Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor won’t be headlining UFC 200, but the two are still part of International Fight Week.
McGregor and Diaz will appear at a press conference on Thursday afternoon promoting that tickets are now on sale for UFC 202. And with two of the UFC’s most outspoken stars involved there are sure to be fireworks.
The two previously faced off at UFC 196 in March with Diaz tapping out McGregor with a rear-naked choke in the second round.
The rematch was once scheduled to headline Saturday’s UFC 200 pay-per-view, but McGregor briefly delayed that after failing to fulfill promotional obligations.
UFC 202 will take place on August 20th in Las Vegas, Nevada. Anthony “Rumble” Johnson vs. Glover Teixeira, Demian Maia vs. Carlos Condit, Donald Cerrone vs. Rick Story, Hyun Gyu Lim vs. Sultan Aliev, Alberto Uda vs. Marvin Vettori, Neil Magny vs. Dong Hyun Kim and Cody Garbrandt vs. Takeya Mizugaki are also scheduled for the show.
Two people have been charged in connection with the hit and run homicide of former UFC fighter Ryan Jimmo, Edmonton police posted on their website Wednesday.
Anthony Getschel, 23, was charged with second degree murder, criminal negligence causing death and fail to stop at scene of accident involving death. Jordan Wagner, 21, is charged with accessory after the fact to murder.
Edmonton police also stated that the suspects did not know Jimmo and that a brief arguement had taken place shortly before the hit and run took place.
Jimmo, 34, last fought in UFC in May 2015, losing to Francimar Barroso and hadn’t fought since.
In a fight that ranged from sad to exciting to perversely entertaining, sometimes all at once, former PRIDE & Strikeforce heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko was ruled the winner in the second fight of his comeback, but as far as his career goes, he was anything but that.
In the main event of Friday’s EFN show in Saint Petersburg, Russia, that aired for nearly seven hours on UFC Fight Pass, Emelianenko was awarded a controversial majority decision over former UFC light heavyweight Fabio Maldonado on scores of 29-28 (x2) and 28-28.
A normal referee would have stopped the fight on at least two occasions: once in the first round when Emelianenko was being pounded on and knocked silly on the ground, and second, when he managed to get out of the position and his legs were gone as he was stumbling around. Still, “The Last Emporer” survived a first round where he took a terrible beating that somehow two judges called a 10-9.
In the second round, Emelianenko recovered and came back, although it was clear the 36-year-old’s Maldonado’s strategy was to block his punches and come back. Maldonado came back at the end of the round, landing a lot of solid punches, making it a close round.
Emelianenko did more damage in a third round putting two exhausted fighters on display, but, at best, he should have earned a draw out of it. While Maldonado blocked most of his punches, Maldonado was too tired to take advantage of Emelianenko’s tiredness and wear from the battering he took. Maldonado was also pretty battered by the time it was over.
A 28-28 score was legitimate as would be a 29-27 for Maldonado.
The announcer, hilariously honest, openly thought the fight was over early in the first round and was cheering for Emelianenko. He also said this probably ruins his chances to get into the UFC. Perhaps he could still get a deal because of his name, and that the viewership of this fight was small. But, it was clear that even though Emelianenko has unreal mental toughness, he would get destroyed by any good heavyweight striker unless he got to them quickly.
Maldonado proved a tough style match-up because the one thing he has is the ability to take punches which allowed Emelianenko to unload and tire himself out. Emelianenko never once went for a takedown, prompting the announcer to questioning why not, since Emelianenko would have had a huge edge if he could get the takedown.
Even before the decision was read, the announcer acknowledged Emelianenko had lost the fight, but said that, of course, he would be ruled the winner.
MMA star and YouTube street fighting sensation Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson has passed away at the age of 42 Monday, reportedly due to heart failure.
TMZ reported on Monday evening that Ferguson had been rushed to the hospital and was in a dire situation, and social media reports started to file in later that he had passed away. American Top Team, where Ferguson trained, confirmed the news on their Twitter account.
— American Top Team (@AmericanTopTeam) June 7, 2016
Ferguson rose to stardom on YouTube as a street fight legend, and parlayed that into an MMA career. He fought on the first-ever MMA event broadcast on network television — EliteXC: Primetime in May 2008 — where he defeated James Thompson. He famously lost to Seth Petruzelli later in 2008 in EliteXC’s final event. He went on to appear on UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter and fought Roy Nelson in the most watched fight aired on cable during that TUF season.
He went on to have a 1-1 record inside the Octagon, being released following a loss to Matt Mitrione.
Ferguson moved onto professional boxing and compiled a 7-0 record before returning to MMA with Bellator MMA. He defeated Ken Shamrock at Bellator 138 in June 2015, and followed that up with a second straight win in the infamous February bout against Dhafir “Dada 5000” Harris in February where Harris claimed he died during the fight and was hospitalized for several days following due to renal failure.
