclosed, the contract is believed to be a multi-fight, U.S. exclusive deal. Estima is a Gracie Barra blackbelt and runs a BJJ academy in Birmingham, England. His debut is expected sometime in April, with exact dates and opponent to be named.

Shine fights has made some noise in recent months, signing Ninja Rua and boxer, Ricardo Mayorga. It should be interesting to see how they compete in an already crowded MMA market. HDNet perhaps???

(MMA Junkie)

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Bellator Fighting Championships continued to add to their 2010 roster by signing featherweight, Joe Warren. Warren made a big name for himself in 2009, as he took his world class wrestling and big time bravado to the sport of MMA. While eschewing self confidence, he shocked fans by taking out former WEC beltholder, Chase Beebe and top Japanese fighter, "Kid" Yamamoto, before losing to Bibiano Fernandez in the Dream Featherweight GP. Most of the rumors had Warren joining the WEC to take on the likes of Urijah Faber, Mike Brown and Jose Aldo, but for now, he is with Bellator.

Look for Bellator's second season as it kicks off on April 8th and will be featured on Fox Sports, NBC and Telemundo.

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Did you know there is a major MMA show this weekend? Unfortunately, I think most casual fans have no idea that burgeoning promotion, Strikeforce, has their first card of 2010 happening Saturday. So why is this? Well, no Fedor for one. The promotion has spent much time, money and CBS support, to promote the Russian heavyweight. I think this has kind of left their other shows without the fanfare and promotion of the CBS broadcasts. Tomorrow night features two title fights and two big-time appearances, yet it is somewhat lost when it comes to awareness levels. I hope Strikeforce doesn't fall into the "Kimbo Trap", that EliteXC did, where they put all their money on one fighter and don't promote the rest of the roster properly.

Get the fight-by-fight preview after the jump!

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