Tag: Paul Daley

Bellator 216 live results: MVP vs. Daley, Cro Cop vs. Nelson

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

(Image courtesy of Bellator MMA)

Welcome to our live coverage of Bellator 216. It’s night two of back-to-back shows for Bellator MMA from the Mohegan Sun Arena — and the main event is a grudge match years in the making. 

Michael “Venom” Page, aka MVP, puts his unbeaten record on the line against fellow Brit Paul Daley as both men attempt to advance to the semifinal round of the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix tournament where the winner will get a million dollars and the 170 lb championship. 

The co-main may be 10-15 years late for some, but it should still be fun to see former TUF winner Roy Nelson lock up with the legendary Mirko Cro Cop. Cro Cop promises that this will be his retirement fight, although he’s said that before. Nelson will attempt to halt a two-fight losing streak, while Cro Cop has won nine in a row and has not lost in over five years. 

Former heavyweight champion Vitaly Minokov returns to the promotion after a long hiatus and will attempt to earn a shot at the belt he never lost. Stepping up against him is another long-in-the-tooth veteran, Cheick Kongo. Kongo was inexplicably left out of the recent heavyweight Grand Prix, despite a seven-fight win streak in Bellator, and is out to prove a point. 

The other fight with some intrigue is the promotional debut of Erick Silva, the former UFC welterweight. He will face a man fighting on a main card for the first time, Yaroslav Amosov, who comes in with a dazzling 20-0 record. 

Action kicks off with the main card fights at 10 p.m. Eastern.

Quick results from Bellator 215 last night, which was recapped by Dave Meltzer and Garrett Gonzalez on last night’s Wrestling Observer Radio, available now for subscribers:

  • Matt Mitrione (13-6, 1 NC) vs. Sergei Kharitonov (29-7, 2 NC) ended in a no contest
  • Logan Storley (10-0) defeated Ion Pascu (18-9) via unanimous decision (30-27 30-26, 30-26)
  • Eduardo Dantas (21-6) defeated Toby Misech (11-7) via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
  • John Douma (4-1) defeated Mike Kimbel (2-1) via submission (triangle choke) at 2:51 of round one
  • Austin Vanderford (7-0) defeated Cody Jones (6-3) via submission (arm-triangle choke) at 4:49 of round one

**********

Kicking off the main card is a women’s flyweight fight. 

Colby “Dreamcatcher” Fletcher (1-2) vs “Master” Valerie Loureda (pro debut)

Loureda is an accomplished Tae-Kwon Do expert coming in with a lot of hype and she gets a huge reaction from the crowd so that explains why this fight is on the main card. Fletcher is clearly something of a set-up fight for her. The “Master” in Loureda’s name is actually a title she earned, as explained by commentator John McCarthy. Loureda is only 20 years old so could be at this for awhile. 

Fletcher throwing a lot of punches early. Loureda mixing in high and low kicks. Loureda lands a great punch combo and follows up with a high kick. Great punch exchange about 2 minutes in. Fletcher is the one controlling the pace so far. Loureda knocks her down with a body kick and finishes her off with a vicious barrage of punches and the ref may have let it go on a little long honestly. 

Official result – Valerie Loureda (1-0) by TKO (punches) at 2:55

Loureda cut a tearfelt promo after the fight, saying she’s been dreaming of this moment since she was a little girl. Her coaches were in tears as she thanked them for making her the woman and the mixed martial artist that she is today. 

Two welterweights making their Bellator main card debut are next up. 

Erick “The Tiger” Silva (20-9) vs Yaroslav Amosov (20-0)

For those that remember Silva from UFC, his fights usually end early and are almost always exciting. Amosov trains with American Top Team and it’s not easy to rack up 20 wins in a row in this sport. He did handle another former UFC vet, Gerald Harris, pretty easily, in his first Bellator fight. 