Ferguson failed a drug test afterward failing for nandralone and elevated testosterone levels. He was suspended for 90 days, far from the standard suspensions found in most states. Ferguson was booked to rematch Thompson at the upcoming Bellator 158 event on July 16 in London, England.
A statement from Bellator’s Scott Coker:
We are all shocked and saddened by the devastating and untimely loss of Kimbo Slice, a beloved member of the Bellator family.
One of the most popular MMA fighters ever, Kimbo was a charismatic, larger-than-life personality that transcended the sport.
Outside of the cage he was a friendly, gentle giant and a devoted family man. His loss leaves us all with extremely heavy hearts, and our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Ferguson family and all of Kimbo’s friends, fans, and teammates.
A statement from UFC:
UFC is saddened to learn of the passing of Kevin Ferguson, known to fans around the world as Kimbo Slice.
Slice will forever be a part of UFC history as a contestant on season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter in 2009, and for having fought twice inside the Octagon at The Ultimate Fighter Finale and UFC 113. He carried himself as a true professional during his time in our organization.
While he will never be forgotten for his fighting style and transcendent image, Slice will also be remembered for his warm personality and commitment to his family and friends.
UFC offers its sincere condolences to Slice’s family, friends and teammates at American Top Team.
Bellator returns to Spike TV with a show headlined by what should be a fun middleweight title fight between two striking specialists. Champion Rafael Carvalho defends his belt against Melvin Manhoef, who also fights for Bellator’s kickboxing division.
The co-main features 2-time featherweight champion Pat Curran against former WSOF champ Georgi Karakhanyan, with the winner hoping to earn a title shot down the line. The show also features the return of Joey Beltran to the heavyweight division, the last person to go more than a round with Cris Cyborg – former Strikeforce bantamweight champ Marloes Coenen – and unbeaten heavyweight Augusto Sakai staking his claim to the vacant strap in that division.
Vince Morales (4-1) TKO (punches) over Hamilton Ash (3-2)
Joe Hamilton (4-0) submisssion (RNC) over Tyler Freeland (4-1)
Casey Johnson (5-0) submission (RNC) over Brendan Raftery (4-3)
Jesse Brock (22-8) submission (RNC) over Olly Badstreet (39-13)
Marcin Held (21-4) vs Dave Jansen (21-3) LIGHTWEIGHTS
Held all over Jansen with punches early and they clinch on the cage. Quick separation but Held lands a hard punch combo at 1:00. Jansen with a takedown and working for a neck crank. Held is a wizard on the ground so this is risky. Held landing punches from his back and opens up a cut over Jansen’s left eye. Jansen lets the choke go and attempts to move into mount but Held grabs his feet, attemping a foot lock. Jansen escapes but Held sweeps into top position. Jansen takes his neck and tries to wall walk to his feet. He makes it up at 3:30 and Held follows. Held with a takedown at 3:45. Held landing punches from the top and scoring with elbows to the head as well. Jansen to his feet just before the bell. Very close round. 10-9 Held
Jansen advancing early. Held nails a spinning back head kick and then gets a takedown at 1:00. Held landing punches and elbows to the head and Jansen bleeding all over the place from a cut behind his ear. Held continuing to land punches and elbows while looking for a sub. Ref stands them up to look at the cut on Jansen. Jansen gets a takedown on the restart but Held quickly sweeps into top position and into side control at 3:45. Held with an inverted heel hook at 4:00 and then transition to a straight foot look. Jansen escaps but Held right back into top position, dropping punches and elbows. Jansen’s face is a bloody mess and Jimmy Smith gets in references to Bruiser Brody and Abdullah the Butcher. 10-8 Held, 20-17
Both guys trading punches to start. Jansen initiates a cage clinch at 45 seconds. Held takes control and gets the takedown at 1:00. Jansen manages to sweep into top postion at 1:15. Jansen briefly takes his back but Held rolls into a leglock position and then a kneebar. Jansen escapes but Held still working the leg and landing punches from his back. Jansen to his feet and Held follows and they end up back in a cage clinch. Jansen with a standing headlock and tries for a takedown but Held sweeps to his back and then captures an arm. Held also landing elbows to the body. Jansen escapes and ends up on top. Jansen landing punches and elbows from the top. Held to his feet and then takes Jansen down when he tries for a guillotine. Held landing elbows and punches from the top. Jansen trying to get to his feet but eating punches and Held holds him down. Jansen bleediing profusely again. Held continuing to land punches as the fight ends. 10-9 Held, 30-26 Held
WINNER – MARCIN HELD (22-4) by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x 2)
Beltran is back to heavyweight after fighting as low as middleweight. He’s giving up a lot of size here as Gormley cuts to make 265. Gormley opens up with leg kicks and quickly takes cage control. Beltran landing leg kicks from distance. Gormley landing 3 kicks to every 1 for Beltran through the first half of the round and controlling the cage. Sean Grande promising some big news later on tonight, which seems like an every show occurence. Beltran with a nice punch combo at 4:00. Gormley retreating for the first time in the fight. Beltran again chasing him down with punches at 4:45. 10-9 Gormley
Beltran opening up with punches. Gormley still throwing mainly kicks. Fight is mainly in the centre for the first half of the round with the activity about even. Beltran landing more punches this round. Neither guy able to mount any kind of sustained offence through 4 minutes. Beltran starting to control the pace in the last minute and starting to land some combos. Very close round, 10-9 Beltran, all tied up after 2.
