Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez are back today with special guest Bobby Lashley to talk Bellator 145, his fight with James Thompson, pro-wrestling vs. MMA training, staying in shape at 39 and having the best run of his career and more! A fun show as always so check it out!
Lavar Johnson, a heavyweight fighter who had fought for both the UFC and Bellator, is currently in jail in Fresno on a number of charges including domestic assault regarding an alleged attack on his girlfriend in August.
Johnson has been held since that time, but the story went unreported until today when TMZ first broke it.
Johnson, 38, was arrested on 8/25 for an alleged incident on 8/11 where he is accused of slamming his girlfriend against a wall and on the ground, and repeatedly kneeing her in the face and head. He is also accused of punching her 11 times in the face.
The list of charges include corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant, assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury, dissuading a witness from reporting a crime and dissuading a witness by force.
The police report stated that Johnson then fled the scene. Police arrived and saw the woman with a swollen forehead and nose, bleeding. She said that when Johnson saw the blood, he backed off. She needed staples to close one of the cuts.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is being held on $175,000 bond. He is facing a maximum 128 months in prison on the charges.
Johnson had a similar arrest in 2007.
Johnson, was a Strikeforce regular from 2009 to 2011, and then moved to UFC after the heavyweight division was switched over and fought four times in the organization, going 2-2. He was cut after testing positive for testosterone after a loss to Brendan Schaub on February 23, 2013. Since then he was signed to Bellator, where he had a 1-3 record.
Episode 17 of Josh Nason’s Punch-Out has arrived just in time for a MMA double-shot weekend which is why Josh brought in MMA Weekly associate editor Erik Fontanez to help preview the action and find a bright spot amid a devastated UFC Fight Night Card, evidenced by Ben Rothwell’s awesome PhotoShop work.
Josh and Erik rapped for over an hour, giving hot take after hot take on the following:
– What he did for Back To The Future Day (yes, this matters)
– His start in MMA writing and the scene in SoCal
– What happened when he approached Joe Rogan out of the blue for an interview
– His toughest interviews
– The fan reaction to both Joe Duffy and Dustin Poirier this week
– What he’s looking forward to watching at UFC Dublin
– A look at Bellator Friday night and all that is Michael “Venom” Page
– A game of Optimistic or Pessimistic featuring Georges St. Pierre, CM Punk, and more
Observer subscribers can listen to the show by clicking below with early access via the show’s RSS feed. Not a subscriber? Try us out for a month.
The following is from Submission Radio
On getting caught in the reverse triangle and losing to Liam McGeary
“I made a mistake. I will never make that mistake again. I haven’t been submitted since 1998 and I won’t ever let that happen again. I was so mad at myself. We worked so hard in training. I mean, I put so much in into that fight, I mean so much. Twelve weeks I put into it. So much triangle defences, reverse triangle defences, arm lock defences, like everything. And Liam was just a little longer, a little faster, a little step ahead of me, and in the last two seconds of the fight I made mistake (laughs). And I’m like, ‘damn. Damn to me’. But you know what? If I’m gonna lose to anybody, like I said, I’ll lose to the champ.”
If retirement crossed Tito’s mind during the post-fight speech at Bellator Dynamite
“Never. No. I have one more fight. I make really, really, really, really good money and I love it. This is fun, I like to fight, and I don’t know, I fulfil everything that is given to me. I had a contract with four fights on it, I’m gonna have one more fight to finish up four fights and I’ll fulfil it. There was no idea of retiring at all. It would be nice. Maybe it is time, but I think one more good fight. My body’s right, my mind’s right, everything’s just firing on all cylinders and I like the way life is right now, and it’s fun again to do it. Like I said, I lost to the champion. It wasn’t like I lost to a nobody. I look back on it, and should I have picked an easier fight? Should I have fought a Kimbo, or a Ken Shamrock, or a Frank Shamrock? No. I fought the best man and he was better than me that night. But it wasn’t like I got dominated. Wasn’t like he was gonna knock me unconscious. No, I fought him and I made a mistake.”
