Cris “Cyborg” Justino made history In Los Angeles, CA, Saturday night, defeating champion Julia Budd by fourth round TKO to become the Bellator women’s featherweight champion.
She now has won titles in the UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator, and Invicta, all at 145 pounds.
Justino turned it on in the fourth round, unleashing a barrage of fists and knees on Budd without an answer, resulting in referee Mike Beltran calling the fight.
Up until that point, Cyborg (22-2-0-1) hadn’t done anything outstanding in terms of nearly finishing the fight, but did enough in the clinch, up against the fence, and on the mat to earn herself the rounds she needed. Budd was in the fight the entire time, but couldn’t answer Cyborg’s pressure, nor had any effective offensive to put Cyborg on the defensive.
The 36-year-old Budd (13-3) was the company’s first women’s featherweight champion, having won the title in March 2017. Since then, she has fought sparingly but did have three successful title defenses. In a unique fact, all four of her title fights before tonight were in Thackerville, Oklahoma. She went into the fight on an 11-fight win streak dating back to 2012.
This was Justino’s Bellator debut after a multi-year run in the UFC. They chose not to resign her after her deal ran out in 2019.
In other results:
– The Bellator featherweight Grand Prix rolled along with Darrion Caldwell advancing in the tournament with a quick and impressive first round submission win over the very tough and previously unbeaten Adam Borics. Caldwell got inside early and controlled Borics with elbows and fists while on his back, sinking in a rear naked choke for the tap and win. The former Bellator bantamweight champion will now face A.J. McKee in the tournament semifinals.
– Sergio Pettis made his promotional debut after a long run in the UFC, submitting Alfred Khashkyan in the first round in a bantamweight fight.
– Dave Meltzer favorite and once uber prospect Aaron Pico was purposefully placed on the undercard and showed out nicely with a second round knockout win over Daniel Carey.
– Also on the undercard, former UFC fighter Curtis Millender made his Bellator debut and picked up a win over Moses Murrietta by unanimous decision…BJJ ace A.J. Agazarm picked up a third round submission win over Adel Altamimi.
Former WWE Champion Jack Swagger (aka Jake Hager) will return to action this October for Bellator MMA.
ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reported Wednesday night that the heavyweight will compete in his third pro fight at Bellator 231 against Anthony Garrett, set for October 25th at Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun Arena.
The 37-year-old Hager is 2-0 in his young MMA career with two first round submission victories, both coming this year. The 29-year-old Garrett is 4-2 and his six fights have all come in St. Louis’ Shamrock FC promotion. His last outing was a TKO loss in June.*
The two men actually have a common opponent in J.W. Kiser as Garrett defeated him by TKO in his final amateur fight.
The show will also feature the promotional debut of former UFC fighter and current Bare Knuckle FC Champion Bec Rawlings in addition to a main event of Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson 2, a rematch from their UFC days.
*An earlier version of this post incorrectly said Garrett hadn’t competed in two years.
It didn’t take long for MMA free agent Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino to find a new home as Bellator MMA president Scott Coker announced Monday she has signed an exclusive multi-fight, multi-year deal with the company.
Coker told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani that the deal “is the biggest contract in women’s MMA history.” The amount of fights, guaranteed money, and date/opponent for the 34-year-old’s first fight weren’t announced.
TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter noted on Twitter that Ronda Rousey made $3 million for her UFC 207 fight against then-champion Amanda Nunes.
Shortly following her July UFC 240 win over Felicia Spencer, Dana White announced the company was “out of the Cyborg business” and waived their 90-day exclusive negotiating window, ending a tumultuous yet profile several years between the two sides.
Coker and Justino have done business before in Strikeforce where she rose to prominence, notably in a fight against Gina Carano in August 2009 where she won the promotion’s first women’s featherweight title via first round TKO.
Bellator returns to its unofficial home of San Jose, CA, with two title fights and several former UFC fighters on an interesting main card that can be seen on DAZN.
The main event is welterweight champion Rory MacDonald vs. Jon Fitch, the final first round bout in the company’s Welterweight Grand Prix. The winner will face Neiman Gracie next in the semifinals while Michael “Venom” Page will face Douglas Lima next month in the other semifinal.
The 29-year-old MacDonald is coming off a lopsided 2nd round TKO loss to middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi in September. This will be the first defense of the belt he won over Lima in a January 2018 decision. The 41-year-old Fitch has won five straight over a near four year stretch and had a successful debut against Paul Daley in his promotional debut last May.
The co-main event features women’s featherweight champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane against Veta Arteaga in the co-main event, a clash of former Bellator light heavyweight champions in Phil Davis and Liam McGeary, former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson vs. Adam Piccolotti, and relative unknowns Gastos Bolanos vs. Nathan Stolen in the main card opener.
Live cageside coverage by Dave Meltzer kicks off at 10 PM Pacific/7 PM Eastern.
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GASTON BOLANOS (4-1) VS. NATHAN STOLEN (8-4), FEATHERWEIGHTS
First round: Bolanos is the local favorite fighting out of Dublin. Frank Trigg is your referee. Both exchanging punches. Bolanos landing more solid shots. Stolen tried for a takedown but it was stuffed. Stolen took him down, but Bolanos swept to the top. He let Stolen up. Bolanos immediately dropped him with a left hook and landed a few punches on the ground and it’s over. Both actually landed lefts at the same time but Bolanos had more power. The stoppage looked quick as it was two glancing shots on the ground when it was called off.. 2:21
PHIL DAVIS (19-5, 1 NO CONTEST) VS. LIAM MCGEARY (13-3), LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS
First round: Davis with low kicks.. McGearly swinging. Both wary early. Nice left by McGeary. Davis is not looking to take himn down. McGeary is very good with unique subissions, but so is Davis. Davis with a lot of low kicks. McGeary witha Superman punch. Davis with another low kick. Fans started to boo late in the round. Head kick by Davis. Davis 10-9
Second round: McGeary out with low kicks. Nice overhand right by Davis. Davis with more low kicks. Another low kick by Davis. Davis with knees to the body. Davis landed a right. Another low kick by Davis. McGeary missing his punches. Davis with another low kick. McGearly hurt him with a right. Davis with more low kicks. Davis’ round 20-18r.
Third round: McGeary moving forward but not catching him. Davis took him down. Davis got his back. Davis landing a lot of punches from that position. McGeary tried a triangle but Davis got out of it. Davis with elbows and punches. Davis kicked him in the head as McGeary got up. McGeary with a head kick. Davis is really tried. Davis landed a left and got a takedown. Davis is dropping elbows and has his back. Davis is working for a choke and McGeary tapped out, evidently from strikes. 4:11
Davis wanted a title shot.
BENSON HENDERSON (26-8) VS. ADAM PICCOLOTTI (11-2), LIGHTWEIGHTS
First round: Piccolotti is the lccal favorite. Piccolotti with a low kick. Piccolotti working for a takedown and got his back. Piccolotti is working for a choke now. Piccolotti landing punches from that position. Hendeosn up. Piccolotti pulled him back down with a neck crank. Henderon broke the grip. Piccolotti again working for a choke. Henderons back up and free. The crowd is going insane. Henderson with an elbow and landed a big punch. Low kick by Hendeosn. Another low kick by Henderosn. Henderson hurt him with a head kick at the bell. Piccolotti 10-9 Super round.
Second round: Henderson with a jumping knee. Piccolotti took him down. Henderson back up. Henderson got a takedown. Henderons has his back now. Piccolotti escaped but Henderson took him down again. Henderson working for a guillotine. Henderson throwing knees. Piccolotti got out of it. Henderson ducking low and scored another takedown. Henderson is on top. Piccolotti working for a leglock and Henderson punched him. Now Piccolotti working for a shoudlerlock but Henderosn escaped. This fight is great. Henderson’s round so 19-19.