Beltran rocks Gormley with a punch early and Gormley responds with a takedown attempt that Beltran defends well at 45 seconds. Punch combo from Beltran at 1:15. Beltran pushing the pace pretty clearly now. Gormley barely even landing kicks any more, just trying to avoid Beltran’s strikes. Gormley starting to land leg kicks again at 4:00. Beltran still advancing, throwing single strikes. Another very close round, 10-9 Beltran but could go either way. 29-28 Beltran
WINNER – CHASE GORMLEY (13-5) by split decision (28-29; 29-28 x 2)
Dufresne clinches up right away and scores a takedown. Coenen working for an armbar from her back. Dufresne escapes and landing punches from guard. Coenen working for a neck crank. Dufresne escapes again. Coenen with a guillotine attempts that she gives up on quickly. Coenen far more active from her back as Dufresne is just trying to hold her down. Coenen sweeps into top position at 2:45. Dufresne still has her arms tied up. Dufresne working for a triangle from her back and also landing kicks to the body and punches to the head. Dufresne gets the triangle at 4:00 and also landing punches to the head. It’s essentially Undertaker’s Hell’s gate and then she gets the armbar for the finish
WINNER – ALEXIS DUFRESNE (6-2) by submission at 4:33
That was one of the biggest upsets of the year and Dufresne claims that Coenen disrespected her at the weigh-ins and that’s what fueled her. She dedicated the win to her daughter who she gave birth to last Thanksgiving. She joins Meisha Tate as the only two women to ever submit Coenen.
DAN CHARLES (10-3) VS AUGUSTO SAKAI (9-0) HEAVYWEIGHTS (John McCarthy – ref)
Sakai is just a massive heavyweight at 6 ft 4 and is another who cuts to 265. He’s 4-0 with 3 KOs in Bellator. Charles is one of the guys whose lost to Lashley in Bellator. Charles initiates a cage clinch 30 seconds in. Sakai powers out of it. Charles pushing the pace early. Charles landing leg kicks from distance. Sakai throwing hard front kicks that are just missing. Sakai nails a head kick and then kicks Charles HARD in the groin and he goes down like he’s been shot, screaming in pain. Charles shakes it off after about 90 seconds, which is impressive cause that’s one of the worst nut shots you’ll ever see. Charles landing body kicks on the restart. Sakai hits him again with one of the first kicks he threw and Charles goes down instantly, almost as bad as the first one. Charles threw a kick at the same time that almost hit Sakai in the groin. Sakai basically pleading with McCarthy not to dock him a point but to no avail. That could be huge because this round is close. Sakai continuing to throw kicks and almost no punches. Charles not doing much after the restart and Sakai just landing a couple of kicks. 10-8 Charles but it easily could be 9-9
Big announcements coming for Dynamite 2 later tonight. Charles opening with kicks to the body and legs again. Sakai scoring the occasional single kick. Charles grazes Sakai with a low kick but Sakai shakes it off without stopping the fight. Sakai may not have landed a punch through the first half of the fight. Sakai starting to take over cage control at 3:00. Sakai starting to land with more frequency at 4:00, all with kicks. This is a boring fight. Charles lands a hard punch to the head at 4:30. Close round, maybe to Sakai 10-9, 19-18 Charles after 2
Charles with a takedown to start the round that wakes the crowd up but Sakai up quickly and they’re back to sleep. Sakai landing his kicks a little more frequently, landing mostly to the body and head. Seems hesitant to throw the leg kick after the point deduction. Sakai is not getting a title shot after this, whether he wins or not. Charles doing almost nothing, Sakai very slightly more than nothing, which may be enough to take the round. Sakai actually landing a few hard leg kicks in the last minute and stalking Charles. Sakai even throws a couple of punches that looked like they missed. 10-9 Sakai so I’ve got it as a draw
NO WINNER – MAJORITY DRAW (scores 30-26 Charles, 28-28 x 2)
The two big announcements were Joe Schilling facing Kato in a kickboxing match immediately following Dynamite 2 on Spike and Ilemi-Lei Macfarlane facing Rebecca Ruth in what I’m assuming will be a Spike.com prelim fight. That was underwhelming.