On if this loss to Liam was one of Tito’s toughest losses in years
“It was one of the toughest losses in years, ’cause I put so much into it and everything at home was so perfect, and I felt like I was gonna win. It was hard, it was really hard. It took a couple of weeks, you know, it took all the way until now. I took a couple of weeks to kind of lick my wounds and understand that things happen for a reason. I think I feel better after a loss than I would if I won. It’d be nice to win, but still I gotta be challenged in my life like this to understand that just ’cause everything is perfect, don’t mean that life is going to end up perfect. But I can make it as perfect as possible for my kids and my family, and that’s number one. And so long as I’m happy doing it, that makes most sense. But I took it hard, I took it really hard. But I just…I already got back into the gym, I started doing weights and speed bag work. So I wanna keep my shape, I want to compete again, and I don’t know – does that spring Shamrock fight happen. I mean, do one of those other super-fights happen where someone wants to watch it? ‘Cause I mean, I’m not going to get my title shot anymore. I have one more fight on my contract, so let’s make a spectacle of it and let’s get somebody that I can kill almost.”
On what his Motivation would be for his next fight, considering he won’t be getting another title shot
“I guess draw the fight out and make it 15 minutes of just pure punishment and entertain the fans that go watch it. Let them all go out and see a beating unfold in front of them.”
On who Tito will pick for his last fight
“I don’t know, I guess I have to sit down with Scott Coker and, I mean, possibly just make the fans pick the fighter. Let the fans choose. Somebody that they want to see a spectacle, somebody that will just ‘wow’ the fans. I think that’s what it comes down to. I don’t know, maybe they can do a vote and let the fans pick who I fight next.”
On if Tito will fight Fedor in Japan on NYE
“Not on New Year’s Eve, no. I would love to. I just gotta go in and get some little, light surgical work done, I guess you could say. I gotta go get a bone shaved down. So I’ll be healed by next year. But I’m going to enjoy Christmas, I’m going to enjoy Thanksgiving, I’m going to enjoy New Year’s, I’m going to enjoy my birthday for the first time in a long, long, long time. I miss missing those times, and right now my kids are six years old and I want to enjoy the holidays with my children. I think that’s the number one thing for me right now, is to be a Dad and to be happy. New Years Eve, I’ll be having a cold beer in my hand, saying “happy new year’s” to my family, instead of going out and trying to kill somebody. It sound a lot funner to me (laugh). I’ve been putting a lot of work in over a last few years, so I think it’s time to take a little break.”
On how Tito sees the fight between him and Fedor going and what advantages he holds over him
“Wrestling of course. On our feet, he’s a little older. He’s not the young guy who throws super fast now. I think in the wrestling area. Him going for submissions, and they’re not crisp for submissions. So just try and punish him. But of course if we fought each other, it’d be at light heavyweight. I mean I’ve always fought at Light Heavyweight. There’s no reason to go . I think my weight class, when I’m in the best shape possible is 205, and that’s what I’ll to fight at. But you know, I think my wrestling will keep it at par. I know the fight on New Year’s, I’ve heard of a few opponents, so it will be a question of if he can handle the competitors he competes against.”
Tito on if Fedor is one of the best of all time
“Well, one of the best of all time? Of course. You know, there’s ‘one of’. I mean ‘one of’ is how many? Ten? I mean, you put the number on that and that’s the number. But the best of all time? No way. Pound for pound, the best of all time? No. He fought a lot of guys that were great at their time and his time, but you gotta go for all time, for everybody he’s competed against. You know, in Japan they did give him a lot of ‘gimme fights’. Of course it’s Japan and they want to do spectacle fights, where it’s a completely one sided match. But he did beat a lot of good guys. You can’t take that away from him. And he’s one of probably the biggest names in MMA. Fedor has dominated so much and so many other competitors, but the greatest of all time? No. One of? Yes. He’s one of the greatest of all time. Yes. You gotta give him that. He’s a great, great fighter.”
