Jay Hieron

“Just got my release from BELLATOR..Time to work my way up too the top,” an excited Hieron posted on Twitter.

However, when pressed for details by NBC Sports, Hieron broke the situation down in more detail, saying, “I asked for a rematch with Askren and they said no…to go back through the tournament. That just didn’t make sense to me cause I thought I beat him already.”

“I had to pay them back my signing bonus, but at this point in my career, I would rather do that than sit on the shelf,” Hieron revealed.

Now, Hieron will look to get back inside the Octagonstarting with a fight at Legacy FC 12 on July 13 against an opponent who has yet to be named.

The New York native holds an overall record of 22-5 with wins over Brent Weedman, Rick Hawn, Pat Healy, Jason High, and Jake Ellenberger.

PHOTO CREDIT – STRIKEFORCE/BELLATOR

“I’m very motivated heading into this fight with Hieron,” said Hawn through a press release from the promotion. “It’s just one last fight and then I’ll be able to take a little break. I’m just looking forward to getting this fight over with, getting out of there with a win, and then enjoying some time off after I earn my title shot.”

Hawn’s supreme confidence stems from the fact he is not only physically prepared but feels he’s already faced the hardest draw in the Bellator Season 4 Welterweight Tournament field and exited the bout with a win.

“I think Lyman Good was the toughest guy in the division, besides me of course. I’m not looking past Jay at all. He’s a really good athlete and a really good fighter, but honestly I feel like Lyman was a tougher fight for me than Jay’s going to be,” the talented judoka explained. “Lyman is really young, and he was just an animal in there. I don’t really see Jay being as strong or as quick as Lyman was. So I’m definitely not taking Jay lightly, but I feel like I have him covered.”

Hawn also encouraged folks to tune in based on the pace he plans to set due to the importance of the match-up and the less-restrictive format of tournament finals, saying, “I try to go balls to the wall in every fight, but especially in this one because it’s the finals. There’s going to be elbows and there’s going to be no holding back. I’m going to be going all out because this fight’s a big deal. This is what I’ve been training for, so I’m putting everything into it.”

Fans can find out who will secure the crack at Askren and a $100,000 payday starting at 9:00 PM EST on MTV2 with other notable main card match-ups including Strikeforce/UFC veteran Joe Riggs facing Bellator staple Bryan Baker and former WEC bantamweight champ Chase Beebe making his Bellator debut.

PHOTO CREDIT – BELLATOR

News of the bout was reported by MMAJunkie. Five Ounces of Pain was also able to learn the attached event will mark the first show of Season 4.

Hieron is winner of his last seven fights including victories over Joe Riggs, Jesse Taylor, and Jason High. However, New York native has been sidelined since January 2010 after being vastly underused by Strikeforce, then subsequently receiving his release from the company. He is 19-4 overall in his career with eleven finishing performances and success against Pat Healy and Jake Ellenberger.

His opponent on 3/5, Carl, is a Bellator veteran who holds a 14-2 record with nine wins coming by way of submission. His last appearance in a ring came this past August at Bellator 26 and resulted in a first-round Guillotine Choke of Tyler Stinson.

Assuming the fight takes place as expected, Hieron and Carl round out the tournament field joining Rick Hawn, Brent Weedman, Dan Hornbuckle, Chris “The Assassin” Lozano, Jim Wallhead, and Lyman Good in the quest to snatch Ben Askren‘s title as divisional champion.

PHOTO CREDIT – BELLATOR

According to a press release from Bellator, the 19-4 welterweight will be joining the crop of 170-pounders competing in the promotion’s forthcoming divisional tournament with the winner ultimately advancing to face current champ Ben Askren.

When asked about his decision to sign with Bellator, the XTreme Couture original replied, “At this point in my career, I want to stay as active as possible, and the tournament format allows me to do that. It’s a great organization, and it’s just the perfect fit.”

Hieron, who Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney labeled “a world-class fighter with serious talent,” has won nine of the last ten times he’s stepped into the ring including his last seven bouts. Among others, “The Thoroughbred” holds notable past victories against Joe Riggs, Jesse Taylor, and Jake Ellenberger.