PAT CURRAN (21-7) VS GEORGI KARAKHANYAN (24-5-1) FEATHERWEIGHTS (Jason Herzog – ref)
Both guys really tentative for the first 90 seconds. Curran starting land leg kicks at 1:45. Karakhanyan controllign the cage. Curran with a punch combo at 2:00. Curran knocks Karakhanyan down with a punch to the head and pounces on him. After an initial flurry, he lets up and Karakhanyan gets some time to recover. Curran slowly starting to advance while also looking for a choke at 3:30. Curran into mount at 4:15 but Karakhanyan escapes quickly and briefly to his feet but goes to his back and brings Curran into his guard. Nothing happened for the rest of the round. 10-9 Curran
Karakhanyan shoots for a takedown to start round 2 and Curran stuffs it and ends up on top. Karakhanyan tying up the arms of Curran and then briefly tries a guillotine at 1:15. Curran takes his back at 1:30. Curran trying to secure a body lock and gets it at 2:00. Karakhanyan nailed him with punches as Curran lies on his back, still controlling the back. Karakhanyan escapes at 3:00 and works Curran back to guard. Karakhanyan with a guillotine attempt at 3:15 and uses it to get to his feet and then sweep to top position. Neither guy doing much on the ground with Karakhanyan in Curran’s guard. Ref stands them up at 4:30. Karakhanyan controlling things and lands a couple of kicks before the round ends. Very close, 10-9 Curran, 20-18
Karakhanyan misses on a takedown attempt to start the round. Karakhanyan advancing and Curran landing leg kicks and punches while retreating. Curran takes his back standing at 1:45 but Karakhanyan works him to the front and takes him down at 2:15. Curran with a guillotine attempt from his back. Karakhanyan escapes but not doing anything from up top. Crowd starting to boo. Curran landing some elbows to the head from the bottom. Karakhanyan working for a triangle from half-guard but Curran works him back to full guard. Karakhanyan with some light punches to the body just before the round ends. 10-9 Karakhanyan, 29-28 Curran overall but it all depends how they score round 2.
WINNER – PAT CURRAN (22-7) by unanimous decision (scores 29-28 x 3)
MAIN EVENT FOR THE BELLATOR MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE:
CHAMPION RAFAEL CARVALHO (12-1) VS MELVIN MANHOEF (30-12-1) (John McCarthy – ref)
Both guys keeping their distance early. Crowd starting to boo at 1:15 as neither guy has landed a strike. Carvalho controlling the pace and lands a kick from distance at 2:30 that may be the first strike landed. Jimmy Smith calls it a “regrettably cautious start from both fighters” . Boos are getting really loud at 3:15. McCarthy stops the fight and warns them to fight. What? I mean, what’s he going to do? This is like the MR Wrestling 3 counter gimmick with the Young Bucks last weekend. 4:30 in and still nothing. Manhoef lands a kick at 4:45. Grande says it was the first strike landed. 10-10, no question.
Manhoef pushing the pace early. Manhoef throws a punch and follows up with a kick at 45 seconds, the most sustained “action” of the fight. Manhoef with a hard kick to the body at 1:30. Official stats for round 1 were Manhoef 1/6 in strikes landed, Carvalho 1/13 in strikes landed. Crowd booing again at 2:30 as they’ve slowed down. Carvalho starting to advance now. Crowd getting really loud again with the booing at 3:45. Manhoef lands two leg kicks and follows up with punches at 4:00. Carvalho still advancing. Carvalho with a knee to the body and they clinch up. Carvalho with a knee that looked low and McCarthy steps in but Carvalho wants to keep fighting. Carvalho with 2 elbows to the head after McCarthy stopped it. Replay looked like it might have hit the gut. 10-9 Manhoef
Manhoef with a punch combo to open. Carvalho with an eye poke 15 seconds in. McCarthy had warned him earlier in the fight but didn’t dock a point. On the restart, he had his fingers out again and McCarthy stopped it again and warned Carvalho. Carvalho with a takedown attempt at 1:30 and they end up in a cage clinch. Manhoef gets control and then throws Carvalho off, landing a hard punch on the way out. Carvalho clinches right back up again and takes Manhoef down. Manhoef to his feet at 2:30. Carvalho with another low blow. I dont know if this is eligible for the Wrestling Observer awards but this is the worst show of the year, bar none. McCarthy calls the corner over and warns the corner to control their fighter. No pont deduction, though. Carvalho shoots for a takedown again at 3:45 but Manhoef defends it. Crowd booing heavily again as they’re clinched on the cage with nothing happening. Manhoef punches his way out of it at 4:45. This could be Carvalho’s round. 10-9 Carvalho, 29-29 so far
