Few fans inside the Grand Canyon University Arena in Phoenix could walk away disappointed from Bellator 126 on Friday night. From top to bottom the card had about everything you of which you could possibly ask: knockouts, surprises, great fights and dominating performances.
The event was headlined by middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko putting his belt on the line against Bellator Season 10 tournament winner Brandon Halsey. Although Shlemenko was coming off a loss to Tito Ortiz, that came in a different weight class. Since arriving in Bellator, the Russian was unbeaten in four fights as a middleweight.
The co-main event was Marcin Held and Patricky Freire‘s battle for the Bellator Season 10 lightweight championship.
Both the main and preliminary cards were loaded with great matchups as well. Below is a brief recap for each of the four main-card fights.
Bellator 126 Fight Card Results
Mike Richman def. Ed West
It’s a good thing Mike Richman doesn’t get paid by the second. On Friday night, he made quick work of Ed West.
With the first round nearing its conclusion, Richman connected with a vicious right hook and followed up with a left that caught West flush. The 30-year-old slumped to the canvas, and that was all she wrote. Richman picked up his first victory in nearly a year, per Jason Floyd of TheMMAReport.com:
The technical knockout win is the eighth TKO/KO victory in Richman‘s career, which places him third in Bellator:
The 29-year-old moved down a weight class from featherweight to bantamweight for Friday’s fight. Cutting weight to hop down like that can sometimes result in a loss of power, but Richman didn’t appear to be any worse for wear.
Bubba Jenkins def. Thiago Meller
Bubba Jenkins earned a fairly comfortable unanimous decision win over Thiago Meller on the main card’s second fight. The judges scored it 29-28, 30-27, 30-27, per MMAjunkie:
Meller tried desperately to lock in submissions throughout the fight, but any time he had a slight opening, Jenkins was quick to react and get himself out of danger. That was largely the overarching narrative of the bout.
Coming into the night, you knew Meller would look to make Jenkins tap out. According to Sherdog, 13 of his 19 wins have come via submission. As long as Jenkins could land some takedowns and not leave his guard down, the fight would be his.
Jenkins gained the upper hand in the second round, and once the third rolled around, the outcome was all but decided. He continued barraging Meller with blows, and the Brazilian had no response.
At one point, Jenkins nearly landed a WWE move on Meller, per Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Snowden:
Former NCAA wrestling champion Anthony Robles congratulated his former Arizona State teammate for a job well done:
Marcin Held def. Patricky Freire
Held took home the Bellator Season 10 lightweight tournament championship with a unanimous decision victory over Freire. The judges had it 29-28, 30-27, 30-26:
The bout featured a nice clash of approaches, as Held’s a more scientific, submission-based fighter, while Freire relies more on his power game and looks to end the fight with a knockout.
Held took control almost right from the opening bell. He kept the pace of the fight slow, which allowed him to pick his spots and prevent things from devolving into a slugfest. Held also did a great job of attacking Freire. That served the dual purpose of softening the limbs up for a potential submission and weakening some of Freire‘s punching power.
Of course, Freire rarely had a chance to land a blow as he was pinned down to the mat for the majority of the night. His frustration only grew as the fight went on, but he could do little to negate Held’s advantage.
Held has a bright future ahead. As Anthony Mazzuca, Bellator‘s director of communications tweeted out, the Polish star is only in his early 20s:
If he’s this good now, think where he’ll be in a few years.
Brandon Halsey def. Alexander Shlemenko
Shlemenko no longer casts a shadow over the Bellator middleweight division.
Coming into the fight, the challenger said that he was “expecting (Shlemenko) to bring his best.”
“I’m prepared for the best Alexander Shlemenko,” Halsey added, per Yahoo Sports’ Elias Cepeda.
Halsey didn’t exactly get the “best Alexander Shlemenko,” but he’s probably not going to complain after locking in a rear-naked choke and winning the middleweight title in 35 seconds.
Snowden couldn’t believe what he had witnessed:
Bellator tweeted out a photo of the victorious Halsey atop the Bellator cage:
Shlemenko made a massive miscalculation, leaving his back wide open for Halsey early in the first round. That allowed the 28-year-old American to go for the choke, and when he got his arm underneath Shlemenko, the end was nigh. The Russian attempted to get out of the hold, but it was to no avail. He passed out, and referee John McCarthy stopped the fight.
The obvious question now is, where does this fight put Halsey? Is he a flash in the pan, or is Friday night a sign of things to come from the new champion?
USA Today‘s Mike Bohn isn’t doubting Halsey, calling him “the real deal”:
After Friday night, Halsey’s star is as bright as it’s ever been, and now he’s gonna find how what every champion before him has come to realize: reaching the top of the mountain is easy; the hard part is staying there.
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