Mauro Ranalo points out that both guys have 12 first round finishes on their record. Silva pushign the pace early. Silva lands a nice punch combo 90 seconds in that opens a cut around Amosov’s right eye. Silva is pacing himself much better than usual. Silva blocks a takedown attempt at 2:45. Amosov controlling a clinch on the cage. They separate 30 seconds later and Amosov lands a nice punch combo. Amosov goes back to the clinch but Silva breaks free quickly. Amosov rocks Silva with punches at 4:00. Amosov now pushing the pace. Silva lands some nice counter punches. 10-9 Silva but close

Silva stuffs a takedown early. Silva again controlling the pace. Amazov gets a takedown. Silva up quickly but Amosov controlling his back and drags him down again. Amosov landing punches to the head but Silva gets to his feet. Amosov drags him down again. Silva blocking most of the punches as Amosov attempts to secure a body lock. Silva to his feet and immediately thrown to the canvas by Amosov at 3:00. Amosov landing punches and elbows as he attempts to advance position. Crowd getting restless at the 4 minutes mark. Ref not warning them as Amosov is controlling Silva pretty well. Silva ties up Amosov with a body lock at 4:45 as he is trying to work out a sub from his back but not enough time. 10-9 Amosov, 19-19

Both guys throwing leg kicks early in round 3. Amosov moves in for a takedown but Silva defends it. Silva with a hard knee to the body as Amosov moves in for a takedown. Amosov gets him down but Silva right up. Amosov controlling the back again through. Silva breaks free and grabs a standing guillotine. He gives it up quickly and eats a body kick for his efforts. Both guys looking pretty tired. Amosov gets a takedown at 2:00. Amosov landing punches from half guard. Amosov takes the back  but Silva to his feet. Amosov drags him right down again and lands more punches to the head. Silva works back to guard but still eating punches. Silva to his feet but Amosov takes the back again. Amosov throws him down at 4;00. Silva to his feet again but Amosov still on his back. Amosov throws him down again. Silva up again at 4:30 and right back down. 10-9 Amosov, 29-28 overall

Official result – Yaroslav Amosov (21-0) by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28 x 2)

Next up is a heavyweight rematch. In Vitaly Minakov’s last Bellator fight in April 2014, he won a unanimous decision over Cheick Kongo. He returns to the promotion and faces the same opponent. Kongo is on the wrong side of 40 but on the longest winning streak of his career, with 7 straight. In fact his only loss since the previous Minakov fight was a split decision vs King Mo. 

Vitaly Minakov (21-0) vs Cheick Kongo (29-10-2)

Scott Coker has promised a title shot to the winner of this fight. With a win tonight, Cheick Kongo will set the record for most wins as a heavyweight and his 14th fight is also a heavyweight record. This came all after a long UFC career. 

Nice punch exchange 15 seconds in. Minakov is the one advancing but Kongo landed a nice counter punch in the exchange. Minakov with a takedown attempt blocked and Kongo clinches up on the cage. They separate at 1:15. Kongo lands a nice punch combo at 2:00 and goes back to the clinch. Kongo lands an inadvertent low blow in the exchange. Minakov is looking very tired when the action restarts. Minakov goes back to the clinch after missing some punches. Kongo breaks free. Kongo mixes in some kicks as Minakov is looking to land a home run shot. Minakov catches a kick and Kongo slips but gets up quickly after a guillotine attempt by Minakov. Kongo controlling the clinch but they separate quickly. Kongo lands a nice punch combo and some knees to the body. 10-9 Kongo

Herschel Walker and Michael Strahan were shown sitting together at cageside and Mauro brings up having called Walker’s MMA fights. John McCarthy disagrees with me and gives round 1 to Minakov. He also gave Amosov round 1 in the last fight and all 3 judges disagreed. Kongo throwing counter kicks as Minakov is controlling the pace and again looking for that big punch. Crowd getting restless as they’ve barely touched 2 minutes in. Some chants for Kongo. Heavy boos from the crowd at 2:45 as they’ve still barely touched. Minakov is throwing punches but they’re missing and Kongo not throwing anything. Ref warning them to engage at 3:45. More heavy boos. Kongo with a punch combo and then he clinches up at 4:15. Kongo with a knee/punch combo as they separate. Kongo lands a couple of counters as Minakov misses more punches. Kongo with some punches landed right before the bell. 10-9 Kongo, 20-18 overall