On who is the greatest pound for pound fighter
“Well if Jon Jones can get his shit together, I think it’d be Jon Jones for sure. As a fighter, that guy is amazing. I mean he has to be an adult and stop being a kid”
On the disappointing TV ratings that Bellator 142: Dynamite drew
“I think you can’t go head up (against) Stanford and USC. I think that was a bad one, there was a big upset here in the states for football. I mean there was over eight million viewers on that television. So eight million people watching that sport, you know, a lot of people watch football. I mean, that’s plain and simple. A lot of people watch football. And I think Bellator or Spike and whoever was doing the PR for it could’ve promoted it a little bit better. I did all my own PR. I did pretty much more than fifty percent of it. And for a fighter to do fifty percent of the PR for an event, somebody needs to step their game up. But hey, Bellator’s still learning, they’re getting better. But to compete against the football, that just makes a big difference.”
Tito shares his thoughts on the NSAC’s suspension of Nick Diaz
“You know, as (far as) Nick Diaz having his third offence – I guess when you say ‘three times, shame on you’, and this is a complete shame on him on this one for his third time. But for five years? I think that’s getting a little drastic. I mean, the guy has a license to smoke marijuana.”
“In my eyes, I don’t see it as a stimulant to make you a better fighter. I’m not saying this is ok to do, or anything like that, but five years is a little drastic. And I see Jon Jones just get a slap on the wrist from getting a felony and wrecking into a car, or wrecking into a girl who was pregnant and (has) 72 public appearances at a ‘Boys and Girls’ club and 18 months probation. I just scratch my head about that, going ‘this is crazy’. And there’s so many other instances that happen. I mean, as far as Anderson Silva. He only gets popped for a year for doing steroids, which is an enhancement drug for mixed martials. It just doesn’t make any sense. I don’t know. I’m glad I don’t have to deal with it. I’m glad it’s never been a problem that I’ve had. So I just gotta sit back and let the athletic commission do their job. I don’t agree with it, but I sure don’t agree with any athlete using any type of drugs, whether it does help you or doesn’t, during training, during fights.”
On if Cybrog can get down to 135 lbs to fight Ronda Rousey
“Well if Ronda ever wants to fight. Cris told Ronda she’d cut down to 135 to fight and Ronda won’t do it. So she said she wants to get more fights under her belt. So they keep feeding 135-pounders to Ronda and Cris is just (gonna) keep dominating at 140-145, until Ronda finally says ‘ok, we’ll fight’. So we’re just waiting for Ronda to step up.”
If Tito gives Holly Holm a shot against Ronda
“Submission in two minutes.”
Bellator just announced on tonight’s broadcast that TNA’s Bobby Lashley(13-2) will face James Thompson (20-14,. 1 no contest) on 11/6 at the at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
Lashley vs. Thompson will be on Bellator’s final major event this year, a show that features two championship matches.
Patricio Pitbull Freire vs. Daniel Straus for the featherweight title will headline the show, along With Will Brooks vs. Marcin Held for the lightweight title.
Thompson was interviewed on tonight’s show from Hidalgo, TX, and told Lashley to stick to pretend fighting.
Thompson defeated Lashley via decision on May 6, 2012, in India. Lashleyvs. Thompson has been scheduled twice this year, in February and again in June. Lashley pulled out of the first fight with a hand injury and Thompson pulled out of the second fight due to injury.
Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of Bellator 143: Warren vs. Davis from the State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas. The event is headlined by a bantamweight title eliminator bout as former Bellator Bantamweight Champion Joe Warren takes on L.C. Davis. The co-main event is a middleweight contest between Joey Beltran and Kendall Grove. The main card airs on Spike TV at 9 PM ET with preliminary card action on Spike.com beginning at 6:30 PM ET. We will post prelims results as they happen and start live play by play when the Spike broadcast begins.
Prelims results:
Jose Flores (5-0) 1st round KO (kicks) over Gilbert Jimenez in 2:17
John Teixeira (20-1-2) SD win over Gleristone Santos (28-29, 29-28 x 2)
Dan Charles (10-3) 2nd round KO (punches) over Chase Gormley
Darrion Caldwell (8-0) by 1st round submission at 2:35 (rear naked choke) over Shawn Bunch
Steve Garcia (6-0) by 1st round TKO at 4:59 (punches) over Eduardo Bustillos
Amador Ramirez (5-4) UD win over Saul Elizondo (29-28 x 3)
Abdul Razak (4-0) 1st round KO (punch) over Bryce Sheppard-Mejia in 1:26
And we’re live with the main card and the fighters are in the ring!