“I finally got my release from Strikeforce… Y’all know what I’m about to do!!!!!!! I have been through a lot of sh*t this past year but I have trained the whole time. So all welterweights take notice – I’m coming for somebody’s head…”

The 34-year old “Thoroughbred” is 19-4 overall and is currently on a seven-fight win streak. Hieron’s last fight for Strikeforce was a unanimous decision victory over Joe Riggs at “Strikeforce – Miami”. Other than Riggs, he also has notable wins in his career over Jason High, Jesse Taylor, Pat Healy, and Jake Ellenberger.

The event is set for this Saturday evening from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California and will air live on Showtime.

Hieron’s previous opponent Nick Diaz was scratched from the bout after failing to submit to a drug test requested by the California State Athletic Commission.

Strikeforce President Scott Cokerhas since confirmed the match-up between Hieron and Taylor in a recent report to MMAJunkie.com.

Taylor has come a long way since his days boozing it up at the TUF house, racking up seven consecutive victories, with his most recent win coming in the DREAM organization.

Hieron is just happy to have an opponent after the recent collapse of his expected bout with Paul Daley at “Affliction: Trilogy” and the recent Nick Diaz drama. Hieron is also coming off of a winning streak as he has seen victory in his last five bouts fighting in the IFL, Night Of Combat and Affliction promotions.

EDITORS NOTE: FiveOuncesOfPain.com has recently been able to confirm through Bill Douglas of the California State Athletic Commission that Diaz never showed up for his drug test this afternoon and is not currently licensed to fight in California.

The news comes courtesy of a recent report from MMAFanhouse.com who confirmed the match-up through Hieron’s manager, Ken Pavia.

The unlikely championship bout came to fruition after Joe Riggs was pulled from fight with Diaz due to a bad reaction suffered to a drug, and Jay Hieron being yanked from his expected match-up with Paul Daley because of the cancellation of “Affliction Trilogy”.

Apparently Hieron was all set to make his return to the UFC until it was discovered that he had recently inked a deal with “EA Sports MMA“, which ultimately brought an abrupt conclusion to the negotiations.

Not to worry, Hieron’s as excited as he could be being able to step right into a title shot with Strikeforce. Sometimes opportunities such as this one only come knocking once in the course of one’s life, it’s up to you what you do with it.

“I couldn’t turn down an opportunity to fight for a title shot,” Hieron was quoted as saying. “I had other offers on the table and with the UFC. I just signed a video game deal that I was obligated to [and] I couldn’t get out of it.

“UFC stepped up the offer for me. It was a great offer, but again, I signed a deal with EA Sports. I was definitely surprised and I was ready to go back to the UFC. I got a great opportunity with Strikeforce, though, and I’m excited to fight for a title.”

“Strikeforce: Carano vs.Cyborg” is set for August 15 from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California and will air live on Showtime.

Other than the headlining bout, the card will feature a Strikeforce light-heavyweight championship pitting Renato “Babalu” Sobral up against Gegard Mousasi, and a lightweight title rematch between Josh Thomson and Gilbert Melendez.

Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg is set to take place in San Jose, California from the HP Pavilion and will air live on Showtime.

The unlikely bout between the two is now looking very likely according to a recent report from GracieFighter.com. Unlikely because of the fact that the two men were both set to fight different opponents for different promotions during the month of August.

Hieron was previously expected to face off with Paul Daley at the August 1 “Affliction Trilogy” event that was recently scrapped, while Diaz was deep in training for a Strikeforce welterweight championship bout with Joe Riggs before Riggs was forced from the bout due to a recent hospitalization.

There is no news as to whether this possible bout between Diaz and Hieron will still hold title implications with Strikeforce.

Apparently Phil Baroni was briefly being considered as a replacement for Riggs in his bout with Diaz before the match-up was shot down by Showtime. It also seems as though Takanari Gomi was being sought as a replacement but those negotiations have not been successful.

Diaz has been on fire recently, winning his last five bouts and going 2-0 during his recent stint with Strikeforce, while Hieron has also put together a recent five fight win streak fighting for the now defunct IFL and Affliction promotions.