Kongo landing hard leg kicks to start. Minakov is advancing but very tentative and very tired. He misses a huge punch but catches a kick and gets a takedown at 1:00. Minakov setting up a head and arm choke while landing punches to the body and head. Minakov with an Ezekiel joke from the top. Kongo landing desparation punches  from his back and gets out of it but Minakov maintains top position. Minakov postures up to land some hammer fists before settling back into half guard. Kongo makes his way to the cage as he attempts to get to his feet . Kongo with a guillotine attempt and gets to his feet at 4:30. Kongo unloads with a punch/knee combo. Kongo with vicious knees to the head and Minakov is barely standing but the round ends. 10-9 Minakov, 29-28 Kongo overall. 

Official result – Cheick Kongo (30-10-2) by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x 2)

John McCarthy had Kongo winning all 3 rounds and Mauro reacts like it was a bad decision. I’m not sure what those two were watching because Minakov did not win this fight. 

Co-main event is next up and it’s a battle of the legends. 

Roy “Big Country” Nelson (23-16) vs Mirko Cro Cop (37-11-2)

Cro Cop is introduced as a former K-1, Pride and RIZIN champion and comes out to the vintage “Wild Boys” theme. If he’s interested in fighting again after this, he could steal Kongo’s title shot with an impressive win. 

Nelson advancing to start. Cro Cop blocks a takedown attempt 45 seconds in. Cro Cop blocks another takedown and pushes Nelson to the other side of the cage. Nelson takes over clinch control at 1:45 after eating an uppercut. Cro Cop lands some punches to the body and then walks Nelson across the cage again. Cro Cop rocks Nelson with an uppercut and then lands more punches to the body. They separate at 3:30. Back to the cage clinch and Cro Cop quickly takes control. Cro Cop with knees to the body and more uppercuts before separating. Nelson looking tired. Cro Cop wih a vicious body kicks and then blocks a takedown. 10-9 Cro Cop

Nelson against controlling the pace early. Cro Cop to the cage clinch at 1:00. Knees and punches to the body from Cro Cop. They trade elbows to the head. Cro Cop with hard uppercuts to the head and Nelson is rocked. They separate. They trade hard body kicks. Cro Cop just landing hard single shots but no combos. Nelson stuffed on another takedown attempt and Cro Cop ends up controlling a cage clinch. They separate after Cro Cop lands body punches. Nelson lands some punches that rock Cro Cop. Nelson with a punch/knee combo at 3:30. Nelson again stuffed on a takedown attempt. Cro Cop with a standing guillotine attempt but gives it up quickly. Cro Cop controlling a cage clinch and lands punches to the body and head. Separation at 4:30. Nelson lands some uppercuts to the head at 4:45. They trade hard body shots. 10-9 Cro Cop, 20-18

When they fought in 2011, Nelson scored a finish in the 3rd round and he’ll have to do the same to win here. Cro Cop starting to land leg kicks. Nelson lands some uppercuts to the head as Cro Cop tries to clinch. Cro Cop starting to tire. Nelson advancing. More leg kicks from Cro Cop and he stuffs another takedown attempt from Nelson. Yet another takedown attempt blocked by Cro Cop. Punch combo from Nelson and he attempts another takedown but fails. Cro Cop walks him across the cage but Nelson breaks free. Cro Cop blocks another takedown attempt. Crowd starting to get restless. Nelson with a punch combo and another takedown attempt and then finally lands one at 4:00. Cro Cop landing punches to the head from his back. Cro Cop ties him up with a body lock. 10-9 Nelson, 29-28 Cro Cop

Official result – Mirko Cro Cop (38-11-2) by unanimous decision (30-27; 29-28 x 2)

Main event is a first round match in the Bellator welterweight Grand Prix tournament with the winner advancing to face Douglas Lima for a spot in the finals. Sonnen, Thomson and Glazer interview Lima at the desk about his thoughts on the main event. He thinks Daley’s durability may be the difference. 