Carvalho shoots for a takedown 30 seconds in but stuffed by Manhoef. Manhoef lands a hard kick on the way out. Carvalho lands a knee to the body and then gets a takedown at 1:15. Carvalho right into side control. Carvalho just holding him down, nothing even attempting anything from side control and the crowd booing heavily. And then he just lets Manhoef up. This is awful. Terrible. No good. Just really, really bad. Announcers are talking like Manhoef’s up three rounds. He could be. I don’t care. Carvalho just waving his arms around at 3:30 and Manhoef just standing there. Crowd booing heavily. McCarthy warning them to fight again. Booing is getting ridiculously loud. Carvalho walking away from Manhoef with his hands on his hips and Manhoef just doing nothing. They walked back to their corners before the bell even rang. “Beyond my comprehension”, Jimmy Smith said as the round ended. Another 10-10
Crowd starting to do random chants to entertain themselves now. Manhoef with a superman punch landing and the crowd like that. Manhoef with a nice punch combo at 1:00. Hard body kick from Manhoef at 1:15. Carvalho shoots for a takedown at 1:45. Manhoef defends it but Carvalho holds onto him in a cage clinch. Ref warning them to work. Manhoef landing light punches to the head. Manhoef ends up falling on top of him and into mount briefly but Carvalho just stands up. Manhoef takes him right back down. And nothing happening again. Ref warns them to work again. Manhoef up at 3:30 and Carvalho follows him. Carvalho back to walking around with his hands on his hips. Crowd booing louds and McCarthy steps in between them and tells them to fight. Manhoef lands a couple of single strikes from distance. Crowd booing heavily at the end. 10-9 Manhoef, 49-48 overall
WINNER – RAFAEL CARVALHO (13-1) by split decision (47-48-29; 48-47 x 2)
Sean Grande said that the only thing worse than that fight was the decision. Jimmy Smith that he is “DISGUSTED that this fight went this way for Rafael Carvalho” and that he’s disgusted for this sport right now. And followed up by saying that’s all he can say on TV. Wow.
I mean, that was a bad decision but far from the worst you’ll ever see. It was just a really bad fight and I don’t know how you pick a winner in the 2 rounds I scored 10-10. It sounded like Jimmy dropped his headset while Grande was talking as the show went off the air.
This was easily the worst MMA card I’ve ever seen topped off by what may have been the worst fight in this century.
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 fighter Jordan Parson’s who had his leg amputated a few days ago after a hit and run has passed away. He was 25 years old. Parson’s was hit by a car early last Sunday, May 1st around 12:30AM while crossing a street in Del Ray, Florida.
Bellator promoter Scott Coker had this to say: “It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of a dear member of the Bellator family, Jordan Parsons. Jordan was an exceptional athlete and a rising star in the sport. But more importantly, he was an exceptional young man. Jordan was hard-working, dedicated, intelligent, and a pleasure to be around. He represented all the reasons we love this sport. It is a terribly tragic loss and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends, and teammates.” We at the Wrestling Observer echo the sentiments of Mr. Coker.
The driver, who has not been found, took off while Parsons was left on the road with a horrible leg wound. A police officer, Derek Chahine, responded and treated Parsons, who was taken to the hospital, in critical condition. Police believe that the headphones Parsons was wearing as he crossed the road may have prevented him from hearing the SUV approaching. Police were unable to determine who had the right of way. Police are searching for the driver, whose car would be missing the drivers’s side mirror and have damage on the driver’s side headlight and surrounding casing. Parsons had an 11-2 record and was scheduled to fight on Bellator’s San Jose show 5/14 against Adam Piccolotti.
Former UFC, Bellator, and Strikeforce heavyweight Lavar “Big” Johnson was sentenced to five years in prison on Friday stemming from an August arrest on domestic battery charges.
Based on an incident on August 11, Johnson was charged with corporal injury on a spouse/co-habitant, assault likely to produce great bodily harm, dissuading a witness from reporting a crime, and dissuading a witness by force.
He was charged with punching, kneeing, and slamming his girlfriend’s head on the ground and the wall. Johnson told the judge he was ashamed and embarrassed about the ending of the seven-year relationship, and had friends speak and write for him to try and get the sentenced reduced.
Judge Glenda Allen-Hill wasn’t moved by the testimony, pointing to the severity of the beating and also that it wasn’t a first time occurrence as Johnson was sentenced to 14 days in jail and three years probation and forced to undergo alcohol counseling after a 2007 incident with a different girlfriend. He was also jailed for 30 days for criminal threats and disobeying a domestic relations order.
Hill noted that he could have stopped and not inflicted so much damage on his victim, but he did not stop.
Johnson (18-10) was noted for having a great physical similarity (and same last name) to Dwayne Johnson as he’s 6-foot-4, 255 pounds bald, muscular, and with similar tattoos. He was known as a “kill or be killed” heavyweight as in his 28 pro fights, only one went the distance, a UFC fight with Brendan Schaub where Schaub took him down and held him down for three rounds.