Editors Note: It appears as though it is being reported elsewhere that Hieron has been inked to a three-fight deal with Strikeforce, but Strikeforce’s Director of Communications Mike Afromowitz has recently confirmed to The Fight Network that those reports are completely false. He also stated that Diaz is still expected to appear on the August 15 card. Stay tuned to Five Ounces as we continue to keep you up to date on this still developing story.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com has contacted welterweight Jay Hieron on Friday afternoon to get his take on the situation. Hieron, who is currently on a five-fight winning streak, was scheduled to compete against British striker Paul Daley at the event originally headlined by Fedor Emelianenko.

“It sucks, man. Rough business,” said the Long Islander. When asked whether or not he knew if he would receive a percentage of his contracted pay, Hieron responded, “I don’t know, but I know I put everything on hold. We all put everything on hold…paid a lot of money for training…and I have a lot of bills and no paycheck.”

The 17-4 “Thoroughbred” trains with XTreme Couture, a gym also associated with fellow “Affliction: Trilogy” victims Chris Horodecki and Vitor Belfort.

However, as disappointed as Hieron seemed about things, he also maintained a positive disposition about what his future holds. “It is what it is”, said Hieron while expressing confidence that something positive would be coming his way in the near future.

Assuming that Strikeforce may be looking for a replacement to take Joe Riggs’ spot against Nick Diaz on August 15th he may not have to wait very long. Said Hieron on the potential throwdown with the Gracie-trained Californian, “Yeah, that’s a fight I’m trying to get.”

Given the bout’s potential as an immensely entertaining scrap between two skilled Mixed Martial Artists, as well for Hieron’s sake, MMA fans should all hope that silver-lining scenario comes to fruition.

The news of the signing was first reported by MMA Fanhouse.

Hieron will be making his second appearance in Affliction. He fought on the promotion’s “Day of Reckoning” card where he knocked out Jason High in 64 seconds. It was Hieron’s fifth consecutive victory.

Daley is a veteran of Cage Rage and had posted six straight wins of his own before falling to Jake Shields in 2008. Daley rebounded from the loss to Shields with a victory over John Alessio but lost by unanimous decision to Nick Thompson earlier this year.

However, Daley remained busy and quickly got back into the cage, posting first-round knockouts over lower-level opponents on March 29 and April 18. This will mark his third fight in the last six months.

Affliction III is expected to take place in the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Hieron stayed strong and recorded a first round knockout over High that proceeded Fedor’s first round knockout over Andrei Arlovski during the night’s advertised main event.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com was able to conduct a video interview Hieron soon after the victory and get his thoughts about competing in spite of the delay; his thoughts on competing for Affliction; his goals for ’09; and more.

Affliction officials have secured Bobby Green as a replacement in a fight against Dan Lauzon and the fight could be televised on the PPV instead of Hieron vs. High. Lauzon had originally been scheduled to fight Chris Horodecki but Horodecki was forced off the card after the Nevada State Athletic Commission did not license him for the bout after he failed a neurological exam.

The 22-year old Green is 7-1 and has finished his last three opponents inside the distance. A native of Inland Empire, Green has competed for the California-based Total Fighting Alliance as well as the Warriors Fighting Championship in Mexico.

It should be noted that the proposed Lauzon vs. Green matchup has not been finalized as Green must still complete all of his medicals before being licensed for the fight.

Despite the setback, Hieron has no regrets about his decision to sign with Affliction despite offers from the UFC, WEC, EliteXC, and Strikeforce, and is still working on competing on Oct. 11 at the Thomas & Mack anyway.

During an exclusive interview with FiveOuncesOfPain.com, Hieron revealed that he’s in talks with another promotion to fight on that same date.

“I might be fighting Oct. 11,” Hieron said during the interview. “It’s not confirmed yet but it would be a show in Vegas called X2 Superfights.”

While Hieron was hesitant to go into details due to the fact that he has not finalized a contract, sources revealed to us that Kim Couture, the wife of UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture, is involved with the planning of the card, which had originally been slated for Oct. 18 but was moved up a week in light of the Affliction postponement.