Third round: Henderson threw a kick and Piccolotti took him down. Henderson working for a triangle. Henderson working for a guillotine Piccolooti is trying to punch his way out and did and is now on top. Piccolotti in side control. Piccolotti with a knee to the body. Piccolotti tried a Kimura and Henderson flipped him over to escape. Piccolotti took him down again. Piccolotti has his back. Picolott working for a choke again. One minjute left. Henderson out and reversed to the top. Henderson was dropping elbows. I have Piccolotti 29-28. Geat fight.
Scores: 29-28 Henderson 29-28 Piccolotti 29-28 Henderson. Even though Piccolotti is local, the crowd was definitely pro-Henderson as the bigger star and heavily cheered the decision. But then people heavily booed Henderson doing his interivew. Henderson said he loved San Jose. He mentioned his wife was due next week for her thrid baby.
ILIMA-LEI MACFARLANE (9-0) VS. VETA ARTEAGA (5-2) FOR BELLATOR WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
First round: Macfarlane pushed her into the cage. Arteaga landing short punches to the head while Macfarlane is working for a takedown. She’s working very hard but did get the takedown but Arteaga is already back up. Macfarlane took her down again and got her back. Arteaga out of trouble. Arteaga landing good body punches from the top. Macfarlane working for a kneebar. Arteaga throwing knees. Macfarlane looks really tired. Arteaga has her against the cage and throwing some knees. Arteaga with some punches. Arteaga 10-9
Second round: Macfarlane got the takedown. Arteaga back up with minimal damage. Macfarlane is bleeding from the nose and tired. Arteaga landing punches. Both throwing and Arteaga is landing better shots. Macfarlane with a right. Arteaga wobbled Macfarlane late. 20-18 Arteaga
Third round: Macfarlane working for a takedown again. She got her down. Arteaga going for a triangle. Macfarlen landed an elbow and Arteaga’s head exploded. It’s sick blood. The cut is long and deep like a giant divot on Arteaga’s forehead. They are going to have to stop this. The doctor stopped it. They had no choice. It’s too bad for Arteaga as she was doing really well here but that cut was too deep to continue. 1:50
Macfarlane said she wants to give Arteaga a tilte match right away. She said she had her hands full, we were both bleeding and said I know who is next and that’s Veta. Macfarlane said she felt weird backstage, her legs weren’t right and had an adrenaline dump and was relly tired. She said that nobody wants to win a fight like that.
RORY MACDONALD (20-5) VS. JON FITCH (32-7-1, 1 NO CONTEST) FOR THE WELTERWEIGHT TITLE
First round: Macdonald hurt him with a punch and Fitch went for a takedown. MacDonald landing elbows. Fitch tripped him down but MacDonald has him tied up. MacDonald working for a Kimura. Fitch shot in and MacDonald sprawled. MacDonadl landed a good punch and Fitch back with one. MacDonald ladned a right. Fitch took him down and is on top. Fitch with body punches. Fitch 10-9
Second round: MacDonald with a front kick. Fitch tied him up against the cage. MacDonald with a head kick but Fitch caught his leg. Good right by MacDonald. Right by MacDonald. MacDonald landing more. Fitch with a body kick. Big right by MacDonald. Fitch with a right. Nice body shot by Fitch. Fitch moved in and took him down. MacDonald back up. MacDonald back up. MacDonald took Fitch down. MacDonald’s round, so 19-19.
Third round: Both traded punches. MacDonald ladned a kick. Fitch got another takedown. Fitch landing body punches. Fitch landng ;punches from the top. Ftch withj punches and elbows from the top. Fitch with all kinds of punches from the top. Fitch with punches and elbows. MacDonald working for an armbar. Fitch out of trouble. Fitch held him down the entire round. This was a one-sided rond, Almost a 10-8 but not quite enough damage,. 29-28 Fitch.
Fourth round: MacDonald with a head kick, Fitch tried a takedown and MacDonald on top and landing punches. Fitch is in trouble. Fitch escaped. MacDonald landing good punches. Fitch still trying for a takedown but MacDonald landing punches. elbow by MacDonald. Fitch got it to the ground. MacDonald back up. Another takedown by Fitch. Fitch landing body punhces. Fitch continaully landing punches from the top. Fitch with knees to the butt. Ftich continually landing punches. The ref ordered standup which made no sense since Fitch was pounding on him. Fitch’s round 39-37.
Fifth round: Ftich in with punches and going for a takedown. MacDonald bleeding from the right eye. MacDonald going for a triangle. MacDonald had his toes in the fence for 30 seconds and the ref never called it. Not that it made a difference. Fitch landing body punches. Fitch with more body punches and now head punches. Fitch with elbows to the body. Fitch with more punches to the head on the ground. Fitch outwrstled him. Fitch 49-46.
Scores: 48-46 Fitch 47-47 draw 47-47 draw
So with the majority draw, MacDonald retained the title and advances in the tournament and will defend his title against Neimamn Grace in Madison Square Garden on June 14th, which is a quick turnaround.
Fans hated the decision. So the basic gist is the two judges ruling it a draw gave both close rounds, one and four, to MacDonald. Neither is a bad call. All three judges went 10-8 for Fitch in round three. MacDonald hardly came off or fought like a champion and overall this was Fitch’s fight overall, but round-by-round you could give MacDonald one, two and four, but two of those were close and Fitch’s three and five were one-sided.
On Tuesday, Bellator MMA announced the field for their impending welterweight tournament, the first fight of the tournament, and how much it will cost U.S. based fans for a monthly subscription to DAZN.
The welterweight tournament has a solid field of ten fighters that include current champion Rory MacDonald, Michael “Venom” Page, Douglas Lima, Andrey Koreshkov, Ed Ruth, Neiman Gracie, Yaroslav Amosov, Lorenz Larkin, and Jon Fitch.
The first fight for the tournament will be Koreshkov vs. Lima for a third time on September 29th, the same show headlined by MacDonald vs. middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi and the promotion’s official debut on DAZN.
The final tourney field will have eight fighters so two of the fights will be “play in” fights to get into the tourney. There is also one fighter yet to be announced for the field of ten.
At the DAZN-hosted event, the fledgling sports streaming company will make their U.S. debut at $9.99/month with a one-month free trial. Just last month, Bellator announced a deal with DAZN which will see all of their fight events on the streaming platform with several exclusive shows. The rest will also be simulcast on Paramount Network.
In the final quarterfinal fight of the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament, Ryan Bader took just 15 seconds to stop King Mo, setting himself up for a date with Matt Mitrione in the semifinals.
The Bellator 199 main event in San Jose, CA, was over quickly after Bader dropped Mo with a hard left. Bader swarmed with ground and pound shots to end things quickly.
The final four in the Bellator heavyweight title tournament are Bader, Mitrione, Chael Sonnen, and Fedor Emelianenko.
The rest of the results from the main card on Paramount Network:
– Former UFC notable Jon Fitch made his Bellator debut a successful one in defeating Paul Daley by unanimous decision, albeit one that was not well received by fans.
– Cheick Kongo def. Javy Ayala by 1st round KO after a counter right hand and a few ground and pound shots (2:29)
– Aaron Pico def. Lee Morrison by 1st round TKO (1:10). Pico hit a body shot with a left and followed up with ground and pound for the relatively easy win.
– Adam Piccolotti submitted Carrington Banks in the third round (rear naked choke)-
A year and a half after the heavyweight title was stripped off the champion, Bellator MMA finally has a plan to crown a new champion and it’s a big one.
