Tag: Michael Chandler

Bellator 221 live results: Chandler vs. Pitbull, Jack Swagger returns

Posted on by Josh Nason

With a UFC pay-per-view as opposition, Saturday’s Bellator 221 show from the Rosemont Horizon outside Chicago is flying under the radar despite featuring a main card that includes a champion vs. champion grudge match, the return of former WWE Champion Jack Swagger, and the semifinals of the Welterweight Grand Prix.

In the main event, lightweight champion Michael Chandler will look for the first defense of his gold in his third reign against featherweight champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire. Chandler faced Freire’s brother, Patricky, twice and defeated him both times. The last was a 2016 knockout that earned him his second 155-pound title and saw him call out Patricio after the fight.

In the co-main event, Douglas Lima will fight the undefeated Michael “Venom” Page in the Welterweight Grand Prix semifinals. Lima is coming off a fifth round submission win over Andrey Koreshkov while Page is coming off a lackluster decision win against rival Paul Daley.

Also on the main card, Jake Hager (aka Jack Swagger) looks for the second win in his young MMA career against T.J. Jones while Pat Curran returns to take on featherweight contender A.J. McKee. Tywan Claxton vs. Michael Bennett rounds out the main card.

Our live coverage of this DAZN event kicks off at 9 PM Eastern.

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Mauro Ranallo and John McCarthy are on the call.

Tywan Claxton (5-0) def. James Bennett (4-2) via third round TKO (ref stoppage) (2:09)
Featherweights

Despite these two having virtually identical records, there was a clear advantage in Claxton’s favor from the starting bell that gave him an easy victory.

Claxton dominated Bennett upon taking him to the mat in the first round, landing heavy ground and pound shots that kept Bennett on the defensive for a 10-8 mark on my scorecard. That continued in the second round as Claxton landed a big flying knee to start the round and kept the pressure on with more ground and pound for another 10-8.

Bennett showed a little more fight in the third round with a submission attempt from the bottom but lost the advantage within seconds. This was a case of two fighters on completely different levels. Claxton laid in heavy ground and pound punches and elbows to which Bennett had no answer for, causing referee Kevin McDonald to stop the fight.

Post-fight, Claxton praised Bennett for his toughness and didn’t have a mark on him while Bennett’s face was all swollen up.

Jake Hager (2-0) def. T.J. Jones (1-2) by first round submission (2:36)
Heavyweights

Ranallo said when Jones got the opportunity for the fight, he was at 320 pounds. Yikes. Jones, a meat plant worker, has fought sparingly to be kind and seemed happy to just be there during this whole process. Hager, the former Jack Swagger, still did his whole “We The People” catchphrase and has a new ‘Swag’ t-shirt he sported to the cage.

As expected, this was a squash.

Hager took him down within ten seconds and started laying in heavy right hands. Hager was continutously working for an Americana armlock submission, but Jones was able to hold him off. Hager kept working and locked on a head/arm choke for the tap but held it on a few seconds longer which didn’t endear himself to referee Mike Beltran or the crowd.

Post-fight, Hager said he meant no disrespect by holding on the submission but the crowd wasn’t having it. Hager said he was “rock hard with emotion” and had a boner. Alright then. He was encouraging the fans to keep booing, completely going into WWE mode. 

A.J. McKee (14-0) def. Pat Curran (23-8) by unanimous decision
Featherweights

McKee remained undefeated, but did so in a safe and rather lackuster fashion, taking two judges’ scorecards 30-27 and another by a 30-26 tally.

Curran is a former two-time Bellator champion and a long-time promotional fixture while McKee is a longtime Bellator prospect finally moving up to some name value competition. However, Curran has been off for nearly two years and showed his ring rust.

McKee won a rather slow first round 10-9 that elicited some crowd boos, hitting some leg kicks and a takedown. Curran hit a takedown in the second, breaking out of an offensive funk, but didn’t do much else with it other than defend against Mckee who opened up a cut from the bottom, giving the undefeated prospect another 10-9.

Post-fight, McKee brushed off the fans’ boos and didn’t call for a title shot, also quite lackluster.