Matches have yet to be finalized but fights between Mike Whitehead vs. Allan Goes, Josh Haynes vs. Steve Byrnes, Mike Pyle vs. Brian Gassaway, and Hieron vs. Bryson Kamaka could all headline the show. It is also believed that John Alessio could fight on the show as well.

Hieron also still expects to be involved with Affliction’s next show on Jan. 17. Drew Fickett, his opponent for the Oct. 11 show, could still be his opposition.

“I believe so,” Hieron answered when asked if there was still a chance he would face Fickett during the re-scheduled card. “I mean, it’s kind of a long time from now but that’s the plan… That’s definitely a guy I want to fight. I’ve been training for him a couple of weeks now and that’s been a guy I’ve been visualizing in my head that I was going to fight.”

Hieron also revealed that like several other fighters, he first heard about the postponed of the show via the Internet.

“I heard it through the Internet first and then I talked to (Affliction Vice President) Tom (Atencio). Tom called me,” he said.

Prior to signing with Affliction, Hieron received competing offers from the four aforementioned promotions. So does he have any regrets about the choice that he made?

“I spoke to (Affliction) and I believe in those guys,” said Hieron. “I think they’ve got a lot of big things that are about to happen. It’s just one of those things that if it goes through, what they’ve got planned is big, and I’ll be happy to be a part of it… I haven’t fought for them yet but I was at the first show and even before I had signed with them I liked what I had seen. I knew Tom personally. Of course (because) it’s a new organization they’re going to have problems at first but I believe they will come through and it will be good.

“I don’t regret the decision I made. Plus, my contract is great because it’s non-exclusive and it gives me that option of fighting somewhere else with their approval. If I’m not fighting on one of their cards then I can go fight somewhere else. Which is pretty big in the game right now because all of the other organizations are pretty much only signing exclusive deals with fighters.”

While we spoke with Hieron prior to Saturday’s official announcement that Affliction will be working with Golden Boy Promotions, he was well aware of the rumors that had been circulating and feels that the news can only be construed as a positive.

“It’s incredible for the sport and for Affliction,” Hieron responded when asked to address the rumor. “That’s going to blow the roof off of the organization. Oscar De La Hoya is successful in everything that he does as a fighter and a promoter and I believe in him. I think it’s going to be a big positive influence that he’s going to be involved with it.”

The Xtreme Couture fighter also confirmed rumors that he recently made a change in representation. Formerly represented by Monte Cox, one of the pioneers when it comes to fighter management in MMA, Hieron is now working with Ken Pavia and his firm, MMA Agents.

“I worked with Monte Cox for a period of my career,” he began. “He’s a great manager but I just think I was looking for something different. He’s got a lot of guys and is a busy man. I just changed a lot of things up. I was a free agent for awhile. I didn’t just go out from Monte and jump into a relationship with a new manager. I took my time to see what worked for me and Pav was definitely a guy I wanted to work with. He works with a lot of guys in my camp and they’ve got a lot of respect for him. He does a lot of great things for them. We’re on the same page right now and hopefully we can do big things together.”

Hieron confessed that the decision to leave Cox wasn’t easy but that he felt he had to do what was best for his career.

“Of course it was tough (decision to leave). I had a relationship with the guy. He did things for me. But at the end of the day a fighter has to do what’s best for himself. I’m the one out there doing the fighting. I chose to leave him and go somewhere else because (while) he’s a great manager, he’s real busy right now.”

Hieron last fought on an IFL show in April, recording a TKO victory over Mark Miller in the first round and defending his welterweight title in the process. He has steamrolled through his competition inside the IFL and Fickett would be a great test for him to see just how far he’s come.

Fickett has won five out of his last six fights and has been at the center of a lot of controversy over the past couple of months. An ill-fated EliteXC fight against Jake Shields never took place due to injuries to both combatants at different times which led to scheduling issues for the fight. Fickett also tried to step in and fight Luke Stewart at a Strikeforce event in June but was already booked for a fight with Mark Pavelich’s MFC promotion in Canada on July 25.