On Friday, the promotion announced to MMA Junkie that an eight-man heavyweight tournament Grand Prix is expected to begin in late-January with a conclusion in December 2018. The Grand Prix format is a favorite of Bellator president Scott Coker who famously last had a heavyweight Grand Prix in Strikeforce’s dying days.
The tournament is loaded with notable talent, making for some interesting potential matchups:
– Fedor Emelianenko
– Frank Mir
– Roy Nelson
– Matt Mitrione
– Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion Ryan Bader
– Rampage Jackson
– King Mo
– Chael Sonnen
Yes, you read that right. Sonnen will compete in the promotion’s heavyweight tournament without actually having fought at heavyweight before. He joins the newly re-signed Jackson, King Mo, and Bader — all of which have made their names at different weight classes. Mo and Jackson have fought each other at heavyweight while Mo has competed there several times over the past few years.
Bader’s inclusion is particularly interesting, given he just defended his light heavyweight gold for the first time last weekend. It’s unclear how this will affect the title going forward.
Mir was released from his UFC contract months after a USADA violation that put his career in doubt and signed with Bellator earlier this year. Mitrione is coming off a knockout of Emelianenko, while Nelson is coming off a win in his promotional debut.
No brackets were announced, but expect that to be part of of the official announcement that will happen at one of Bellator’s five remaining 2017 shows. In the Junkie piece, Coker said there will be one fight per event at seven different shows throughout the year. However, there wasn’t any mention of alternates if one of the tourney fighters gets injured.
The last Bellator heavyweight champion was Vitaly Minakov who last defended the title in April 2014 by downing Cheick Kongo. He was finally stripped in May 2016.
Gegard Mousasi announced this morning that he had signed a six-fight contract with Bellator, and immediately set his eyes on middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho, light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader, and Rory MacDonald.
Mousasi said that UFC’s offer was close to the Bellator offer, but he made his decision based on previously working for Scott Coker. He also said that after his UFC contract expired with his April 8th win over Chris Weidman, his fifth win in a row, that he had also talked to Russian promoters about going into boxing.
Mousasi is 31, but has had 50 MMA fights (42-6-2). He first became a star in Japan in 2006, with Pride, and won the middleweight title with Dream in 2008. He worked for Coker in Strikeforce from 2009 to 2013, before going to UFC. Mousasi was coming off five wins in a row. He was ranked as the number four contender for the middleweight title as of the weekend, behind only champion Michael Bisping, new interim champion Robert Whittaker, Yoel Romero, and Luke Rockhold.
Mousasi told Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour that he’s looking forward to winning a Bellator title, saying his first goal is the middleweight title, then moving up and challenging for the light heavyweight title. He also said he’d be interested in fighting at heavyweight. In 2009, as a heavyweight, Mousasi knocked out Mark Hunt in the first round in Japan.
“I worked before with Scott Coker,” he said. “I have no problems going to Bellator. I know how I’m going to get treated in Bellator and the opportunities I’m going to get there. After the fact (his contract expiring), I knew all the options were open. I wanted to have the best deal for me. In the end, Bellator was a better choice for me.”
Mousasi said the money wasn’t the factor. He didn’t say much negative about UFC, saying the company always treated him well, but did say the Reebok deal was one that left nobody happy and that they didn’t even make good shorts. He said that he thought he was ahead of Robert Whittaker and should have gotten the title match with Yoel Romero. He said that if he got offered that spot, he’d have been interested. He also said he believed if he was against either Whittaker or Bisping, that he’d be the favorite in both fights.
He said he’d also like to fight Wanderlei Silva and other legends, as well as MacDonald, saying that both are in their primes.
He didn’t say when his first fight would take place past that it would be in 2017, and said he wasn’t promised an immediate shot at Carvalho. Representatives of Carvalho contacted the MMA Hour during the interview with Mousasi and said that Carvalho would love to fight him.
After telling anyone that would ask that his in-cage career was done, 39-year-old Chael Sonnen will return to the action with Bellator MMA, announced via the Associated Press Thursday night.
A Bellator press release says Sonnen will fight at 205 pounds, but in a quote in the release, he says he’s not sticking to one weight class. Sonnen and his new boss Scott Coker will hold a conference call Friday while Sonnen is expected to be on screen at Bellator’s Friday night show on Spike.
Sonnen, who signed a multi-year, multi-fight deal, told the AP, “I’m a heel. Heels lie.” He also told the AP’s Greg Beacham that he wants his first fight to be in November: “The Bad Guy vs. The Bad Guy.” The second Bad Guy in that equation is assumed to be fellow Bellator signee and one-time Sonnen opponent-to-be Wanderlei Silva.
Sonnen also told Beacham that the reason he signed with Bellator and not UFC: “Zeros apostrophe S”.
“Chael is an incredible athlete that has competed at the very highest levels of the sport,” Bellator MMA President Scott Coker said, “I know that he is going to continue to do just that here at Bellator. When we were in the process of signing him, Chael was adamant that he wants to compete in three divisions here.
“He already has unfinished business with Wanderlei Silva, but he also wants to fight guys like Tito Ortiz, Fedor Emelianenko and even Rory MacDonald at middleweight. These are all fights that I’d be very inclined to watch, so hopefully we can put some, if not all of these matchups together starting before the end of the year.”
The longtime UFC middleweight contender came to prominence in 2009-10 during a run that saw him win three in a row en route to a shot at then-middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Sonnen had called out “The Spider” in promos and interviews as he evolved into a true character that was beloved by some and reviled by others.
After losing in heartbreaking fashion to Silva during their first 2010 meeting, Sonnen was put on the shelf for a year due to testing for elevated testosterone levels. He fought his way back to a big money rematch with Silva and was bested via 2nd round TKO.
The final three fights of his UFC career were at light heavyweight where he went 1-2 with a light heavyweight title shot and loss against then-champion Jon Jones in that mix. Sonnen was last seen getting beat by Rashad Evans by first round TKO in November 2013.
This summer, Sonnen completed a two-year ban from the Nevada State Athletic Commission due to testing positive for multiple drugs.
Bellator MMA is back on Spike TV with a show starting earlier than usual, at 8 pm eastern/5 pm pacific. Originally scheduled as a “tent-pole” show, the card has been ravaged by injury and tragedy and is a shell of what it once was. The show, from San Jose, lost the Josh Thomson vs. Michael Chandler fight, which would have been even more important given lightweight champion Will Brooks is no longer with the promotion. Jordan Parsons passed away when he was hit crossing the street by somebody who had no business driving.
Former Strikeforce Champion King Mo Lawal, fresh off his win in the Rizin Heavyweight tournament on their New Year’s Eve shows, takes on former UFC veteran Phil Davis, who won a one-night tournament of his own last September in Bellator in San Jose. The winner will get a shot at Champion Liam McGeary later this year. The rest of the card is mostly unknowns with another former Strikeforce fighter, Evangelista Santos, going up against Saad Awad in the co-main event. Santos fights on the same night that his more famous ex-wife Cris Cyborg makes her UFC debut in an odd coincidence.
Not a big crowd, but you wouldn’t expect it to be with a one fight show and no local stars. The crowd is about what WWE would draw for a house show in this building.
ANDRE FIALHO (7-0) VS. RICK REGER (7-1), WELTERWEIGHTS
First round: Fialho is from Portugal but he’s an AKA fighter out of San Jose, while Reger is also a Bay Area fighter. Reger with low kicks. Fialho knocked him down with a right. Fialho looks a lot bigger. Reger working for a takedown. Knee by Fialho. Low kick by Fialho. Fialho landing solid shots. He dropped him again but Reger back up. Fialho dropped him a third time with a right uppercut and finished him with a punch on the ground. 2:11
Fialho said that he wants to be world champion and he’s going to get that belt.