Heavyweights Vinicius Spartan (7-3) vs Ewerton Teixeira (3-0)
Big John is the referee for the opening bout. Spartan with a takedown 1:00 in. Quickly gets into side control and lands punches and elbows to the head. Teixeira sweeps into top position at 2:30. Spartan working for a triangle from the bottom but Teixeira out and to his feet. Standup is pretty even, with Spartan controlling the pace. Spartan with a flash takedown at 4:30 but Teixeira right back up. 10-9 Spartan
This is the first action in over 2 years for each guy, Sean Grande informs us. Ken Shamrock is in the building. The announcers were going on about the “new scoring system” again in the prelims. Teixiera looks to be cut between the eyes from the damage done by Spartan in round 1. Spartan with a takedown at 1:45. Not much happening on the ground but Spartan is trying to advance and working for an armbar. Spartan landing elbows to the head and body around 3:30. Spartan gets an arm triangle and the tap after a series of elbows to the head to get the win.
WINNER – VINICIUS SPARTAN (8-3) by submission (arm triangle) at 4:00
Featherweights Emmanuel Sanchez (10-2) vs Henry Corrales (12-1)
Both guys are considered prospects but have losses to former Bellator champions. Randy Couture was just shown on camera at ringside in the background but not identified. His son was scheduled to fight in the prelims but his opponent missed weight by SEVENTEEN POUNDS.
Corrales getting the better of the standup early on, opening up a cut on the forehead of Sanchez. Sanchez with a flying triangle at 2:15 and it seems in pretty tight. Sanchez grabs an arm in an attempt to tighten the grip but Corrales escapes and ends up in top position. Sanchez escapes and to his feet at 4:15. Sanchez’ face is all bloody but he’s winning the round. 10-9 Sanchez
They are going to re-air the Shawn Bunch/Darion Caldwell fight from the prelims. That was a great performance by Caldwell. Sanchez backs up Corrales with a punch/knee combo and takes him down at 1:30. Corrales to his feet at 2:30. They are going to announce Bobby Lashley’s opponent for Vengeance later tonight. Standup again is pretty even. Corrales with some bruising and swelling under his right eye. Sanchez takes Corrales’ back standing and takes him down right before the end of the round and gets a rear naked choke right at the end of the round. 10-9 Sanchez
Sanchez controlling the pace early in the round. Punches are coming much slower on both sides now. Sanchez connecting with a lot of kicks to the body and head while Corrales is almost exclusively punching. Corrales with a nice litle flurry of punches at 4:00 and then defends a takedown attempt by Sanchez. Sanchez got a takedown right at the end of the round. Close but probably Sanchez’ as well. I’ve got it 30-27 Sanchez
WINNER – EMMANUEL SANCHEZ (11-2) by split decision (27-30, 30-27, 29-28). No idea how anyone in their right mind could give Corrales all 3 rounds there. That judge should not be judging MMA.
They just announced Lashley’s opponent in November as James Thompson. Yup, they’re trying to sign that one again. We shall see. Thompson, of course, won the first matchup 3 1/2 years ago and they’ve been scheduled twice since then and Thompson has pulled out due to injury both times.
Middleweights Joey Beltran (16-11) vs Kendall Grove (21-15)
This could be a loser leaves town match with Beltran having lost 3 of his last 5 and Grove 2 of his last 3. Both likely have bigger price tags than the majority of the roster. Hard to believe Beltran was a heavyweight not all that long ago. Kerry Hatley is the ref, so expect some shenanigans.