Michael “Venom” Page (13-0) vs Paul “Semtex” Daley (40-16-2)

MVP chants as Page makes his entrance. Daley was much more subdued but Page clowning all the way down the ramp. Daley giving up 6 inches of height and 3 inches reach, which could be telling. Because this is a tournament match, it’s five rounds. Page is also 2-0 as a pro boxer. They do not touch gloves. 

Page takes the center of the cage to start. Loud MVP chants before they even engage. They don’t touch for the first minute and there are some boos. Boos getting louder at 1:30. MVP has thrown a couple shots but missed while Daley hasn’t even thrown a thing. MVP just backing off and taunting Daley, who won’t engage. 3:30 in and no one has landed a strike. Daley finally throws a kick but misses. Page may have landed a punch at 4:30. Page lands a leg kick at 4:45. Deafening boos at the end of the round. 10-9 Page

Round 2 starts the same as the whole first round went. Page doing more taunting. Page lands a front kick to the head. Daley misses a takedown attempt as he’s chasing MVP around the cage. He catches him and they end up in a cage clinch with Daley in control. Daley with knees to the body. Separation at 2:45. Daley gets a takedown at 3:00. Daley with punches to the body. MVP doing nothing from his back. Daley has the legs tied up so MVP basically trapped on the ground. MVP does gets up but Daley lands some nice punches on the feet at the end of the round. 10-9 Daley, 19-19

MVP landing shots from distance early in round 3. Daley controlling the pace but MVP timing the counters well. MVP lands a great right cross at 1:15. MVP stuffs a takedown at 1:45. Daley controlling the cage clinch. Page takes control  at 2:30 but Daley gets a takedown. MVP ties up the body but Daley landing body punches. Daley postures up to break the body lock and then goes back into guard. Daley postures up and lands punches to the body and head and the crowd explodes. Page to his feet at 4:45 but Daley still controlling the clinch. 10-9 Daley, 29-28

PAge advancing to start and lands a couple of strikes early. He’s just landing single shots and moving. Daley gets a takedown at 1:00. MVP lands a couple of weak elbows from his back. MVP ties up the body of Daley and lands more elbows. They’re not doing damage but they are landing. Page with punches to the head from his back. Ref warns them to work. Daley stands up and MVP follows. MVP lands a hard kick to the body. MVP lands a flying knee that hurts Daley and clinches on the cage at 3:30. MVP gets a takedown at 3:45. MVP lands hard punches to the head. Page with more punches to the head at 4:45. 10-9 Page, 38-38 overall

MVP lands a jumping knee and attempts a takedown but Daley lands one. Daley stands up but MVP stays on his back throwing upkicks. Daley landing kicks to the legs. before going back into guard. MVP ties up his body so Daley stands up to break it. MVP setting up a triangle from his back. Daley lands some punches to the head as Page attempts to get to his feet. Page to his feet at 2:30. Page with elbows to the head as he defends a takedown attempt. Page takes the back standing and drags Daley to the ground. Page landing punches to the head as he sets up a rear naked choke. Daley to his feet but Page still on his back and drags him down again. Page landing punches to the head as he contrinues to look for the choke. MVP chants from the crowd. Elbows to teh head from Page. Daley to his feet at 4:15 but Page controlling the clinch. Daley with a takedown attempt but MVP reverses and on top, landing punches as the round ends. 10-9 Page, 48-47 overall

Official result – Michael Page (14-0) by unanimous decision (48-47 x 3)

Crowd boos the result but the scoring of each round was pretty obvious and it’s good that all the judges got it right after some questionable scorecards in earlier fights. MVP said that Daley tried to take it to the ground but he beat him there and he’ll take the belt. He says he respects Douglas Lima a lot and it will be an honor to fight him in the next round. 