Over the last six years, Johnson had 11 pro fights (4-11), nine of which ended in the first round. He came to the UFC in 2012 when UFC brought all the Strikeforce heavyweights into the promotion and went 2-2 in four fights, cut after the loss to Schaub.
He was signed by Bellator and had lost three of his last four fights with his last fight on September 5, 2014.
Bellator 153 : Koreshkov vs Henderson is on Spike TV Friday night at 8 pm eastern from Connecticut. The show airs one hour earlier than usual and features the Bellator debut of former WEC and UFC lightweight champion Benson “Smooth” Henderson. He challenges Bellator welterweight champion Andrei Koreshkov in the main event. Bellator mainstay Patricio “Pitbull” Freire fights in the co-main and the show also features the return of “MVP” Michael Venom Page. Mr Cyborg even makes an appearance!
Show opens with a video package with clips of various MMA media talking about the signing of Benson Henderson, including Ariel Helwani, Bas Rutten and Kenny Rice. They made the signing feel very important. This led to footage of Andrey Koreshkov just destroying dudes. Really good opening that made the main event of tonight’s show feel like a big deal.
Like last week’s show, they are airing the fighter walkouts, which is a nice touch that separates Bellator from UFC. Sean Grande even talks about the MVP “character” but also puts over his fighting ability and style, saying that he vows to do something that fans have never seen before.
Welterweights Michael Page (9-0) vs Jeremie Holloway (7-1) (John McCarthy – ref)
Page has a huge height and reach advantage, as he usually does a 6 ft 3 welterweight. Holloway rushes MVP and gets floored with a punch flush on the face but he recovers quickly. Page with his hands down at his knees and throwing wild punches while Grande says he’s part Anderson Silva and part Bugs Bunny, which gets a chuckle from Jimmy Smith. Holloway clinches up on the cage and the fans boo so Big John breaks them up. Actually it was a low blow by Holloway during the clinch. MVP with a huge right and then throws Holloway to the floor. MVP with a reverse ankle lock and gets the quick tap. He then gets in Holloway’s face trash talking him after he releases the hold.
WINNER – MICHAEL PAGE (10-0) by submission (toe hold) at 2:15
Page gets some interview time after the fight. Says he’s working on his all around game. Jimmy Smith announces that it will be MVP vs Fernando Gonzalez on July 16th in London, which is the undercard of the Kimbo Slice/James Thompson fight.
Lightweights Brent Primus (6-0) vs Gleristone Santos (27-5) (Bryan Miner – ref)
No walkouts aired for these two. Ref Miner bears a slght resemblance to Scott Coker. Santos gets a couple early knockdowns and Primus seems to want to keep it on the ground but Santos stands up to get it back to the feet. Primus has 3 first round subs in Bellator so that would explain it. Primus does get it to the ground at 1:15 and working for a sub from his back. Santos to his feet and landing kicks to the body so Primus gets up as well. Santos is defintely landing more on the feet. Primus misses a takedown attempt badly at 2:30. Santos already tired 4:00 in as he’s been throwing a lot of punches. Primus starting to connect with leg kicks. 10-9 Santos but close
SAntos controlling the cage to start the round and still more active early. Primus hit with a low blow 2:30 in but doesn’t seem to want to stop fighting. Ref warns Santos and they start fighting again right away. Both guys throwing a ton of shots on the restart. Primus with a takedown attempt but defended well by Santos at 4:00. Primus with a nice punch combo, his best of the fight, at 4:15. Santos with a nice combo right before the bell. That was almost a 10-10 round but I’d give the slight edge to Primus so 19-19 after 2
Jimmy Smith has Santos up two rounds. Primus pulls guard early in round 3. Santos stands up and Primus tries to grab his foot but Santos gets away and they’re both standing again. Primus starting to land more punches and connects with a spin kick. Santos with a punch combo of his own at 1:45 that staggers Primus. Primus stuffed on another takedown attempt at 2:45. Santos lands a couple hard rights followed by a body kick and Primus is stumbling. Santos lets up, giving Primus time to recover and Primus gets a takedown at 3:45 and Primus takes his back. Santos rolls out but Primus still in his guard. Primus landing punches and elbows. Santos with a heel hook attempt but Primus escapes and postures up and then lands a hammer fist before going back into Santos’ guard. Primus ends the round on top to take the round definitively. 10-9 Primus, 29-28 overall but either guy could take it.
WINNER – BRENT PRIMUS (7-0) by split decision (29-28 x 2; 28-29)
Jimmy Smith scored all 3 rounds for Santos, which is questionable. Primus gets some mic time and asks for a top 10 fighter to help him move up in the rankings. He thanks God and Scott Coker for believing in him and letting him fight on the main card. Charisma isn’t exactly his strong suit.