They just announced tonight’s show is dedicated to the memory of Jordan Parsons.
On the screen they are doing a music video somewhat like you’d see at a UFC live event. It’s updaed because it showed Andrey Koreshkov beating Benson Henderson.
ADAM PICCOLOTTI (7-0) VS. RAY WOOD (7-1), LIGHTWEIGHTS
First round: Piccolott is a Bay Area fighter who is he crowd favorite. Wood with a side kick. Another side kick by Wood. Nice head kick by Wood and Piccolotti took him down off that. Short slam by Piccolotti. Piccolotti with punches. Piccolotti with full mount and bow he’s got his back. He’s working for the choke already. . Now he’s working for a head and arm choke. Piccolloti with punches from the mount. He’s jumped on Wood’s back and is again working for a choke, and this time he’s got it. Piccolotti looked quite good on the ground here. 3:17
They noted Piccolotti was supposed to fight Parsons. He said it was tough and emotional but he pushed through it. He said he wants to fight as much as possible and doesn’t want to wait six months to fight again.
JEREMIAH LABIANO (9-3) VS. JOSH SAN DIEGO (6-1), BANTAMWEIGHTS
First round: Both are Bay Area fighters. Labiano from Hayward and San Diego from Milpitas. He must get teased ridiculously with that name. San Diego tagged him. San Diego with a high kick. San Diego with a takedown. Labiano up. Knee by San Diego. Labiano going for a takedown but can’t get it. San Diego threw a kick and Labiano used it to take him down and threw some punches late. 10-9 San Diego
Second round: Body kick by San Diego. Not much happening this round. San Diego moving fowward. He’s throwing kicks that are being blocked. Now Labiano with a kick that was blocked. Labiano in with a punch and San Diego with a body kick. Left by and knee by San Diego. Boyd kick by Labaino. Body kick by Labiano. Labiano going for a takedown. San Diego with elbows and Labiano took him down. San Diego back up. San Diego threw a spinning elbow at the bell. Close round for Labiano. 19-19.
Third round: Body shot by Labiano. Right by San Diego. Body kick by San Diego. Spinning backfist by Labiano somewhat blocked. San Diego moving forward. Labiano with a series of kicks and now going for a takedown. Labiano got him down. John McCarthy ordered a standup. San Diego blocked a takedown, ended up on top in the mount and pounded him out with wild and hard punches and elbows as the round came to a close. San Diego won the round in the last 15 seconds. 29-28 San Diego.
Scores: All scored it 29-28 for San Diego.
They announced Michael Chandler will face Patricky Pitbull Freire on June 24th in St. Louis for the vacant lightweight title. Chandler is talking about Jordan Parsons and the Bellator scholarshp fund in his name to train at the J Robinson camp.
SAAD AWAD (18-7) VS. EVANGELISTA CYBORG SANTOS (21-16), WELTERWEIGHTS
First round: Santos has a grea look for a fighter and an awesome video wall entrance. Awad is moving up from lightweight. Santos used to be a middleweight. Hard low kick by Santos. Both throwing knees from the clinch. Santos trying for a takedown. He put Awad on his back. Cyborg is holding him down to the first boos of the show. Awad working for an armbar and Santos is working for a heel hook. Awad kicking him while Santos continues to work for the heel hook. Awad got on top and is throwing a lot of punches now. Santos is hurt bad. There’s a ton of unanswered punches here. Awad kept pounding on him. I’m surprised this hasn’t been stopped. Awad keeps throwing punches. Santos is bleeding now. Finally it was topped about 30 punches late. 4:31
Awad said he wants to move to 155 pounds and face Josh Thomson next.
PHIL DAVIS (15-3, 1 NO CONTEST) VS. KING MO LAWAL (19-4, 1 NO CONTEST), LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS
First round: Mo got light cheers, no boos. Fans have no emotional attachment to either of these guys. Davis threw a kick short. Mo with a hard right. Body kick by Davis. Left and right by Mo. Body shot by Mo. Left and right by Mo. Body kick by Davis. Body shot by Mo. Davis with a body kick and Mo caught the leg. Davis tried for a takedown and didn’t come close. Davis again went for the takedown and Mo stopped it easily. Hard low kick by Davis. Body kick by Davis. Mo 10-9.
Second round: Body kick by Davis. Davis wih a kick and Mo caught the leg and took him down. Davis right back up. Davis missed a crazy kick and nearly fell on his ass. Davis with punches. Davis kicked him low. Crowd is ooing as little is happening. Low kick by Davis. Body kick by Davis. Body kick by Davis. Low kick by Davis. Both missing punches. Body kick by Davis and Mo with a punch. Davis with a left and a front kick. Crowd booing. Davis with ar ght. Body kick by Davis. DMo i with pucnehs but mose missed. Davis went fo rakedown and din’t get it. Rihgt hby Mo. Body kciks by Davis. Davis so 19-19 after two.
Third round: Mo landed a right but missed a follow up. Body kick by Davis. A knee by Davis. Mo with a left. Both missing shots. Crowd booing. Mo landed as he moved in. Mo landing a left. Another left by Mo Mo moving in but not landing. Good right by Davis hurt Mo and he took him down. Davis is pounding on him on the ground. That shot probably won Davis the fight. Davis has his back. Davs working for a Kimura. Mo reversed to the top. Davis landing shots has Mo hurt. Davis slipped on a high kick but Mo was slow to capitalize on it. Crowd really liked the ending. Mo just looked too tired and slow at the end. Davis 29-28.
Scores: 29-28, 30-27, 30-27 Davis. Some booing of the decision
Phil Davis and Liam McGeary were in the cage together. McGeary said he was knocking im out definitely. Davis told him “Good luck” in a loud and sarcastic manner. They shook hands when it was over.
Bellator MMA had it’s first overseas show Saturday from Torino Italy. The show took place at 3 pm eastern and aired on tape delay on SpikeTV with a late 10 pm start time. In terms of star power, it was one of the weaker shows that Bellator has put on since the MTV 2 days but in many ways, the promotion looked more “big league” than ever before.
The show took place in front of a hot crowd in a bigger building than they usually run. The fighters that they were hoping to showcase did what they were supposed to, particularly Alessio Sakara scoring an impressive TKO win in front of his home country. All of the walkouts aired in their entirety, which was a nice change from UFC.
Perhaps the best thing on the show was the opening video montage that was more of a promo for Spike Sports than Bellator MMA specifically but featured mainly Bellator fighters. The tag line of Fighters First was all over the video. Particularly memorable was a Josh Koscheck quote “I can say what I want and I can wear what I want”. This video is worth going out of your way to see although I’m sure it will air before all MMA, Kickboxing and Boxing events on Spike for the next while.
It wasn’t all good news. In the first three fights, the losers looked they belonged nowhere near a professional MMA cage, let alone on national TV. And the main event was a terrible fight with referee John McCarthy even stopping the fight midway through the second while both fighters were standing, warning them that they had to fight. Not sure what he would’ve done if they hadn’t picked it up a bit but they did….only slightly.
The show kicked off with two local fighters making their Bellator debuts. Daniele Scatizzi scored a first round TKO win over Daniele Miceli in a welterweight fight. Scatizzi looked okay but we’ll probably never see either of these guys in a Bellator cage again unless they come back to Italy.
In the second fight, Anastasia Yankova, who they’ve been promoting pretty heavily and could be the face of the new female flyweight division in Bellator dominated Anjela Pink, who was making her pro debut. It was her third submission win in her three fight career.