Bellator 158 live results: Paul Daley vs Douglas Lima; Matt Mitrione & Michael Venom Page

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Bellator MMA has it’s second European show of the year and the company’s debut in London at the O2 Arena on Spike TV. Headlining the tentpole card is a matchup of welterweights Paul Daley and former champion Douglas Lima. Newly signed Matt Mitrione takes on local favorite Oli Thompson in a heavyweight matchup and one of the top prospects in Bellator, Michael Venom Page, squares off with Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos in another welterweight clash. 

James Gallagher (3-0) vs Mike Cutting (6-5) 
Featherweights

Gallagher is a 19 year old training partner of Conor McGregor who has won all 3 of his pro bouts via first round submission. It appears Cutting missed weight as he’s announced at 148.5 lbs. Both guys are making their Bellator debuts.

Gallagher gets a decent reaction from the crowd but a crowd shot shows a ton of empty seats. Gallagher with early cage control. Callagher catches a kick 45 seconds in and gets a takedown. Gallagher using elbows to set up a choke. Gallagher takes the back at 1:15. Gallagher with a full body lock and working for a rear naked choke. Gallagher continuing to land punches to the head, while trying to secure the choke. Cutting doing almost nothing. Cutting finally fights him off at 4:00 and ends up in top position briefly. Gallagher tries to take the back again but Cutting sweeps to top position. Gallagher working for an armbar but defended well by Cutting. Cutting landing punches from the top as the round ends. 10-9 Gallagher

Gallagher again with cage control early as they trade leg kicks for the first minute. Crowd booing 1:45 in as neither guy engaging at all. Gallagher stumbles Cutting with a counter shot after a kick at 2:15. McCarthy warns Cutting “Don’t just run, Mike”. McCarthy stopped the action at 2:45 and warned Cutting he’d dock him a point if he didn’t start to engage. Nice punch combo at 3:00 from Gallagher. Cutting connecting with single leg kicks while continuing to retreat. Gallagher with a takedown at 4:00 and right into side control. Gallagher working for a Kimura and uses it to take the back at 4:45. Gallagher with a rear naked choke but gives it up quickly. 10-9 Gallagher, 20-18

Round 3 starts the same with Gallagher advancing and Cutting basically running away. Cutting throwing the occasional kick, Gallagher barely even throwing a strike through 2:30. Crowd is deathly silent. McCarthy warns Cutting again at 2:45. Gallagher catches a kick at 3:00 and takes Cutting down. Gallagher on top in a north/south position, not landing any strikes. Cutting throwing light punches from the bottom. Ref warns them to work at 4:30. Gallagher into side control at 4:45. Crowd singing the Ole song. Gallagher finally throwing punches as the round ends. 10-9 Gallagher, 30-27. Terrible fight

WINNER – JAMES GALLAGHER (4-0) by unanimous decision (scores 30-27 x 3)

Gallagher got a post-fight promo but didn’t have much to say. Promised to give a better fight next time out. 

Spencer Hewitt (12-10) vs Pietro Menga (12-0)
Flyweights

This was not on the main card lineup, so it must be from the prelims and was probably good. 

Menga with early cage control. Menga drops Hewitt with one punch and does a walk-off pose afterward.

WINNER – PIETRO MENGA (13-0) by KO (punch) at 41 seconds

Jack Mason (29-15-1) vs Jason Radcliffe (8-2)
Middleweights

This is another fight that was not listed on the main card lineup. It should be noted that this card was taped earlier today but has been promoted as “live” in the definition that only applies to Bellator and Impact wrestling. Radcliffe drops Mason with a knee to the head in the first exchange of the fight and it’s over.