Good pre-fight video package for the next fight. Ward is promising a quick explosive fight in front of his hometown fans. Bellator is back in this venue in October and Ward will get a title shot with a win tonight.
Welterweights Brennan Ward (13-3) vs Evangelista Santos (20-16) (Todd Anderson – ref)
These guys are big enough stars to get televised walkouts. Santos is better known as Mr Cyborg and is the ex-husband of Cristiano Justino aka Cris Cyborg. He is a former Strikeforce fighter making his Bellator debut and he once fought Nick Diaz. He’s also fought in Pride. Ward is a big star to the locals and comes out to Irish folk music with Irish flags everywhere like he’s on a Conor McGregor undercard. When Bellator did their UK vs USA tentpole show last year, he was on the UK “team” before turning American in his post-fight interview. This should end quickly as between the two of them, they’ve got 28 stoppages in 33 career wins, most of those coming in the first round.
Ward catches a Santos kick and takes him down right away. Cyborg with a heel hook and gets the quick tap.
WINNER – EVANGELISTA SANTOS (21-16) by verbal submission at 30 seconds (heel hook)
Cyborg says he’s after the belt and not much more in his post fight promo.
The “Fighters First” promo from last week aired again and it’s still great. Matt Mitrione’s debut was announced for Dynamite 2 in June against a Samoan fighter that I’ve never heard of. They are running tentpole shows in each of the next 3 months with regular shows mixed in as well so it’s going to be a big few months of fights for Bellator as well as UFC.
Featherweights Patricio Freire (24-3) vs Henry Corrales (12-2) (Kevin MacDonald – ref)
Both guys get walkouts with Pitbull getting AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” as his song, preceded by barking pitbulls. Pitbull controlling the cage early. Corrales landing single punches from distance but neither guy doing much through 2 minutes. Pitbull with a takedown attempt at 2:15 and ends up taking the back of Corrales standing. He completes it at 2:30 and into mount quickly. Pitbull working for an arm triangle but gives it up quickly. Corrales works him back into guard but eats some elbows. Corrales to his feet at 3:45. Crowd booing heavily at 4:30 as neither guy has done a thing since they stood up. They have a quick punch exchange right before the bell. 10-9 Pitbull
Carl Seumanatafa is the name of Mitrione’s opponent in June. Announcers saying that Pitbull may have suffered a rib injury in the first round. He does seem to be very tentative. Nice punch combo from Corrales at 1:30. Crowd booing again at 1:45. Pitbull with cage control but neither guy doing much of anything, much like the main event of last week’s show, although this one has slightly more action. Pitbull connects with a flying knee at 3:00. Pitbull with a nice punch combo at 3:15 and then gets a takedown. Pitbull landing light punches to the body from the top but then stands up and locks in a standing guillotine and gets the quick tap.
WINNER – PATRICIO FREIRE (25-3) by submission (guillotine choke) at 4:09 of the 2nd round
In his post-fight interview, Pitbull says he was a “little hurt” after round 1 but he took his corner’s advice and submitted his opponent in Round 2. Says he’s the most complete fighter in the division and vows to take his belt back from Daniel Straus.
A prelim fight between Djamil Chan and Richard Patishnock aired next. Chan moves to 13-2 with a first round KO and looked really good.
Main Event for the Bellator Welterweight Championship – Champion Andrei Koreshkov (18-1) vs Benson Henderson (23-5) (John McCarthy – ref)
Henderson got to take his “Awesome God” entrance music with him from UFC and Koreshkov is out to the Russian national anthem followed by what sounded like the Imperial Death March. It would’ve been a great entrance song for Rusev when he was a Russian sympathizer. After bringing in Road Warrior Hawk a couple years ago, I was very disappointed that Nikolai Volkoff was nowhere to be found. Henderson is the huge crowd favorite and his “notable wins” record is the best lineup I’ve ever seen in Bellator.