AJ McKee had a very impressive performance in dominating Italian fighter Danilo Belluardo on his way to a first round TKO win. It was his fourth straight first round finish with all four of his career fights going a combined 10 minutes. He had a great promo after the fight, basically putting the entire division on notice and saying he’s coming for the belt. McKee is the son of MMA vet Antonio McKee and Bellator has high hopes for his future and he did not disappoint on this night.
In what really should’ve been the main event of the show, especially with the benefit of hindsight, Alessio Sakara came out to the biggest pop of the night by far. He was fighting in his home country for the first time in over a decade and did not disappoint. After a first round which he may have lost, he came out strong in the second and stopped Bellator vet Brian Rogers with punches to score a TKO win. The win probably ensures him a few more Bellator fights and the promotion should really have him headline the next show if they ever return to Italy.
The main event was a terrible fight which Bellator mainstay Patricky “Pitbull” Freire won by unanimous decision over the debuting Kevin Souza, who was recently cut from UFC despite a 3-1 record there. Several times referee John McCarthy warned the fighters to pick up the action while on their feet and midway through the second round, he stopped the fight and warned the fighters they had to keep fighting. The fight was very close, despite Freire scoring 30-27 on all 3 judges scorecards, but neither guy impressed at all. Souza took the fight on short notice and Freire is a lifer in Bellator so they’ll probably both be back but after a long day of MMA after the UFC on FOX show, that was a hard fight to sit through.
Overall, I’d say the show was a minor success and something that Bellator should definitely do again. It came across much differently than the normal Friday night shows they run in casinos and more shows like this would make the promotion seem like a viable alternative to UFC in the world of MMA.
Bellator returns to Spike TV on Friday night with Bellator 153. Benson Henderson makes his promotional debut and challenges Andrey Koreshkov in the show’s main event.
Just weeks after Wanderlei Silva had his lifetime ban reduced to 3 years, “The Axe Murderer” has signed with Bellator MMA to an exclusive multi-year, multi-fight contract the promotion announced today. Silva is eligible to apply for reinstatement in May of 2017 and cannot fight anywhere that recognizes suspensions by the Nevada State Athletic Commission until that time.
Bellator has announced a number of international events for 2016 so it’s possible he could fight before that time. Silva has a 35-12-1 record and this signing comes on the 3rd anniversary of his last fight in the UFC, where he scored a 2nd round KO of Brian Stann, who retired after that fight. The former Pride Middleweight Champion was a legendary figure in the sport who had a stretch between April 2000 and December 2004 where he had 18 fights with no losses and 14 knockouts. Those fights were against the top fighters in the world at the time including, Dan Henderson, Rampage Jackson, Sakuraba, Mirko Cro Cop and others. He’s now 39 with his best days over a decade behind him but as shown in recent weeks, Bellator seems willing to book fights with guys that are long past their prime and have done so with ratings success.
No fight was announced, or even hinted at, in the company press release but they did say that Silva fielded multiple offers from companies around the world before deciding to sign with Bellator MMA.
Bellator 150 is live on Spike TV from the Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane, Kansas. There’s a good mix of familiar names and up and coming prospects on the five fight main card. Action gets underway at 9 pm eastern.
Women’s Flyweights Lena “Hunter” Ovchynnikova (10-3) vs “Ruthless” Rebecca Ruth (5-1)
The ladies kick off the festivities! Big John is your referee. This opened up as a real slugfest with both ladies landing hard shots right off the bat. Lena got a takedown 1:30 in and right into side control with a choke but Ruth escaped and swept into side control herself. Lena working for a head triangle from the bottom. Ruth landing knees to the body as Lena tries to get to her feet. Lena to her feet at 4:00 but Ruth still controlling her in a clinch. Separation at 4:30 and Ruth unloaded with a punch combo and then right back to a clinch. 10-9 Ruth
Ruth slipped early in round 2 and Lena pounced on her but Ruth quickly up. Both ladies landing punches and kicks again early and then Ruth took Lena down 45 seconds in. Lena up quickly. Ruth cut on the forehead. Ruth knocked Lena down with a punch but didn’t go right to the mat with her, giving her a chance to get up. Cage clinch at 2:00 with Ruth in control. Ruth landing punches to the head from the clinch and then they separate at 3:00. Ruth with a body punch combo at 3:15. Lena bleeding from the nose. Ruth landing more punches and stalking Lena around the cage. Lena is staggering from punches but still on her feet. Lena answers back with a punch combo of her own at 4:00. Spinning back fist by Lena misses and she slips. Ruth follows her to the ground and working for an armbar. Lena gets top position but Ruth still with the arm cinched. Bell saves Lena. 10-9 Ruth, 20-18
Lena is the signee that Bellator was trumpeting but Ruth stealing the spotlight from her. Announcers putting over Lena’s heart though in staying in this fight that she’s being dominated in. Ruth with a takedown 45 seconds in. Announcers point out that all of Ruth’s wins have been by submission as she works for a sub from her back. Ruth landing elbows to the head as she moves into side control though. Ruth takes Lena’s back as she tries to make her way to her feet and every time Lena even gets to her knees, Ruth drags her right back down. Lena to her feet at 2:45 and Ruth takes her down with a judo throw. Cut on Ruth’s forehead bleeding heavily now but she’s still controlling Ruth and keeping her on the mat. Ruth holding Lena down with a rolling half-nelson at 3:45. Lena still looking for a submission but Ruth active enough on top that it would be difficult. At 4:30, Ruth stood up, forcing Lena to her feet. Awesome visual at Ruth’s hair is wildly all over the place as she presses forward with punches and takes Lena down just before the bell. 10-9 Ruth, 30-27. Last round could arguably be a 10-8
WINNER – REBECCA RUTH (6-1) by unanimous decision. Scores 29-28 x 2; 30-27
Ruth got promo time. She thanked her family, friends and God and put over the USA. Her kids were at ringside and she said that missing some of her kids games and practices are worthwhile when you work hard and get a win like this. Very good promo and she came off pretty likeable.
Bellator is all about their “special announcements” and we’ve got one coming up later tonight as it pertains to the middleweight title and Champion Rafael Carvalho.
Featherweights Gaston Reyna (5-0) vs Chuka Willis (6-2)
Willis is just 22 but Reyna is a finisher with his 5 pro fights going a total of 11 minutes. Willis is also the local guy. Rob Hinds is the 3rd man in the cage. Willis initiates a cage clinch early. Sean Grande on commentary says this is a fight they’ve been trying to put together for a couple of years on the regional circuit and it was only bumped to the main card when the original main event was cancelled. Willis briefly takes Reyna down but he gets up. Willis still controlling him in a clinch. Reyna with a trip takedown but Willis right up. They separate at 2:30. Reyna threatening Willis with kicks and keeping him at a distance but Willis shoots in and takes him down. Reyna with a guillotine on the way down though. Reyna also with a body triangle and Willis loses his mouthpiece while still in the choke. Willis out and in top position. Willis with back mount at 4:30 as the guillotine attempt may have tired Reyna out. Close round, 10-9 Willis
Willis knocks Reyna down with a punch 30 seconds in and follows him to the mat but Reyna up quickly. Willis holding him against the cage and lands some knees to the body, including one that looked a little low. Takedown by Willis at 1:15. Reyna cut on the side of his head, which apparently happened in the first round. Reyna to his feet at 1:45. Ref breaks it up as apparently Reyna hit a low blow but the announcers didn’t really explain it. Willis holding Reyna against the cage on the restart but Reyna getting a chance to recover from that knockdown. Reyna with a standing guillotine attempt at 2:45 but lets it go quickly. They are promising a live interview with Royce Gracie later tonight. Reyna with a spin kick to the body landing right before the bell. 10-9 Willis, 20-18 overall
Jimmy has it 1 round a piece, which is certainly possible. Willis with a takedown 30 seconds in and takes his back on the ground but Reyna gets to his feet quickly. Willis holding him against the cage like he did most of the 2nd round. Ref warns them to improve their position at 1:30. Willis gets him back down at 2:00 and lands some punches to the head. Reyna up again fairly quickly but Willis still controlling him against the cage. The announcers discussed the new weight-cutting policy and how it would favor Willis, who cuts more weight. They get warned again for lack of action at 3:30. He finally breaks them up at 4:00. Reyna coming forward but Willis catches him with a punch. Reyna initiates a cage clinch, which is kind of stupid since he needs a finish. Willis gets control at 4:45. Brief separation and Reyna firing out with a punch combo. Reyna going for a guillotine standing as the round ends. 10-9 Willis, 30-27 overall
WINNER – CHUKA WILLIS (7-2) by unanimous decision; scores 29-28, 30-27 x 2
The announced after this fight that Rafael Carvalho will defend the Middleweight title the week after their next tentpole event against Melvin Manhoef. Pat Curran will take on Georgi Karakhanyan in the co-main on that card on May 20th.
