Josh Barnett, Cole Escovedo, Rich Franklin News, More

- Former UFC Heavyweight Champion and PRIDE veteran Josh Barnett returned to MMA when he headlined the debut event of the upstart Impact FC organization this past Saturday. Barnett (26-5) faced a mammoth former super heavyweight in Geronimo dos Santos (18-10). Barnett used a pair of takedowns to secure dominant position and unleash a ground-and-pound barrage to force the 1st round stoppage.

- DREAM/WEC veteran Cole Escovedo (16-5) was defeated by 19 year old Michael McDonald (10-1) for the Tachi Palace Fights Bantanweight Championship last week in Lemoore, California. McDonald won via KO at 1:12 of the second round. McDonald avenged his only loss in his KO defeat of Escovedo.

- Bellator Fighting Championships has signed Travis Reddinger (14-2 MMA, 0-0 BFC) to the organization. Reddinger has joined its eight-man season-three bantamweight tournament, which crowns Bellator's first-ever 135-pound champion. Reddinger, a 5-foot-10 fighter nicknamed "The Hurricane" who enters the tourney with a four-fight win streak, joins other confirmed participants Danny Tims, Ulysses Gomez and Nik Mamalis.

- World Extreme CagefightingŪ lightweight star and contestant on Season One of The Ultimate FighterŪ Alex Karalexis will speak to The Street Teen Organization in Las Vegas, Nev. on Tuesday, July 20 at 5:00 PM PT. Karalexis, who lives and trains in Las Vegas, will look to rebound from a loss in his last WEC appearance when he returns to the cage later this year. Street Teens is a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting homeless, abandoned and at-risk youth, ages 12-21, in the Las Vegas area.

- UFC light heavyweight Rich Franklin got good some good news from doctors on Monday. The former champ, who broke his arm in a UFC 115 main-event victory over Chuck Liddell, does not need surgery on the left limb, and a targeted December or January return date is still a possibility. Franklin's business manager, J.T. Stewart, said that the fighter's full-arm cast was removed and replaced with a smaller, lighter forearm cast.

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