Grove looks like the one who would be two weight classes above Beltran as he seriously looks like he could trim down to Welterweight, if not lightweight. Both guys keeping their distance early on. Crowd turning on the fight halfway through the first as they may not have landed 10 punches between them. Grove pushes him to the cage and lands a nice punch combo at 2:45. Announcer tonight are talking a lot about The Ultimate Fighter on Spike, in this case relating it to Grove. I find that interesting for some reason. Way more interesting than this fight. Beltran seems to be the aggressor so may be winning the round but neither guy has done much of anything. 10-9 Beltran, I guess.
Sean Grande called that an entertaining first round in his very best Tony Schiavone impersonation. Strikes landed were 27-8 for Grove in Round 1. They threw almost the same amount though. They were actually debating whether that first round could be 10-8 Grove. WHAT? Beltran with a takedown at 1:45 but lets Grove up right away. Nice punch exchange at 2:15. Beltran starting to control the cage at 2:45. Grove bleeding from the mouth after the punch exchange. Beltran starting to land leg kicks at will. Grove just keeping away and throwing from distance. Grove’s leg starting to buckle every time he gets hit at the end of the round. Crowd booing again as Grove is essentially just running away. 10-9 Beltran
Grove landing from distance at the start of the round. Grove also throwing leg kicks of his own. Grove with a nice kick/punch combo at 1:30 that backs Beltran up. But Beltran still basically chasing him around the cage. Beltran gets inside the range and lands a nice combo at 2:15. Grove runs away again. Grove knocks Beltran down with a punch out of nowhere and he was out but got one more punch in before Hatley stopped it. Nice finish but terrible fight.
WINNER – KENDALL GROVE (22-15) by KO (punch) at 2:27 of Round 3
They interviewed James Thompson at cageside. With his thick accent it was hard to make anything out but he seems eager to fight Lashley again. Might be #PlansChange as they are saying the main event is next, meaning no re-airing of the Bunch/Caldwell fight.
Main Event – Bantamweights Joe Warren (12-4) vs LC Davis (13-6)
They aired the walkouts but nothing special. Warren gets a title shot with a win and could be done with a loss as this is the last fight on his contract. John McCarthy is the ref. He stopped the fight where Warren lost the title by verbally submitting where Warren took a tantrum afterward. Warren controlling the action early and gets a takedown 1:15 in. Warren just holding him down and doing just enough to avoid a standup. Warren postures up at 3:15 to land some hammerfists and then right back into Davis’ guard. Davis almost made it to his feet at 4:15 but Warren dragged him right down again. Crowd starting to boo. 10-9 Warren unless you’re going with the alleged “new scoring” and then it’s a 10-8
Davis hit with an accidental eye poke to start the round. Sean Grande does the Michael Cole fake laugh when John McCarthy asks Davis if he can see and then if he’s ugly. Warren takes Davis down immediately on the restart but Davis to his feet right away. Davis pressing the action in this round, connecting with more punches. Warren went for an angle slam at 1:45 but Davis slid off his shoulders. Warren with a takedown at 2:45. Davis landing light punches to the head and body from the bottom as Warren tries to pass. Davis to his feet but Warren takes his back and drags him back down with a Greco Roman throw. Warren back into top position at 4:15. 10-9 Warren
Warren with a takedown 30 seconds in. Davis up quickly but Warren stays on his back and brings him down again. Warren into top position at 1:15. Jimmy Smith gave round 2 to Warren. I guess it was closer than Round 1 but seemed pretty clearly for Warren to me. Davis up but Warren takes him down again at 2:30. Warren takes his back at 3:00, which allows Davis to get to his feet. Warren takes him down again at 3:45. Davis landing punches to the body and head from the bottom. Warren with a couple of hard elbows from the top. Warren into mount at 4:30. Davis works out of it but Warren still all over him. 10-9 Warren
WINNER – JOE WARREN (13-4) by unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
Crowd booed the announcement but that was probably more for the fight than the decision itself. Warren gets a title shot with the win.
Show started great but the co-main and main were kind of awful so it’s hard to give this show a recommendation. Maybe check out the prelims.
Thanks for joining me here for Bellator. See you next time!
At Thursday’s weigh-ins for Friday’s Bellator 143 event, one fighter missed so badly, his fight had to be scrapped.