What resulted from the scheduling mixup was nothing short of ridiculous as Pavelich trashed Fickett on various MMA forums and also left a scathing and now infamous voicemail on Fickett’s phone which made its rounds on the internet as well. According to his management, Fickett is back on track with his MMA career and is now looking forward to taking his career and training to the next level. Let’s hope so.

As for Affliction, this is a pretty damn good fight for them to put together if Fickett signs considering the lack of welterweight talent outside of the UFC right now. When Hieron signed with them earlier this month, one of the things that was harped on was who his opponents would be considering the lack of depth at welterweight outside the UFC. Fickett is a very good opponent who poses a lot of problems and if they can put this fight together then they’ve done more than I think most people thought they’d be able to do for Hieron’s first fight.

“They came and offered me what I thought I was worth, and I’m happy to be a part of it,” he said.

“I’m finally going to see where my career’s going,” he said. “Now I can just put my mind at ease and train and know I have a home. Get back to what I love doing, and that’s competing.”

I love that Hieron’s going to get an opportunity to shine on a bigger stage. He was once with the UFC but it was so early in his career and he was fed to a superstar in the making in Georges St. Pierre in his first UFC bout. That didn’t make for an especially impressive debut. Since that time, however, Hieron has only gotten better. He’s found a great camp to work with and he has absolutely shined since he signed on with the IFL, going 7-2 with the promotion and capturing their welterweight championship in the process. With the IFL going under, however, Hieron was left in a state of flux and had to make a move on where to go next.

As much as I would have liked to seen Hieron back in the UFC with the best 170 lbs. fighters in the world, Affliction will give him an opportunity to stand out in a less crowded division. Actually, it’s a division that’s really only occupied by one other guy right now and that’s Hieron’s teammate Mike Pyle. So while finding worthy opponents at this point is an obstacle that Affliction has to overcome, it’s good to see that Hieron is finally getting his due.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com learned of this news Wednesday afternoon while speaking with his manager, Monte Cox.

According to Cox, Hieron is considering offers from Affliction, Strikeforce, the AFL, and EliteXC. Thus far, the UFC has not expressed an interest.

At one point it was thought that Hieron could be a prime asset in a reported acquisition of select assets from the IFL by the UFC’s parent company, Zuffa. However, no official announcement has been made yet by Zuffa or the IFL regarding an acquisition. Cox stated that at one point it appeared several contracts were going to be transferred and that for some inexplicable reason, the IFL went ahead and released all of its fighters.

Five Ounces of Pain has heard from multiple sources in recent days that there is existing doubt as to whether Zuffa’s deal with the IFL ever was completed.

ShoXC is patterned after Showtime’s boxing series ShoBox, which has been a springboard for the career of many young boxers. Showtime is hoping that ShoXC will have the same impact on mixed martial arts.

If nothing else, the show has great timing in the sense that it feels like it’s been months since we’ve had live MMA to watch. While the card doesn’t boast any huge names, there are fighters on the card with a lot of potential. On paper, I also think the matchmakers have done a good job as far as styles are concerned.

The show will also feature the debut of Mauro Ranallo and Stephen Quadros as an announce team. The team garnered strong fan support on an individual basis during their broadcast stints with Pride. However, they had never been on the air at the same time until this show.

Here’s my breakdown of what to watch for:

K.J. Noons vs. Edson Berto – This fight could prove to be a sleeper in the mold of Sam Stout vs. Spencer Fisher. You have two lighter weight guys with strong striking backgrounds.

In the case of Berto, he also has a strong ground game and is notorious for tapping guys with his heel hook. Berto is a true mixed martial artist and it boggles my mind why more people don’t talk about him. If he was in UFC, people would be drooling.

As for Noons, he’s a hell of a boxer who had a buzz surrounding him heading into his fight against Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett during EliteXC’s debut show on February 10. Bennett caught Noons and dropped him cold and Noons hasn’t fought in an MMA bout since (he competed in a pro boxing match, and won). This is his chance to regain some of the momentum he lost after losing to Bennett.

If Noons gives up boxing and focuses solely on MMA, he could be a star because his boxing is unreal. We didn’t get a chance to see it vs. Bennett but hopefully we’ll get to see it Friday.

My prediction is that Berto will win in the second round via submission.