Between rounds, Matt Hughes was shown as cageside, an interesting choice to me considering his recent public issues.

Welterweight Grand Prix Semifinal: Douglas Lima (31-7) defeated Michael “Venom” Page (14-1) by second round knockout (:35)

Mamma Mia, indeed.

The unheralded Lima flatted the outspoken Page in the second round of their Grand Prix semifinal clash.

Page had hurt Lima with a glancing right hand and was looking to land some more offense, but Lima hit a right leg kick to Page’s leg as he lunged that swept him down. As Page rose back up, Lima hit a right hand right on Page’s chin that knocked him out cold. Two more hammer fists and it was a wrap.

The first round was a bit of a slower pace as Lima tried to figure out Page’s unique offense. He eventually hit a takedown to which Page really didn’t have an answer for, harkening back to his fight against Paul Daley two months ago.

Lima advances to the the finals and will face either welterweight champion Rory MacDonald or Nieman Gracie who fight in June at Madison Square Garden.

Patricio “Pitbull” Friere (29-4) defeated Michael Chandler (19-5) by first round KO to win the Bellator lightweight title (1:01)

Friere is now Bellator’s second-ever “champ-champ” (Ryan Bader) as he also holds the company’s featherweight title. Yet, this was a completely unsatisfying win.

Friere clipped Chandler with a right behind the ear that dropped him. Pitbull then swarmed and hit several left hands to which Chandler which he really didn’t eally defend, but he didn’t appear hurt. The referee stopped the fight and that was that. Fans hated the stoppage which seemed quick.

Friere didn’t commit to dropping the lightweight title as he previously said he would. Chandler said he wanted to do it again.

Bellator 165 live results: Michael Chandler vs. Benson Henderson; Fedor vs. Mitrione announced

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Bellator MMA returns to San Jose, CA, for a big show featuring a big lightweight title fight between Michael Chandler and former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson.

Chandler (15-3) is gunning for his fourth straight win and the first title defense of his second lightweight title reign. He regained the belt by defeating Patricky “Pitbull” Freire in June, his third straight finish in three fights.

Henderson (24-6) already has his second title shot in three fights and is looking for his best Bellator outing to date. After being dispatched by Andrei Koreshkov in an unsuccessful bid for the welterweight title, Henderson earned the shot in a fluke win over Patricio Pitbull earlier this year. 

In the co-main event, Michael Venom Page continues his ascension toward the top of the welterweight ranks if he can beat veteran Fernando Gonzalez. 

Also on the main show, Keri Anne Melendez — the wife of UFC lightweight Gilbert Melendez — makes her MMA debut.

Our live cageside coverage will kick off with the main card at 9 p.m. EST.

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LINTON VASSELL (16-5) VS. FRANCIS CARMONT (25-11), LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS

First round:  Low kick by Vassell and Carmont back.  Leftby Vassell and body kick by Carmont.   Vassell went for a takedown.  He’s on top in mount.  Now Vassell has his back with a body triangle.  Vassell threw a few punches.  He’s working for a choke as time runs out.  10-9 Vassell.

Second round:  Carmont with a body kick.  Anotehr body kick by  Carmont.  Carmont got a takedown.  Now he’s working on getting Vassell’s back.  Carmont his Vassell’s back and trying to get a choke.  Vassell reversed and now has Carmont’s back.  Vassell working for a choke.   Vassell throwing elbows from that position.   Vassell punching.  Finally the crowd is booing.  It took this crowd longer than most as there are crowds who would have destroyed this fight by now.  20-18 Vassell.

Third round:  Vassell with a few punches.  Vassell working for a takedown.  Carmont ended up on top but Vassell scrambled back up.  Vassell with punches.  Vassell took him down and got his back.  Vassell  again working for a choke.  Carmont up with 32 seconds left but he looks exhausted.  Carmont needs a knockout to win and he’s walking away.  Vassell 30-27.

Scores:  30-26, 30-26 and 30-25 for Vassell.    