In the main event, Joe Warren will face LC Davis with both men hitting at 135.75 pounds. The winner will be gearing up for a bantamweight title shot with a victory. In another feature bout, Joey Beltran (186 pounds) continues to look for some consistency against Kendall Grove (185.5).
The story of the weigh-ins was Nick Gonzalez who was set to face Ryan Couture. Instead of coming into the fight at the non-title lightweight limit of 156 pounds, Gonzalez stepped onto the scales at 172.75 pounds, over the welterweight limit. The fight was scrapped, but Couture (155.5) will be paid his show money. It’s likely that Gonzalez will be done with Bellator after this.
Here’s the rest of the weigh-in results. Spike TV main card coverage will be coming your way on Friday night:
– Emmanuel Sanchez (146) vs. Henry Corrales (145.5)
– Vinicius Queiroz (230) vs. Ewerton Teixeira (236)
Spike.com Prelims
– Saul Elizondo (135) vs. Amador Ramirez (134.75)
– Eduardo Bustillos (136) vs. Steve Garcia (135.5)
– Shawn Bunch (135.5) vs. Darrion Caldwell (135.5)
– Dan Charles (232.5) vs. Chase Gormley (263)
– Gleristone Santos (146) vs. John Teixeira (146)
– Jared Chaffe (155) vs. Guilherme Farias da Costa (156)
– Luke Flores (155.5) vs. Gilbert Jimenez (155)
– Abdul Razak Alhassan (170.5) vs. Bryce Mejia (171)
by Paul Fontaine, WrestlingObserver.com
Live coverage of Bellator 141 kicks off at 9 pm eastern/8 Central with 4 fights. Melvin Guillard makes his promotional debut. Two lightweight mainstays in Bellator square off as Patricky Pitbull goes against Saad Awad and two fights featuring journeymen Heavyweights kick off the festivities. Join us her for bell to bell coverage of all 4 fights (and maybe some prelims if there’s time).
Late change – Marloes Coenen vs Arlene Blencowe replaces one of the Heavyweight fights on the main card. Good move as Coenen is probably the second most recognizable name on the entire card, having twice fought Chris Cyborg and being a former holder of the title that Ronda Rousey currently holds.
The substitution was made due to an injury to Lorenzo Hood, so his fight with Raphael Butler is off
Women’s Featherweights Marloes Coenen (22-6) vs Arlene Blencowe (6-4)
Coenen gets a takedown 30 seconds in and right into side control. Coenen transitions to the back and working for a choke. Coenen landing hard punches to the head from behind. Coenen lies on her back, while still in control of Blencowe’s at 3:15. Blencowe tries to escape but Coenen still in control. Coenen has to give up the body triangle though. Coenen just holds Blencowe down for the rest of the round for an easy 10-9. Almost a 10-8 really cause Blencowe did almost nothing.
Both ladies punching to start Round 2. Blencowe maybe getting the better of it. Coenen takes her back standing and brings her down at 1:00. Blencowe escapes and too her feet at 1:30 and forces Coenen to stand as well. Coenen tries for a trip takedown but Blencowe ends up on top. Blencowe to her feet at 2:15 and Coenen has to follow again. Blencowe landing a lot of punches on the feet but Coenen takes her down at 2:45 and right into side control. Coenen with an armbar at 3:15. Blencowe turns to escape and on top but Coenen gets the arm again and the quick tap.
WINNER: MARLOES COENEN (23-6) by submission (armbar)
A nice preview piece of Justin Wren, who fought on TUF 10, including a KO of Wes Sims. He took 5 years off to do humanitarian work in the Congo. He looks like a gigantic version of Daniel Bryan and sounds a bit like him as well.
Heavyweights Justin Wren (10-3) vs Josh Burns (8-8)
You may remember Burns as one of Lashley’s sacrificial Bellator lambs. He’s 0-5 in Bellator, being finished every time so this is clearly a showcase fight for Wren. Jason Herzog gets the reffing duties for this Heavyweight BATTLE.