Jeremiah Metcalf vs. Jaime Jara - This match was originally supposed to be a rematch between Metcalf and Aaron Wetherspoon in a bout that would unify the Gladiator Challenge and King of the Cage welterweight titles. However, Wetherspoon is injured and pulled out of the fight yesterday.

Stepping in for Wetherspoon will be Jara, a 37-year old tough as nails fighter who took the fight on next to no notice. Jara is the Gladiator Challenge middleweight champion and has also held the GC heavyweight and light heavyweight titles in the past. He has to cut to fight at 185 lbs. and now is faced with the task of cutting to an agreed upon match weight of 175 lbs. That dude’s life must have sucked the last few days.

Jara is a good wrestler who has worked hard to improve his boxing. He’s fought Rashad Evans (lost), Carter Williams (won), and Anthony Ruiz (holds three wins over him) so he won’t be feeling any pressure fighting for Showtime.

There’s been some talk that the match could be title vs. title but I don’t see how the state of California would allow a 170 lbs. title be on the line against a fighter weighing in at 175 lbs. We’ll have to see how this plays out.

Metcalf is a 26-year old freestyle fighter who trains with Gene Fields out of Team Voodoo. He’s a very well-rounded fighter who has good Greco-Roman wrestling skills. He’s going to be giving up a lot of size to Jara so who knows if he’ll be able to utilize those wrestling skills.

Metcalf has great cardio so his best bet may be to keep the fight standing and try to wear Jara down since he’s coming into the fight on short notice.

I’m going to pick Metcalf by unanimous decision. If Jara had more time to prepare, the outcome would be different.

Aaron Rosa vs. Jefferson Silva – Watch out for Jefferson Silva! He has a K-1 background and trains with Mario Sperry out of Brazilian Top Team. He’s a rangy Muay Thai striker with some Jiu-Jitsu training that has star potential written all over him. The only thing that is holding him back is his conditioning.

That could be a problem for Silva because Rosa has been a sparring partner for Tito Ortiz for Ortiz’s last two fights. His conditioning is excellent and he has a lot of heart.

Rosa likes to stand up but he’s got some ground skills. If Silva has top position and gets sloppy, Rosa will be a threat to triangle him.

These two will stand and trade early and if Silva doesn’t take Rosa out early, we easily could see an upset. In spite of that possibility, I’m still picking Silva to win the fight and come out of the show with a lot of people talking about him.

Muhsin Corbbrey vs. Lee Gibson – Besides Silva, Corbbrey is the other fighter on this card that people need to watch out for. I’m really impressed with him as he’s a smart guy who is extremely competitive.

Corbbrey is a professional boxer who has competed in professionally in Muay Thai as well. Don’t stereotype him though because he’s not just a striker. He also competes in grappling tournaments and has won events such as NAGA and ISCF. He trained Jiu-Jitsu with Lloyd Irvin and now works on his ground game with UFC fighter Din Thomas.

Gibson is a tough dude who is a former Army Ranger and served 16 months in Iraq as a private security contractor. He splits his time between Kansas City and Las Vegas. He works in KC as a fireman and trains MMA in Vegas with Tony Fryklund.

Gibson just recently fought for Richard Steele’s Steele Cage Promotions on July 7, defeating Talon Hoffman via TKO at 2:25 in the second round. He’s a solid fighter and Corbbrey will have to bring his A-game in order to win.

Finishing Gibson won’t be easy, which is why I am picking Corbbrey to win via unanimous decision.

Chris David vs. Scott Jorgenson - David is trained by UFC fighter David Terrell out of the Nor Cal Fighting Alliance. He has a record of 8-5-1 and is a perfect 3-0 when fighting for the Gladiator Challenge promotion.

David has been training in martial arts since the third grade and wrestled during high school. When he first got involved with MMA he was almost exclusively a wrestler, however, he’s made strides in recent years in all other aspects of MMA.

It’s good that his stand up has improved because that’s where he needs to keep the fight in order to win. Jorgenson has much better wrestling credentials, having been a three-time All-Pac 10 selection as a freestyle wrestler while at Boise State.

I expect Jorgenson to win the fight in the first round via ground and pound.