Middleweights Kendall Grove (22-15) vs Francisco France (13-3-1)
Rob Hinds gets the dukes for this one. France keeping his distance early as Grove has a huge reach advantage at 6 ft 6. The winner here could be next in line for the Carvalho-Manhoef winner. France starting to connect with leg kicks and backs Grove up to the cage, initiating a clinch. Grove hits him with a low blow, causing a break. On the restart, France lost his position, which was a mistake by the ref. France lands another hard leg kick and goes back tothe clinch. Grove gets control and lands some foot stomps and knees to the body. Ref warning them to improve at 4:00. France gets control at 4:15 and lands knees to the body. Both guys trading punches to the body from the clinch. 10-9 France but very close
Graove backs up France with punches early and finishes him with ground and pound to get the stoppage.
WINNER – KENDALL GROVE (23-15) by KO at 35 seconds of Round 2.
Grove dedicated the win to his brother, who passed away last month.
Royce Gracie was interviewed at cageside. Says he tried to get out but Scott Coker pulled him back in. Says there’s no controversy and he beat Ken Shamrock no question, like he did the first two times. They also announced that they will re-air this show next Saturday, which is up against a UFC PPV. Very interesting.
Lightweights David “Caveman” Rickels (16-4) vs “Super Dooper” Bobby Cooper (12-6)
Of course they air Rickels’ entrance. Superstar reaction from the crowd. Even louder for his intro. Big John is back again as the third man. One of Cooper’s “noteable wins” is someone named Rome Lindsey. So, ya, this could be a walk for the Caveman. Caveman opens with hard leg kicks. Both guys trading punches at 1:00 and Cooper actually getting the better of it. Caveman initiates a cage clinch at 1:15 but Cooper wrestles away control. Rickels gets separation and unloads with a punch combo before clinching up again. Quick separation. Rickels slips throwing a punch at 2:30 but Cooper lets him back up. Rickels shoots for a takedown but it’s blocked and he eats a hard punch to the head from Cooper. Another cage clinch with Rickels in control. Cooper nails some punches but Rickels with a knee to the body that crumples Cooper. Rickels all over him with ground and pound and Cooper leaking blood like a faucet. McCarthy gave him a bit of time but finally stepped in to stop it.
WINNER – DAVID RICKELS (17-4) by TKO
A welterweight bout from the prelims aired next, which saw Andre Fialho move to 6-0 with a 29 second KO of Manny Meraz, who drops to 8-2. Impressive power as Meraz was out with one punch.
Main Event –
Heavyweights Cheick Kongo (23-10-2) vs Vinicius Spartan (8-3)
Sean Grande mentions that Kongo has fought guys like Cain Velasquez, Mark Hunt, Mirko Cro Cop and Matt Mitrione while making sure to mention that Mitrione is a free agent. At 40, he really has been in there with just about every top name in the division. All of Spartan’s wins have been by stoppage. Big Jiohn gets the main event reffing assignment. Spartan with a huge height and reach advantage, using it to control the cage early. McCarthy warning Spartan to either close his hand or keep his fingers in, as he’s cocked to poke Kongo in the eye if he hits him in the face. Fans booing 1:30 in as nothing much happening. Kongo with a brief bunch flurry at 1:45. Kongo gets it into the centre of the cage where there’s still nothing happening. Kongo connecting with hard leg kicks. Spartan starting to advance again and nails a nice punch combo at 3:15 but Kongo clinches up on the cage. Spartan with a trip takedown at 4:00 but Kongo right up. Kongo continuing to land leg kicks. Spartan’s leg starting to show damage. Spartan nails a spinning back fist that rocks Kongo but he recovers and goes to a cage clinch with 15 seconds left. 10-9 Kongo
Kongo landing leg kicks early again. Spartan with a hard punch to the head that connects flush 30 seconds in but Kongo shakes it off. Spartan continuing to advance. Kongo starting to mix in punch combos with the leg kicks. Spartan starting to react to each kick. Crowd booing heavily at 2:15 as not much happening in a typical Kongo fight. Kongo blocks a spinning back fist but Spartan takes him down at 2:45. Spartan with body punches while Kongo just tries to hold him in his guard. Ref warning them to work at 3:45. Spartan trying to advance but Kongo defending well. Ref stands them up with 15 seconds left. Very close round, 10-9 Spartan
Jimmy has Kongo up two rounds. Total strikes are 37-13 for Kongo. Spartan with a takedown 30 seconds in. Spartan trying hard to advance but again, Kongo defending very well and holding him in his guard. Crowd booing again at 1:45. Kongo to his feet at 2:00 and quick separation. Kongo right back to the leg kicks and landing punches that rock Spartan. Kongo with a takedown attempt stuffed by Spartan. Kongo landing knees to the body from the clinch. Ref breaks it up at 3:00. Spartan knocks Kongo down with a punch and follows him to the ground but doesn’t throw many strikes on the ground and Kongo again just holding him there. Ref stands them up with 15 seconds left. 10-9 Spartan, 29-28 overall for him but it depends how you score round 2. Kongo not acting like he thinks he won, while Spartan holding up his hands in a victory pose.
WINNER – CHEICK KONGO (24-10-2) by split decision; scores 30-27, 28-29 and 29-28. No way Kongo won that third round.
Bellator MMA is back on Spike TV tonight with it’s first show of 2016, Bellator 148 – Daley vs Uhrich. Originally, Josh Koscheck was to headline this show with Paul Daley in the co-main, leading to a rematch of their controversial 2010 fight in UFC, which led to Daley receiving a permanent banishment from the company for hitting Koscheck after the final bell. Should Daley win tonight, they will probably just go straight to the Koscheck match on one of their tentpole shows later this year.
The rest of the card is your standard Bellator fare. Chris Honeycutt and Paul Bradley are rematched after their 2015 fight ended in a no-contest due to an accident clash of heads. Honneycutt is an undefeated prospect that Bellator is hoping to build around and he was dominating the first fight before it was stopped. Two big heavyweights clash in what should be a fun fight with Tony Johnson Jr and Raphael Butler. Both have impressive records and the winner will likely be a future opponent of Bobby Lashley should they decide to stripe Vitali Minakov of the Heavyweight title and create a new champion. Rounding out the card and probably kicking off the show will be Bellator stalwart Patrick Freire up against Ryan Couture. Freire is coming off a loss on the last Bellator show of 2015 against Derek Anderson and Couture has two straight submission wins. Whether he’s ready for it or not, a win over Pitbull will probably mean that Couture will at least be in discussions for a title shot against Will Brooks.
The SpikeTV broadcast starts at 9 pm eastern and will have live coverage here once the show starts. The prelims are streaming at http://bellator.spike.com/ starting at 7:40 pm eastern.