They’re both just throwing bombs to start. Wren clinches up and lands a couple knees to the body. Wren landing punches as well as he’s got Burns backed up to the cage. Ref breaks up the clinch at 2:00. Burns bleeding a bit from under his right eye. Hard punch exchange at 3:00 and then Wren backs Burns up to the cage again, landing knees to the body and head. Wren also landing punches to the body. Burns pushes him away from the cage but Wren lands a nice punch/knee combo. Wren rocks Burns with a punch at 4:30. 10-9 Wren
Wren backs up Burns to the cage early but Burns takes control. Wren tries for a takedown but Burns fights him off and they’re in the centre again. Strikes were 21-20 in the first round for Wren. Hard punch exchange at 2:00 and Wren bleeding from the nose. Burns starting to control the pace. Wren rocks Burns with a couple of knees and backs him up into the cage. Wren landing a ton of knees to the body and the head and following up with punches. Burns punches out of it. Burns is all bloodied up on his face. Wren with a nice punch combo at 4:00 and backs him up to the cage again. More hard knees from Wren. Separation with 15 seconds left. 10-9 Wren
Doctor took a long look at the damage on Burns’ face but let him continue. Kicks landed were 16-1 for Wren in Round 2. Burns pushing the pace to start the round though. Clinch on the cage at 1:30 with Burns in control. Nothing happening. Ref separates them quickly. Wren with a nice punch/kick combo at 2:15. Wren clinches up again at 2:15 and lands some knees to the head. Burns gets control and lands a series of punches to the head. Wren with some elbows from the clinch and Burns gets separation. Wren with a series of punches and kicks standing. Wren just teeing off at 4:15 but Burns staying on his feet. Wren just picking him off. Burns with a nice punch combo just before the right ends. They embrace at the end. 10-9 Wren
WINNER: JUSTIN WREN (11-3) by unanimous decision (30-27; 30-26 x 2)
Wren cut a great promo to his friends in the Congo, in another language. Great story, really likeable guy. And it’s promo time for the Dynamite show on September 19th. Jimmy Smith and Scott Coker do their very best Dana and Rogan impressions, announcing the brackets for the 205 lb tourney. King Mo vs Linton Vassell and Emanuel Newton vs Phil Davis (fight guaranteed to put me to sleep) with the winners facing off the same night for a title shot.
They made mention of the fan fest that was promoted on the site today. Smith is fine but Coker is terrible in these things. They also announced another “tentpole event”, using that phrase. Pitbull-Strauss 3, Will Brooks defending the lightweight title against…..(Coker forgot his name, but Smith helped him out by saying) Marcin Held. Also Michael Chandler and Bobby Lashley in featured fights.
Lightweights Patricky Pitbull (13-6) vs Saad Awad (18-6)
Ox Baker/Mike Beltran is your referee. They do the main event ref instructions for this one for some reason. Very tentative to start even though the pre-fight video package showed a lot of hatred between the two of them. Grande mentions that the lightweight division is getting deep with the additions of Melvin Guillard, Josh Thomson and JOSH KOSCHECK. He said it. Pitbull with the slight advantage on the feet but almost nothing happening through 2:45. Pitbull with a flash takedown at 3:30 but Awad right back up. They trade leg kicks at 4:30 and then Pitbull hit a flying knee in the most action of the fight so far. 10-9 Pitbull
A little more action to start Round 2. Pitbull the aggressor. Nice punch exchange at 1:30. Pitbull with a takedown at 1:45. Not much happening on the ground. Pitbull with some light punches to the body and then stands up at 3:00. Awad follows. Awad bleeding around his right eye. Nice punch combo from Awad at 4:00. Pitbull answers back with a punch combo of his own. Pitbull continuing to advance. Very close round. 10-9 Pitbull
Round 3 started off really slow again with neither guy taking control or landing much. Pitbull with the first bit of offence around 1:45 in, but Awad works him back to the center of the cage. Nice punch exchange at 2:15. Pitbull seems to be doing more damage. Awad bleeding from the nose at 3:15. Pitbull starting to press the action at 4:00. Ptibull with a nice punch combo with 15 seconds left and Awad gets a late takedown. Another close round. 10-9 Pitbull