KERI TAYLOR MELENDEZ (0-0) VS. SHEILA PADILLA (2-0), WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT

First round:  Melendez got a real big reaction as her husband was one of the stars who built MMA in this building.  Melendez cracked her with a  right hook to the jaw and one hard punch on the ground and it’s over.  :47

ADAM PICCOLOTTI (8-0) VS. BRANDON GIRTZ (14-4), LIGHTWEIGHTS

First round:  Piccolotti with a low kick and body kick.  Front kick by Piccolotti and a jumping knee.  Another jumping knee and Girtz threw him down.  Front kick by Piccolotti and Fritz back with a punch.  Piccolotti with a right.  Girtz hurt him with a right.  Low kick by Piccolotti.  Body kick by Piccolotti.  Left by Girtz.  Lefft by Girtz.  Knee by Piccolotti and a hard right  and kick to the face and Girtz back.  The crowd is going nuts.  Piccolotti 10-9

Second round:  Girtz with a right.  Left by Girtz.  Body kick by PIccolotti.  Left by Girtz.  Knee by Piccolotti.  Body shot by Girtz.  Both missing punches.  Piccolotti with a takedown.  Now he’s got his back.  Girtz back up.  Knee by Piccolotti.  Jumping knee by Piccolotti.  Piccolotti 20-18.

Third round:  Piccolotti landed a left.  Piccolotti with a body kick.  Gritz with a right.  Left by  Girtz.  Left by Piccollotti.  Piccolotti went for a takedown but Girtz on top and landed punches.  Piccolotti back up.  Girtz with a right.  Low kick by by Piccolotti.  Girtz’s right leg is all bruised up. Girtz landed a big right and is chasing him down.  Hard slam by Girtz.  Girtz landing elbows and Piccolotti working for a heel hook.  Gritz with hard body shots and now landing punches from the top.  Girtz’s round 10-9.   Good fight.  29-28 Piccolotti.

Scores:  All three judges had it 29-28 for Piccolotti

They just announced Fedor Emelianenko vs. Matt Mitrione for February 18 in San Jose at the SAP Center.  Fedor was here, sweater in tow.  He’s signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator.

MICHAEL VENOM PAGE (11-0) VS. FERNANDO GONZALEZ (25-13), WELTERWEIGHTS

First round:  Hard kick by Page t the right shoulder.  Page showboating around.  Crowd booing quickly here.  Right by Page.  Not much happening and crowd is booing.  Page threw a knee that missed.  Page landed a kick just as the round ended.  10-9 Page but almost 10-10.

Second round:  Nothing happening this round either.  MVP shook his butt and got booed  Crowd booing heavy.  Page slipped and Gonzalez landed a punch before he got up.  Page is just not fighting.  Page threw a knee at the end of the round.  Could easily be a 10-10 but I’ll go with Gonzalez since he did land a punch so 19-19 after two.

Third round:  Spin kick missed and Gonzalez going for a takedown.  Uppercut by Gonzalez.  I have no idea what got into Page but he’s not fighting.  Gonzalez moving forward and Page moving backards.  He’s giving away this fight against a guy he was booked to easily beat.  The ref is warning Page about not fighting.  Page threw a few jabs.  Gonzalez has him against the fence going for a takedown.  Crowd booing this like crazy.  Gonzalez 29-28.

Scores:     29-28 Page 30-27 Gonzalez 29-28 Page.  Crowd hated that Page won.  Never has a guy deserved to win a fight less.    

MICHAEL CHANDLER (15-3)  VS. BENSON HENDERSON (24-6) FOR BELLATOR LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE

First round:  Henderson tagged him with a right and Chandler with a body kick.  Body kick by Chandler.  Body kick by Henderson and he slipped and fell down.  Right by Chandler.  Body kick by Chandler.  Dueling chants believe it or not.  Hard uppercut by Chandler and he missed wildly on a follow up.  Chandler landed an uppercut.  Chandler threw Henderson down.  Chandler landing punches, Unreal German suplex by Chandler.   Chandler is going for a choke.  Chandler landing body punches as Henderson is down.  Hard punch by Chandler and another.  Cadlenr with a guillotine.  Henderson out but Chandler landed another good punch.  Chandler with a hard right on the ground.  Henderson back up and Chandler threw him down.  Henderson shot in and Chandler with another guillotine attempt.  Henderson out and throwing body punches.  Chandler 10-9.  Great round.