Prelims results:
Carl Seumanutafa (10-6) over Javy Ayala by 2nd rd TKO (ground and pound)
Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (3-0) over Amber Thackett by 1st rd submission (armbar)
Justin Smitley (10-6) over Art Arciniega by decision
Heavyweights Raphael Butler (9-1-1) vs Tony Johnson Jr (9-2) Mark Beltran – ref
Sean Grande said that Scott Coker has worked things out with Vitaly Minakov and he’ll be back in Bellator to defend his title later this year and also said that the winner of this fight is a possible contender. He also brought up the names of Bobby Lashley and Cheick Kongo. A low blow broke things up after 2 minutes of grappling against the cage. After the restart , it was more grappling before they both started throwing hard punches for about 15 seconds and then right back to grappling. Butler ended up on top and held him down for the last minute. Close round, 10-9 Butler
More grappling to start round 2 with Butler in control of a cage clinch for the first minute or so before Butler got away from the cage. They stayed clinched up with Johnson walking him around the cage. When I said “fun fight” in the opening, this was not what I had in mind. Butler got a takedown 3 minutes in. Butler landed some elbows that didn’t do much damage while Butler just tried to work out of bottom position. Johnson took his back at 4:15 and started landing punches to the head. Butler up at 4:30. 10-9 Johnson, 19-19 overall
Johnson with a takedown right away. Butler briefly to his feet but Johnson took his back and dragged him down. Johnson flipped him over and right into side control but Butler gave up his back again. Butler up at 2:30. They noted that the only time Johnson has ben stopped is by Daniel Cormier, the current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Ref broke it up due to lack of action but Johnson took him right back down again and immediately took his back. Johnson landing a lot of punches to the head but not terribly hard and Butler still defending. A lot of the punches seemed close to the back of the head but Beltran not even warning him. Ref stopped it with about 30 seconds left, even though he didn’t even warn Butler to defend himself.
WINNER – TONY JOHNSON JR (10-2) by TKO (punches) at 4:24 of the third
For anyone who may have missed the Rizin show on New Year’s Eve, Spike is running a show that will air right after this called “The Emperor and The King” which one would assume will include both the Fedor and King Mo fights from Rizin.
Lightweights Patricky Freire (14-7) vs Ryan Couture (10-3) John McCarthy – ref
Sean Grande brought up how Patricky Pitbull had Eddie Alvarez beat when they fought but then Jimmy pointed out that Pitbull went on to lose that fight. As I’m typing that, Couture rocked Pitbull with a punch that knocked him down but he let him back up. Ptibutt rocks Couture with a punch at 2:15 but Couture stays on his feet. Couture bleeding from his nose from that shot but moving forward with punches. Pitbull dropped Couture with one punch. Couture stayed down for a long time flat on his face after the punch
WINNER – PATRICKY FREIRE (15-7) by KO (punch)
Lashley and Josh Thomson were in a commercial for Dave and Busters between fights that was just dreadful. Royce Gracie was interviewed via sattelite about next month’s fight with Ken Shamrock Jiu Jitsu that his Dad taught him will beat the wrestling of Shamrock.
Welterweights Chris Honeycutt (6-0) vs Paul Bradley (22-6) Mike Beltran – ref
Honeycutt gets a huge pop as he’s from Fresno, where this show is taking place. Bradley dropped Honeycutt with a punch early and then swarmed him with punches. Ref stepped in and stopped it. Honeycutt protesting but he was wobbly and not defending at all.
WINNER – PAUL BRADLEY (23-6) by TKO (punches)
Crowd booed the hell out of Bradley during the winner’s announcement and post-fight interview. He called out the crowd for booing, saying he was just doing his job. Bradley says “I hope I’m in contention for a title shot”.
They aired the Javy Ayala/Carl Seumanutafa fight from the prelims next. Carl won by 2nd round KO due to ground and pound as posted above. Ayala dominated the first, almost a 10-8 round. He nailed a flying knee early in the second and was all over Seumanutafa. Carl managed to work his way to the top position and then started to take over. Ayala looked exhausted and Carl busted him open with an elbow to the head and methodically worked his way into mount and it was stopped fairly quickly after that when he just kept landing unanswered punches. Ayala just leeking blood at the end of it.
Main Event –
Welterweights Paul Daley (37-13-2) vs Andy Uhrich (11-5) John McCarthy – ref
Paul Daley cut an AWESOME taped promo for the Fresno crowd. “People of Fresno, I came here to entertain you all. Your hometown boy, Josh CROTCH-check is nowhere to be found. I’m gonna show you real entertainment and how a real fighter fights. This is just a preview of the ass-whupping your hometown boy is gonna get”. They cut to a shot of Koescheck in the crowd, clearly amused but feining anger. Andy Uhrich comes out to the Hulk Hogan theme “Real American”.
Daley controlling the distance early. Uhirich landing light strikes from distance and shoots for a takedown but easily stuffed by Daley. Crowd actually chanting for Uhrich during a clinch. Daley dropped him with a punch at the end of a combo and Uhrich is out.
WINNER – PAUL DALEY (38-13-2) by KO at 2:00
Daley and Koscheck yelling at each other, as Koscheck is at cageside. Daley all over Koscheck in his post-fight promo. He says he came out and entertained the fans and “Crotch-check” would’ve put them to sleep. Koscheck just making the “keep talking” motion. This fight should have some steam when it happens.
Thanks for joining me tonight. Dave has you covered for UFC on FOX tomorrow afternoon!
Welcome to our live coverage of Bellator 146 : Manhoef vs Kato. Action gets underway with the Spike.com prelims, which can be viewed here. The prelims feature familiar names such as former UFC fighters Josh Neer and Bubba McDaniel as well as former Strikeforce and Invicta fighter Julia Budd and top Women’s featherweight prospects Gabrielle Holloway and Arlene Blencowe facing off in an important bout. We’ll have results posted as the fights happen.
The main card kicks off on Spike TV at 9 pm eastern and features 5 bouts. Knockouts artists Manhoef and Kato square off in the main event. UFC vet Houston Alexander returns to the Bellator cage. Prospects Bubba Jenkins and Chidi Njokuani hope to make an impression and Brandon Girttz, fresh off the biggest win of his career over Melvin Guillard, returns to face Bellator vet Derek Campos in the co-main. We’ll have ongoing play by play all night.
Prelims results:
Alonzo Menifield (1-0) TKO (punches) over Zach Rosol in 38 seconds
Arlene Blencowe (7-5) SD over Gabrielle Holloway
Luis Santos (38-10) UD over Josh Neer
Julia Budd (8-2) UD over Roberta Paim
Francisco France (13-3-1) submission (rear naked choke) over Ben Reiter at 1:08 of Rd 2
Stephen Banaszak (5-5) submission (guillotine choke) over George Pacurariu at 3:42
We’re live with fights!
Light Heavyweights Houston Alexander (16-12-1) vs Guilherme Viana (6-2)
Big John McCarthy gets the reffing duties for this one. Alexander getting the better of the striking early. Viana staggers Alexander witha hard left 2 minutes in and Alexander can barely stand. He eats a couple more hard shots but still standing. Viana being very patient and it seems like a matter of time. Both guys swinging away at 3:00. Alexander is recovering a bit. Alexander eats a couple hard straight punches and Alexander’s bleeding from the nose. Alexander hits a couple hard punches to the head in a row. Alexander eats a couple more hard head strakes. Alexander’s face is a bloody mess 10-9 Viana
Viana rocks Alexander with a huge left. Alexander with a flash takedown but Viana sweeps and stands up. Viana picking him off again. Alexander is wobbling all over the place. Alexander down and Viana all over him but not punching, just smothering him. at 1:15. Viana outpunched Alexander 29-17 in round 1. Alexander to his feet at 1:30 but Viana still holding him and landing knees to the body. Viana with a takedown at 2:00. Viana takes his back and working for a choke. Viana landing light punches to the head from behind but Alexander is basically getting a chance to recover. Alexander to his feet at 3:30. Alexander swinging for the fences but missing badly. Alexander starting to control the pace in the last minute and Viana is tiring. 10-9 Viana
The doctor stopped the fight due to a cut on Alexander’s eye between rounds.
