Toby Frickin' Imada

On Friday night's Bellator FC, lifelong journeyman Toby Imada catapulted himself into the major leagues with a never-before-seen inverted upside-down triangle choke that left top ten lightweight Jorge Masvidal tumbling to the mat unconscious. How huge an upset was that? About as big an upset as when that iceberg defeated the Titanic via TKO back in 1912. For two and a half rounds Imada got the worst of the stand-up exchanges, and as expected Masvidal was cruising into his slot in the finals, where he'd be facing Eddie Alvarez at a later date. Now, with that "submission of the year" candidate, it's going to be Imada versus Alvarez in a Bellator FC lightweight tournament finale that's suddenly been infused with storyline and drama. Woot!

Observations From My Couch: Bellator FC Week 1

• I applaud Bellator FC's efforts to create a roster of Latino fighters, but damn, it must've sucked being one of the lone few white fighters on that card. Ben Greer and Greg Loughran probably got a broom closet as a locker room.
• Toby Imada winning is like watching your hard-drinking Vietnam veteran uncle, who usually winds up passed out on some street corner, finally haul off a knock out some big teenager who's been bothering him for ages. Good for him.
• Eddie, Eddie, Eddie... why do you insist on scaring us with these stray punches that end up stumbling you?
• Was it me or did Nick Agallar's boxing footwork look more akin to a session of the arcade game "Dance Dance Revolution"? Dude, you knew you were facing a skilled striker, right?
• Jorge Masvidal looked good, but was that his woman that was jumping up and down after he won? If so, holy mama!

Predictions for Bellator Fighting Championships: Week 1

The debut of the Bellator Fighting Championships is tonight in Hollywood, Florida (it airs tomorrow on ESPN Deportes), and the event features the opening rounds of the organization's eagerly anticipated lightweight and featherweight eight-man tournaments. Some of the best Latino (or somewhat Latino) fighters around are on tap, including Eddie Alvarez, Jorge Masvidal, Nick Agallar and, um, some others. Anyway, MMA Journalist has analyzed the match-ups to make the following rock-solid predictions:

• Eddie Alvarez vs. Gordita Supreme - This bout pits a top-ten heavy-handed 155-pound slugger against a warm, pillowy flatbread filled with seasoned ground beef, sour cream, lettuce and a blend of three cheeses. Alvarez has had trouble with different cheeses in the past, but look for him to score the KO late.
• Jorge Masvidal vs. Fiesta Burrito - A dangerous striker from American Top Team takes on a warm, soft, flour tortilla wrapped around seasoned ground beef, cheddar cheese, seasoned rice and Fiesta Salsa in this one. Expect a stand-up war with Masvidal emerging victorious.
• Nick Agallar vs. Double Decker Taco - Agallar brings strong wrestling and a ton of experience into the ring, but he's matching up against a warm, soft, flour tortilla spread with hearty beans and wrapped around a crunchy corn taco shell filled with seasoned ground beef, lettuce and cheese. Look for Double Decker Taco to give Agallar fits both on the feet and on the ground.
• Toby Imada vs. a packet of mild Border Sauce - Toby Imada may have been around forever, but that packet of mild Border Sauce is simply going to kick his ass.

Bellator Fighting Championships Signs Diego Marquez

Bellator Fighting Championships, the Latin-based mixed martial arts promotion that will air on ESPN Deportes, has just signed Diego Marquez to its eight-man lightweight tournament, according to a statement released by the fledgling organization. Marquez, the older cousin of Dora the Explorer, now joins the ranks of Eddie Alvarez and Jorge Masvidal in the 155-pound division. Amongst that level of competition, he will have his work cut out for him. "Diego Marquez is an eight-year-old rough and tumble action-adventure hero on the go," says Bellator FC CEO Bjorn Rebney. "An Animal Rescuer with an intense love of animals, Diego invites preschoolers to help him race to the rescue with a host of amazing gadgets and vehicles. Go, Diego, Go!" Expect the prerecorded BFC episodes to air in April.

Japanese MMA Scene Still Very Relevant

Tomorrow night, at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan, Sengoku will trudge forward with its sixth event - an event that brings us the final two rounds of its lightweight and middleweight grand prix tournaments, plus some moderately interesting bouts featuring Takanori Gomi, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (yes, the brother of that dude on TUF 8), Jorge Masvidal and Joe Doerksen. Like DREAM, Sengoku is struggling to fill the void Pride FC left behind, and like DREAM, there are some compelling match-ups on deck that could affect fighter rankings worldwide. And sadly, like DREAM, Sengoku will most likely garner the attention of only hardcore fans here in the States. In the past year, Sengoku and DREAM have given studs like Roger Gracie, Eddie Alvarez, Josh Barnett and a ton of others a platform to show the international audience that they're bad, bad men and worthy of respect. It's behooves any true MMA fan to visit sites like http://Sherdog.com and http://www.japan-mma.com/ and check these events out.