Second round:  Low kick by Henderson.  Another low kick by Henderson.  Hard body kick by Chandler.  Knee by Henderson.  Henderson dropped him with a right.  Body kick by Henderson.  Left by Henderson.  Right by Henderson.  Chandler’s left leg is all bruised up.  Chandler hurt him with a right.  Hard body kicks by Chandler.  Henderson kicked him in the groin.  Side kicks by Henderson.  Hard right by Chandler  Body kick and punch by Chandler.  Henderson needs to do something about his hair getting in his eyes.  Body kick by Henderson.  Knee by Henderson.  Close round to Henderson 19-19.

Third round:  Henderson with a right and a body kick.  Hard body shot by Chandler.  Henderson went for a takedown.  Hard body kick by Chandler.  Right by Chandler.  Head kick by Henderson.  Henderson shot in for a takedown.  Chandler  again got a guillotine.  Henderson out of trouble but Chandler is on top.  Chandler got his back.  Henderson threw a  high kick.   Chandler’s round 29-28.

Fourth round:  Henderson with a right.  Chandler picked him up and slammed him.  Chandler on top.  Chandler riding and Henderson back up.  Henderson with a knee and Chandler took him back down.  Henderson went for an armlock but Chandler out.  Chandler riding him.  Henderson throwing elbows to the body and got Chandler’s back and working for a choke.  Chandler reversed to the top.  Chandler’s round 39-37.  Good finish to the round.

Fifth round:  Body kick by Chandler.  Right by Chandler.  Left by Henderson.  Henderson with a nice right and a good body shot.  Jumping knee by Henderson and Henderson took him down and got his back.  Henderson is working for a choke.  Hendeson with a body triangle.  Chandler reversed to the top.  Henderson back on top with elbows.  Henderson with punches and elbows from the top.  Henderson with a knee.  Henderson’s round I’ve got 48-47 Chandler but there were close rounds.

Scores:  48-46 Chandler boos.  48-46 Henderson 48-47 Chandler.  Fans booed the decision.

Chandler talked about a rematch with Henderson but issued a direct challenge  to Josh Thomson.

Bellator Vengeance: Homegrown stars headline final tentpole event of 2015

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Friday night, Bellator returns to Spike TV with its final “tentpole” event of the year. Last year, when Scott Coker took over the promotion, a new strategy was unveiled in which they would build to big quarterly PPV-like special events. Results to this point have been somewhat mixed with the most recent big show, Dynamite, drawing a very disappointing TV rating for a mixed kickboxing /MMA show built around a tournament for a Light Heavyweight title shot and Tito Ortiz challenging for the title.

This weekend’s event is unique in the sense that most of the stars of the show are “homegrown” but in terms of a show with no outside names, it’s as big as it gets for the #2 promotion in the US. Two title fights headline the show, all featuring long-time Bellator stars who date back to the days of the tournament schedule in Patricio “Pitbull” Friere, Daniel Straus, Will Brooks and Marcin Held.

Michael Chandler, who has appeared on most of the highest rated shows in company history, including headlining the first show to do 1 million viewers, will fight David “Caveman” Rickells in a title eliminator bout. Bobby Lashley, the former WWE and current Impact Wrestling star will face James Thompson in a rematch of a 2012 fight in India. Rounding out the card are two featherweight contenders in Justin Lawrence and Emmanuel Sanchez squaring off in what will probably be a good fight but seems better suited for the prelims.

Bellator has used a 3 part TV series, Road to Vengeance, to build up interest in this show and Will Brooks and Patricio Pitbull have been going non-stop at each on Twitter since their respective fights were signed. The first episode on Spike did 272,000 viewers airing at 1130 pm eastern, which is about what the UFC Countdown shows do. What this means for Friday’s rating? We’ll find out early next week.