Henderson giving up a lot of size here, although it’s not as bad as when he fought Brandon Thatch last year. Henderson staying on the outside, landing body kicks from distance. Koreshkov pushing the pace early. Henderson connecting with leg kicks as well. Koreshkov catches a kick and pushes Henderson to the ground at 2:15 but lets him back up. Koreshkov lands a hard body kick right after that. Koreshkov with a punch combo that backs Henderson up at 3:15. Henderson misses badly on a takedown attempt. Henderson continuing to connect with leg kicks, which could come into play later. Koreshkov knocks Henderson down with 10 seconds left and all over him with punches as the round ends. 10-9 Koreshkov
Koreshkov advancing again and Henderson with his back to the cage early. Koreshkov lands a spinning head kick and Henderson misses on another takedown attempt. Flying knee by Koreshkov and then a punch combo but Henderson weathers it. Another weak takedown attempt by Henderson. Henderson continuing to land leg kicks, but that’s all he’s connecting with. Another failed takedown attempt from Henderson at 3:15. That one was closer. Henderson missing wildly on his punches as well. Henderson with a body punch that seemed to hurt Koreshkov a bit and he gains cage control for a short bit. Body kick by Koreshkov staggers Henderson at 4:30. Cage clinch with 10 seconds left and Koreshkov landing punches to the body and head. 10-9 Koreshkov, 20-18 overall
LETS GO BENSON chants from the crowd to start round 3. Left hook staggers Henderson and he shoots for a takedown. Koreshkov landing elbows and punches to the head but Henderson won’t let go of his waist. Koreshkov with his back on the cage and Henderson just holding him there, not landing anything. Henderson with a couple of elbows to the head that connect. Koreshkov sprawls and landing hard knees to the body. They separate at 3:30. Koreshkov landing hard leg kicks as the crowd starts a USA chant. Spinning head kick from Koreshkov with 10 seconds left. Another round for Koreshkov, 30-27.
Koreshkov advancing to start again and landing leg kicks early. Henderson with a takedown attempt and Koreshkov sprawls out. Henderson ends up on his back and just misses with a hard upkick and Koreshkov backs off, forcing Henderson to his feet. Henderson wtih a takedown attempt that ends up in a cage clinch at 2:00. Henderson landing a lot of leg kicks from the clinch. Koreshkov gets seperation at 3:00. Koreshkov continuing to advance. Koreshkov knocks Henderson down with a punch but stays on his feet, landing punches while Henderson is sitting on the canvas. Koreshkov with a standing guillotine at 4:30 and drags him to the canvas but lets go quickly. Henderson to his feet at 4:45. 10-9 Koreshkov, 40-36
Benson’s corner told him “we’re down a lot” between rounds. Henderson with leg kicks to open and connects with a head kick. Henderson landing more this round as he has to go for it. Koreshkov looks as fresh as he did in the first and lands another spinning head kick. Henderson with a takedown attempt and Koreshkov sprawls out again. Koreshkov with a massive body kick as Henderson was shooting for a takedown. Henderson stayed down but Koreshkov backed off, forcing him to his feet. Henderson with another weak takedown attempt. Henderson landed a couple of kicks from his back and Koreshkov backed off. Henderson misses wildly with a punch and then drops to his back but Koreshkov having none of it and backs off. Koreshkov still advancing at 4:00 and lands a spinning back fist. Koreshkov drops Henderson with a punch but doesn’t go to the ground with him. Henderson connects with an upkick but Koreshkov in with a vicious knee to the body with 10 seconds left. Koreshkov with a guillotine right before the final bell. 10-9 Koreshkov, 50-45
WINNER – ANDREY KORESHKOV (19-1) by unanimous decision (50-45 x 3)
Both guys get interview time. Koreshkov says that his coach told him that he would win every round and he did. Henderson says he’s sad cause he doesn’t like losing. When asked what’s next, he was supposed to say he’s going back to 155 but instead said “I dunno, whatever the bosses say”. Announcers were pushing potential fights with Josh Thomson and Michael Chandler. Koreshkov will probably get the Koscheck-Daley winner next.
Kimbo Slice’s championship aspirations have never been at the top of the list for Bellator MMA, but interesting fights certainly are. Sunday night, the MMA world found out what his next foray into the cage will be.
In a rematch of one of the most watched MMA fights of all time, the 42-year-old Slice (6-2) will rematch James “Colossus” Thompson (20-16-1) on Saturday, July 16th at the O2 Arena in London, England. Bellator president Scott Coker made the announcement during a quick segment on ESPN’s SportsCenter on ESPNews.
Slice will ride into the fight on a two fight win streak, having dispatched Ken Shamrock and Dhafir “DADA 5000” Harris in February, the last fight notable mainly because Harris nearly died during the fight due to a terribly planned weight cut, and that Slice tested positive for banned substances. He was suspended for all of 90 days by the Texas Athletic Commission.
After winning four straight, the 37-year-old Thompson has lost his last two fights by TKO. He and Slice fought back in May 2008 for EliteXC, a fight Slice won by 3rd round TKO when Thompson’s cauliflower ear exploded after Slice punched it. The show aired on CBS and did huge ratings.
According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Bellator is looking at England native Paul Daley vs. Josh Koscheck II in the co-main event — a rematch of their infamous May 2010 UFC fight where Daley punched Koscheck after the fight ended, causing his immediate firing by UFC brass. Ever since Bellator signed both guys, the fight has been inevitable.
The fight announcement wasn’t lost on UFC VP of Public Relations Dave Sholler who had a simple tweet after the announcement. Even with a busy July, UFC has no shows planned for that date. They have run the O2 Arena six times, always drawing well there.