WINNER – GUILHERME VIANA (7-2) by TKO (doctor’s stoppage) at 5:00 of Round 2
Viana got some interview time but didn’t have much to say and what he did say you couldn’t really understand. Something about American Top Team and drinking beers with his friends. And training with Glover Teixeira
Welterweights Ricky Rainey (11-3) vs Chidi Njokuani (13-4)
This is Njokuani’s Bellator debut but he’s a vet of the AXS TV shows and I’ve seen him many times. Very exciting striker. Big John is the ref again. Chidi is the younger brother of former UFC fighter Anthony. Njokuani initiates a cage clinch 1:00 in, which has been a theme tonight if you watched the prelims. Rainey gets control at 1:45. Both guys trading knees. Rainey gets separation and rocks Njokuani with a punch to the head but he clinches up again. Rainey gets control again at 2:30. Njokuani landing light punches to the body while Rainey with hard knees to the legs and body. Sean Grande channels JBL, getting in a Dick Van Dyke reference when talking about “Chidi“. McCarthy breaks it up at 4:30 but they go right back to a clinch and end the round there. 10-9 Rainey
Rainey knocks down Njokuani 15 seconds in and follows hiim to the ground but Chidi uses a triangle attempt to get to his feet and they’re back in a cage clinch. Rainey outstruck Njokuani 27-16 in Round 1. Rainey wtih a takedown at 1:30 but lets Njokuani right back up. Rainey chases him into the cage and they’re back in a cage clinch at 2:00. Neither guy doing much and McCarthy warns them to work. He breaks it up at 3:30. Rainey with a nice punch combo at 3:45 and Njokuani initiates another cage clinch. Rainey landing knees from the clinch. Separation at 4:15. Njokuani landed a shot in that clinch that cut Rainey over his right eye and it’s in bad shape. 10-9 Rainey
Njokuani goes to the cage clinch again 30 seconds in. Rainey gets control at 1:30. Rainey’s eye is almost closed from the cut. Njokuani landing elbows to the back from teh clinch. Rainey with a takedown at 2:00 but Njokuani quickly up. Still in a clinch. Ref breaks it up at 3:00. Njokuani controlling the cage and landing head strikes from distance. Njokuani with a head kick at 3:45. Njokuani is not fighting with enough urgency as he has to need a finish to win and he’s taking his time with 1:00 left. Rainey wtih a late takedown. 10-9 Njokuani but Rainey takes the fight
WINNER – CHIDI NJOKUANI (14-4) by unanimous decision on scores of 29-28 x 3. That decision was a joke.
Featherweights Jordan Parsons (12-1) vs Bubba Jenkins (9-2)
Jenkins is one of the young stars Scott Coker has been hoping to build around. He had a setback against former WSOF champion Georgi Karakhanyan earlier this year though. No glove touch from these guys as they had a bit of a dustup at the weigh-ins. Jenkins with an early takedown but Parsons right up. Jenkins with a suplex takedown but Parson up again. Jenkins takes his back standing 45 seconds in. Parson shakes him off. Jenkins with another takedown at 2:00. Parsons to his feet but Jenkins on his back. Parson shakes him off again. Parson with a couple of kicks landing to the body. Nice punch exchange at 3:30. Jenkins with a nice head kick at 3:45. Jenkins controlling the cage. Jenkins stuffs a takedown attempt at 4:00 and trying for a guillotine. Parsons lands some knees to the body, Jenkins answers with a kick to the head. 10-9 Jenkins but close as he gets a takedown right before the buzzer.
Parsons defends an early takedown attempt. Parsons controlling the cage again. Neither guy doing much on the feet, just keeping their distance and circling. Jenkins drops Parson with a punch and follows him to the ground and 2:30. Jenkins almost out but ref Jason Herzog letting him continue. Jenkins just holding him, allowing him to recover. Parson actually working for a Kimura. Jenkins lands hard hammer fits from the top and Parson to his feet at 3:30. Jenkins lands a head kick and then a takedown at 3:45. Parsons working for a Kimura from the bottom again. Jenkins landing punches the the body and head. Jenkins out of the Kimura and still holding him down as the round ends. 10-8 Jenkins
Jimmy Smith has it even and that’s the problem with this scoring system because whether it was 10-8 or 10-9 last round, Jenkins is clearly winning the fight and almost finished Parson in Round 2. Parson with cage control early. Jenkins looks fresh. Jenkins stuffs a takedown attempt at 1:30. Jenkins with a weak guillotine attempt but gives it up. Parsons landing knees to the body and Jenkins is on his knees with his back to the cage but works to his feet. Parsons in control of a cage clinch at 2:30. Jenkins with a takedown at 3:00. Parsons with a guillotine attempt from teh bottom. Jenkins doing nothing on top. Jenkins with some elbows to the head and body at 4:30. Jenkins trying to take his back but Parson landing elbows to the head. Parsons to his feet right as the round ends. Another very close round. 10-9 Parsons
WINNER – BUBBA JENKINS (10-2) by split decision on scores of 29-28, 28-29 and 30-27. Nothing wrong with the 30-27 score since 1 and 3 were very close.
Jenkins got some mic time but had nothing at all to say. He thanked Jesus. Jimmy Smith interviewed Josh Thomson via Skype about his fight in two weeks. He’s been the up and comer and now he’s the vet that everyone’s coming for. He’s even got the champion calling him out. He’s glad the fight is happening in his hometown. They also announced to the public the Josh Koscheck fight that was signed earlier this week for January. Paul Daley is fighting on the undercard of that show so the the hope is they both win and get their grudge match.
Lightweights Brandon Girtz (13-4) vs Derek Campos (15-5)
This is the 2nd fight between the two. Campos won the first one 2 1/2 years ago. Girtz dropped him with a punch and followed him to the ground but Campos was already out.
WINNER – BRANDON GIRTZ (14-4) by KO (punches) at 37 seconds
Girtz had another waste of time interview after the fight. These guys should try to have at least something worthwhile to say when they’ve got a national TV audience.
Main Event:
Middleweights Melvin Manhoef (29-12-1) vs Hisaki Kato (5-1)
Manhoef had some unique entrance music. Classical at the start transitioning into rap. Seemed to work for him. Kato out to a remixed version of the Imperial Death March from Star Wars. Kato with early cage control. Manhoef lands a grazing blow, the first of the fight, 45 seconds in. Kato still advancing but both guys keeping their distance. Both guys throwing bombs at 1:30. Manhoef was staggered a bit but kept throwing punches and eventually Kato backed off. Kato with a punch and follows up with a body kick that staggers Manhoef. Kato with a flurry of punches but Manhoef barely escapes. Manhoef puts everything he has into a left hook and drops Kato with one punch and walks off. Stunning knockout, one of the best you’ll ever see.
WINNER – MELVIN MANHOEF (30-12-1) by KO (punch)
Manhoef said after the fight that he’s there to give his all and either knock someone out or get knocked out. And that was it. Thanks for joining me tonight and Bellator will be back in two weeks with Josh Thomson, Georgi Karakhanyan and Patricky Pitbull all returning to the Bellator cage.