We will have extensive coverage of the show on the site, with the weigh-ins on Thursday night and the Spike.com prelims on Friday afternoon/evening, leading into the show. The five match main card kicks off at 9 pm eastern on Spike TV and should go about 3 hours with a ton of video features as well as the likely elaborate walk-outs that have become a staple of the big Bellator shows.  David Rickells in particular will likely have a memorable walk-out with his Caveman gimmick.

Some talking points going into the show:

Will a show headlined by mostly really good fights with the top talent that Bellator has do better ratings than a show with a pro-wrestling type build around guys mostly past their primes?

Every fighter on the card, with the possible exception of James Thompson, is top 100 in their division. With UFC having most of the world’s top fighters under contract, that’s as good as it gets in Bellator. Most of these fighters are UFC caliber with Chandler, Friere and Brooks possible title contenders if they were ever to fight there.

What’s next for Michael Chandler?

The former title holder has already beaten David Rickells once, knocking him out in the first minute of a 2013 fight. Most expect him to win the rematch. He’s already lost twice to current champion Will Brooks. He also lost to Eddie Alvarez, who’s been struggling in UFC. If Brooks were to lose to Marcin Held, they could certainly book a Chander/Held rematch (they fought in 2011, with Chandler winning by first round submission) but if Brooks wins, Chandler’s in limbo. He seems too big to cut to 145 but too small for Welterweight.

Is Bobby Lashley a title contender?

Lashley is on a six fight win streak, which would be the longest in the division for anyone in Bellator or UFC (UFC Champion Fabricio Werdum also has 6 wins in a row, against much tougher competition). But Lashley’s opponents have all been relative unknowns. He’s gotten the job done, finishing off all but Tony Melton but at 39 years old, it’s now or never for Lashley. Vitaly Minakov is the current Bellator Heavyweight champion but he has not fought for the promotion in two years and is at a contract impasse. Should Bellator not be able to come to terms with him, it might make sense to book a tournament for the title and Lashley would certainly be a prominent part of that tournament.

Friday night, we’ll either get some answers to these questions or at least have a clearer idea of the road ahead for Bellator as they complete their first calendar year under Scott Coker’s direction. Next year, the current plan is for more big events (up to 6 from 4) and more “regular” events. With Spike having cancelled Glory kickboxing, there would seem to be more need for Bellator shows in 2016. When they were running weekly on Friday nights, the audience base was steady but growing and a return to that format could help them out in the future.

Here’s the full card as currently scheduled:

Main Card:

  • Bellator Featherweight World Title Bout: Patricio Freire (24-2) vs. Daniel Straus (23-6)
  • Bellator Lightweight World Title Bout: Will Brooks (16-1) vs. Marcin Held (21-3)
  • Bellator Featherweight Feature Bout: Emmanuel Sanchez (11-2) vs. Justin Lawrence (7-2)
  • Bellator Lightweight Feature Bout: Michael Chandler (13-3) vs. Dave Rickels (16-3)
  • Bellator Heavyweight Feature Bout: Bobby Lashley (13-2) vs. James Thompson (20-14)

Preliminary Card:

  • Bellator Heavyweight Feature Bout: Alex Huddleston (6-1) vs. Augusto Sakai (8-0)
  • Bellator Welterweight Feature Bout: Adam Cella (6-4) vs. Chel Erwin-Davis (2-1)
  • Bellator Welterweight Feature Bout: Garrett Gross (6-4) vs. Luke Nelson (2-1)
  • Bellator Lightweight Feature Bout: Steve Mann (11-2) vs. Hugh Pulley (5-2)
  • Bellator Featherweight Feature Bout: Chris Heatherly (9-3) vs. Vince Eazelle (9-2)
  • Bellator Welterweight Feature Bout: Kevin Engel (4-0) vs. Kyle Kurtz (4-1)
  • Bellator Heavyweight Feature Bout: Kain Royer (1-2) vs. Clay Mitchell (1-0)
  • Bellator Middleweight Feature Bout: Adam Meredith (3-1) vs. Jordan Dowdy (2-0)
  • Bellator Bantamweight Feature Bout: Garrett Mueller (2-0) vs. Scott Ettling (3-0
  • Bellator Lightweight Feature Bout: Brandon Lowe (debut) vs. Rashard Lovelace (1-0)