WINNER – PATRICKY PITBULL (14-6) by unanimous decision on scores of 30-27 x 3
Main Event – Melvin Guillard (33-14-2) vs Brandon Girtz (12-4)
Big John is out for the first time as ref after judging a couple of the undercard fights. Girtz rocks Guillard with a punch combo and then takes his back standing early. Girtz with a power takedown 45 seconds in. Girtz into side control and landing knees to the body. Guillard cut and bleeding around his left eye. Hard knees to the body by Girtz at 3:00. Girtz doing just enough to avoid a standup. 10-8 Girtz. Not like he was close to finishing but Guillard did absolutely nothing
Guillard landed just 2 strikes in that round to 37 for Girtz. Guillard controlling the cage to start round 2 though. Girtz with a nice punch combo early. Guillard answers back with some punches of his own, his biggest offence of the fight so far. Girtz with a power takedown at 1:30 but Guillard right up. Girtz takes him down again and trying for an armbar. Guillard escapes and to his feet, landing a nice punch combo on the way up. Guillard continuing to advance but eating punches from Girtz anyway. Nice punch combo from Guillard at 3:15. Guillard rocks Girtz with a hard right at 4:15 but Girtz gets a takedown right after. Guillard quickly to his feet. This round is still close. Guillard with a nice punch/kick combo. Nice punch exchange right before the bell. 10-9 Guillard but could’ve gone either way.
Girtz with an early takedown. Ground strikes are 33-2 for Girtz through 2 rounds. Girtz working for a head and arm choke. Gives that up and looking for a Kimura but Guillard fights that off with a couple of elbows from the bottom. Guillard landing a lot of hard elbows to the head from the bottom. Ref stands them up at 3:30. Guillard advancing on the standup and stalking him. Guillard lands a flying knee and follows up with hard knees and punches to the head. Girtz is in big trouble. Guillard with another knee/punch combo at 4:15. Girtz with a takedown at 4:30. This is going to be interesting. Guillard landing elbows from the bottom and Girtz just trying to hold him. 10-9 Guillard and I’ve got it as a 28-28 draw.
WINNER – BRANDON GIRTZ (13-4) by split decision on scores of 29-27, 28-29 and 29-27
With Bellator 141 on our doorstep, Bellator MMA color commentator and all-around good guy Jimmy Smith was our guest on the 11th episode of Josh Nason’s Punch-Out!
On the docket, Josh and Jimmy talked for an hour on nearly 141 topics. (Not really, but it was a lot). Here’s a preview:
– The experience of co-hosting Fight Quest and his favorite discipline he trained in
– How often he gets asked about competing against Joe Rogan in a cage or on the mats
– His time competing in MMA and whether he misses it
– Whether Bellator has ever asked him about competing
– Getting asked to commentate for Premier Boxing Championships and how it came together.
– The one nuance that the average fan can watch for when watching both boxing and MMA
– Working with new Bellator play-by-play man Sean Grande and the advice he gave him
– The most interesting storyline going into Bellator 141
– Thoughts on Melvin Guillard, Justin Wren, and Marloes Coenen
– His opinions on drug testing, uniforms, IVs, and Ronda Rousey vs. Floyd Mayweather
You also get Josh’s Opening Round focused on the latest grenades thrown toward MMA media, and Josh’s TV pick of the week. Your hour of power awaits!
It’s a late Friday night on the East Coast which means it’s time for a late night version of Josh Nason’s Punch-Out! On the seventh episode, longtime MMA podcaster and media star Stephanie “Crooklyn” Haynes drops by for an hour-plus conversation. A few of the topics her and Josh talked about include:
– Her thoughts on Mike Swick’s retirement
– Her love of pro wrestling in the 80s and what she likes today
– Her transition to writing for Bloody Elbow
– How podcasting has changed over the last 10 years she’s been doing it
– What exactly Kountermove is and why you should check it out
– Where she thinks Fedor will sign
– How long she thinks Ronda Rousey will be in the UFC and if there are any challengers on the horizon
– A look at the weekend Bellator and UFC shows
– And more!
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