I, like many, believed Bibiano Fernandes had signed with the UFC and had fulfilled everyone's dreams. Sadly, Bibi was swayed by ONE FC after the verbal agreement with the UFC and decided to weigh his options. I only say sadly because of the way it all played out, not that he made the wrong decision...it's actually a very smart to lay everything on the table and take his time to decide a major career move. I'm not Bibi and have no idea what he needs or wants out of career, but he must strongly consider being paid really good money now by a regional versus the benefits of fighting in the biggest promotion on the planet. Consider this though, the money offered by a promotion is only part of the benefit; sponsorships, insurance, locker room pay, and identity residuals far outweigh the actual promotion compensation. ONE FC may or may not have those kinds of benefits at their disposal, I'm not that knowledgeable about their operations. But it would seem that since Bibi has partial Canadian residence, his value in North America would appear far more lucrative than in Asia, as well as being able to fight closer to his family. Personally, I'd like to see him compete against the best in the UFC because I think he IS one of the best.

Brett Rogers, of offshore betting fame here on BE, signed with Bellator in hopes of resurrecting his career and will appear at the 'Summer Series' kickoff on June 22. I'm actually looking forward to seeing Da Grim back in action on TV, mostly to see where he is both physically and mentally. There is a lot riding on this bout against Kevin Asplund so it's really a make or break point in Rogers' career.

I can see both sides of the coin in Paul Daley's decision to leave Strikeforce, but honestly it would have been better if he had simply requested to take fights outside the promotion like he has in the past if he wants to stay active. As far as Strikeforce is concerned, this isn't a bad decision on their part since he's lost the last three anyway.

Joey Beltran is back! Seems like I wrote that before in a past article...hmm deja vu all over again. His back and forth signings seems like a good case study for a UFC minor league to me. Can we re-nickname Beltran 'Yo-Yo Man' now? I never understood whether he executed Mexicans or was a Mexican that was an executioner anyway. The English language is so vague.

Derek Brunson steps in as a replacement for Terry Martin to face Kendall Grove for the inaugural ShoFIGHT middleweight title. Not a big deal unless you consider what's at stake for Brunson. First off he's facing Grove who is always dangerous even if a bit inconsistent. The main point is that Brunson is fighting on basically three days notice, putting his undefeated streak and Strikeforce cred on the line for a short notice fight against a UFC vet like Grove speaks volumes about both his confidence and possibly his inexperience. A win though will solidify his standing in the middleweight division.

Please check out past issues

MMA Transaction Wire: May 31- June 4

MMA Transaction Wire: The May Round-Up

MMA Transaction Wire: May 25-30

MMA Transaction Wire: May 18-24

MMA Transaction Wire: May 11-17