Bellator 97 looked incredibly promising on paper with two title fights and Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal on the card Wednesday night from Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, N.M. Add in Patricio Freire and a heavyweight tournament final and the card had built a bit of hype in the MMA world.
Well, for those who actually tune in to Bellator that is.
For those fans tuning in, the card had a few bright spots but had to leave most feeling disappointed. Freire kicked things off in impressive fashion as he dominated Jared Downing from bell to bell, and Vitaly Minakov controlled the pace in his fight with Ryan Martinez.
Jacob Noe and King Mo seemingly forgot they hated each other and showed some respect for one another before King Mo decided to use his wrestling to outclass Noe for nearly 15 minutes.
In the evening’s first title bout, Ben Askren put on another Askren-like performance with his wrestling skills. The champion even took time in the final seconds of the third round to taunt his opponent and check out the fans in attendance.
Michael Chandler would enjoy no such luxury as he wiped the floor with David Rickels in the first round. The knockout was a great way to end the show after Askren‘s dominant snoozefest.
In perhaps the evening’s biggest moment outside the cage, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson announced he’ll be facing Tito Ortiz in Bellator‘s first ever pay-per-view bout in November.
Although a few winners found their hands raised inside the cage, some of them find themselves under the loser category in this list. Who’s the real winner, and who’s the real loser? Step inside the world of Bellator 97 and find out.