WINNER – JASON RADCLIFFE (9-2) by KO (knee) at 16 seconds

Lightweight champion Michael Chandler was interviewed cageside by Sean Grande and Jimmy Smith. Talked about how great it felt to win the title in front of his hometown fans in St. Louis. They announced a #1 contender’s fight between Patricio Pitbull, moving up from 145, against Benson Henderson, moving down from 170. That’s a good matchup in the sense that Chandler has heat with Pitbull and Henderson is still one of the biggest names in the company. 

Michael “Venom” Page (10-0) vs Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos (21-17) 
Welterweights

They aired the walkouts. During Cyborg’s, Sean Grande said he could be an honorary member of the Legion of Doom. Not sure I’d make that comparison. MVP gets a huge ovation coming out and loud MVP chants. Page has first round stoppages in 9 of his 10 career fights.

Page with early cage control. More MVP chants. Page lands a right and Santos falls but Page gets right up, not wanting to go to the ground with him. Flying knee from Page lands but Santos ties him up along the cage and takes him down at 1:45. Page up quickly but Santos takes him down again. Page with a leglock attempt from the bottom. Santos fights it off and remains on top. Santos doing nothing from the top but holding Page down.Santos into side control at 3:30. Santos landing light punches to the head. Big John warns them to work at 4:30. Elbows to the body and legs from Santos as the round ends. 10-9 Santos

Page advancing to start again. Page landing single punches from distance, while Santos just retreating for the first 90 seconds. Through 3 minutes, Santos may not have landed a single strike, although he’s thrown a few. Hard body kick from Page at 3:30 and Santos clearly affected by it. Another one at 3:45. Page closing the distance. Loud MVP chants. Santos finally lands a strike, a leg kick, at 4:15. Santos runs into a jumping knee and Santos is down like a shot. Highlight reel KO there.

WINNER – MICHAEL “VENOM” PAGE (11-0) by KO (jumping knee) at 4:31 of round 2

Page put over Cyborg in his post-fight interview, made a Pokemon Go reference and then led the crowd in his hand movements.

Lukasz Klinger (7-2) vs Francis Carmont (24-11)
Light Heavyweights

No walkouts for this one. Klinger took this fight on late notice when Linton Vassell from England dropped out. Carmont with a takedown 45 seconds in. Crowd is very quiet. Smith and Grande are so bored with the fight they start talking about Rory McDonald. Carmont not landing any punches and barely trying to advance, just holding Klinger down. Carmont finally landing some punches at 3:00, looking to set up a choke. Carmont secures the D’Arce choke at 3:30 and gets the tap after securing a body lock as well. 

WINNER – FRANCIS CARMONT (25-11) by submission (D’Arce choke) at 3:54

Matt Mitrione (10-5) vs Oli Thompson (17-8)
Heavyweights

Thompson is making his Bellator debut but formerly fought in UFC. Mitrione is back 3 weeks after scoring a KO win in his Bellator but nearly being knocked out himself in the same fight. Despite the fact that Thompson is from London and Mitrione has the American flag all over his entrance video, he gets a bigger reaction from the crowd. 

Mitrione with a nice punch combo 45 seconds in. Mitrione throwing bombs but Thompson ties him up in a clinch on the cage. Mitrione gets separation with a knee and follows up with punches. More knees from Mitrione. Thompson fires back with punches. Mitrione teeing off on him at 1:45 but then backs off. Thompson falls down in a takedown attempt but Mitrione lets him back up and they clinch on the cage again. Thompson cut over his left eye. Separation at 2:45 and they’re both landing hard punches. Thompson looks rocked but he’s still standing. Thompson staggers Mitrione with a shot and tries to clinch but Mitrione takes control of the tie-up at 3:30. Mitrione with hard knees to the body from the clinch. Thompson with a nice punch combo and they separate. Back to a cage clinch at 4:45 and that’s how they close the round. 10-9 Mitrione

Mtrione with a punch combo 15 seconds in. Thompson follows up with one of his own. Both guys starting to land leg kicks as well. First two minutes in the centre of the cage with neither having cage control. Mtrione starting to advance at 2:15. Mitrione unloading with punches at 3:00 and Thompson gets backed up to the cage. They clinch with Mitrione in control. Mitrione landing punches to the head and body from the clinch but they get warned from the ref for lack of action. They separate at 4:15. Mitrione with a left hook that staggers Thompson. A couple more punches from Mitrione and Thompson falls face first and the ref stops it.

WINNER – MATT MITRIONE (11-5) by TKO at 4:21 of the 2nd round

Mitrione gets a post-fight promo and has his young son with him. He basically just put over Thompson in his interview and then said he was talking his son for a trip around Europe. You’d have to think his next fight will be for the vacant heavyweight title and they really should’ve at least hinted at something here. 

Fedor, Lennox Lewis and Tito Ortiz were all shown at ringside. 

Douglas Lima (26-6) vs Paul Daley (38-13-2)
Welterweights

The comments from Grande and Smith would make you think that they are moving away from the idea of a Koscheck/Daley rematch. The winner here should probably be in line for a shot at Andrey Koreshkov for the welterweight title. Daley gets a nice reaction from the crowd. Not quite as big as MVP’s but just under that.

Daley advancing to start but gets dropped by a punch from Lima, who follows him to the ground. Daley to his feet at 45 seconds but Lima still in control of the clinch. Ref warns them to work at 1:15. Lima not doing much but working for a takedown. Daley landing knees to the body and legs with his back to the cage. McCarthy breaks them up at 2:15. Great punch exchange at 2:30. Daley still advancing and gets caught with a counter punch again but stays on his feet. Lima clinches up on the cage again at 3:00. Ref warns them to work again at 3:45 but they separate on their own. Daley landing leg kicks. Lima starting to land leg and body kicks as well. Daley clinches up on the cage right before the round ends. 10-9 Lima

Daley with early cage control as they trade leg kicks. A few single punches from both guys but no sustained offence through 1:45. Lima catches a kick and clinches up on the cage after a takedown attempt but Daley separates. Punch combo from Daley at 2:15. Daley slightly more active through 3:00. Lima rocks Daley with a left and follows up with more punches. Daley no-selling it but he’s clearly hurt. Lima unloading on him at 3:15 and then Daley tries for a takedown. Lima ends up on top and still unloading on punches but Daley makes it to his feet at 4:00. Lima with knees to the body while controlling the clinch. Daley gets off a good shot but then Lima rocks him with another combo as the round ends. 10-8 Lima, 20-17

Daley had to be cleared by the doctor to come out for the 3rd. Jimmy Smith only scored round 2 a 10-9 but Lima clearly ahead 2 rounds regardless. Round starts the same as the other two with Daley controlling the pace but Lima gets a takedown at 1:45. Lima looking for an armbar as he tries to advance position. Ref warns them to work at 2:15. He warns them again at 3:00. Lima landing light shots to the body and holding Daley down. Daley trying to secure an armbar from the bottom but Lima defends it. Daley sweeps to top position at 3:45 but Lima does the same and ends up back in top position. Ref warns them again at 4:45. Lima does land some punches as the round ends. 10-9 Lima, 30-26 overall

WINNER – DOUGLAS LIMA (27-6) by unanimous decision (scores 30-27 x 3)

Daley and Lima both got interview time after the fight. Neither guy had much to say except to say that everything they said about each other before the fight meant nothing, that they were just trying to build a fight.

Overall, an okay show. I don’t sense much interest in this one, though. The MVP KO is worth going out of your way to see although word is that Cyborg suffered a fractured skull from the knee. Bellator is back Friday night with Bellator 159 on Spike with Darrion Caldwell vs Joe Taimanglo in the main event.

Bellator 148 Paul Daley vs Andy Uhrich coverage and results

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

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!