For a massive Bellator tentpole event, we sure got a lot of surprises.
Bellator 149 was an event that had a lot of buildup and anticipation, but it totally fell flat by the end. Tons of controversy and a full circus spectacle took place, and it all felt very odd. Let’s take a look at where everyone stands after this.
Winners
Bellator’s ratings – They went big for a tentpole event like this and seemed to have packed the arena to the best of their ability, regardless of whether they comped tickets or not (no word on whether or not they did). The production was outstanding and had the true “big show” feel that Bellator often lacks. They didn’t slouch on this one, and they made sure to give it the top production quality to make the event feel historic.
Whomever decided to put Mike Tyson on commentary – Tyson should have been allowed to do commentary for the entire main card. He should be on every tentpole event. That was often hilarious and I don’t even think he was drinking. He’s just that goofy, and the best part is he snuck very valid points drawing from his own fight experience.
Emmanuel Sanchez is probably the biggest winner of the night, courtesy of Rich Chou’s clever matchmaking and coordination. As mentioned in the Vivisection earlier this week, putting talented up and comers on major freakshow cards is a staple for Chou since Elite XC, having the likes of Nick Diaz and Jake Shields on the undercards of Gina Carano and Kimbo Mark I events back in the day. It was a big gamble against a savvy submission fighter, and he capitalized on the opportunity, which won’t net him a title shot or anything like that, but gives him a big push forward and upwards. Shame that Michael Page couldn’t make it to this card, because he could have gotten a similar rub, especially when comparing the skill displayed in the more legitimate bouts compared to the circus battles that took place afterwards.
Derek Campos – Coming in on a two-fight losing skid, he came in and knocked out a UFC veteran known for having massive power in his hands. The circumstances of all of this are something we’ll get to, but let’s let him have his day in the sun. He went out and earned it, so much respect to him.
Linton Vassell avenged his loss to Emanuel Newton, albeit by a split decision. Light heavyweight is a strange place in and out of the UFC, and it seems likely that they will face off again not too far down the line.
Justin Wren notched himself another win and continues to fight for the charity he supports, and he’s still one of the true feel-good stories of this sport that deserves more praise.
Legacy FC – The rest of the card was mostly composed of Legacy veterans or fighters that came up form the Legacy amateur series. They filled out the undercard and the post-event dark fights, which helps Bellator not have to work as hard to assemble the rest of the card and also gives some solid local fighters that are good at selling tickets a shot at getting paid with the Bellator rub.
Losers
Fans – You wanted this freakshow? You got it, baba ganoush. I’m not gonna dance around this, those two fights at the top of the card were atrocious for various reasons. Kimbo gassed harder than he did against Houston Alexander, and we didn’t even get a Kimboplex for our troubles. Dada looked like he hadn’t fought in a long time and had made his way into Scott Coker’s good graces after taking a few cardio kickboxing lessons and didn’t have the sense to ask for a refund once it didn’t take. Bellator doubled down on this, and good on them for raking in the ratings and ad revenue. At least it wasn’t the main event, because theoretically that would make things more sour given the fact that Kimbo and Dada aren’t Ironman candidates and fans expected a quick and violent KO finish anyway. Ferguson should be be embarrassed that he fought a guy that looked like he was punching the pads on a game of Simon and still managed to look like an amateur out there. Dada was eventually knocked down and away not by a punch, but the wake of a mystical ancient Kung Fu god of wind strike. It was bad beyond comedy and Dada’s exhaustion was so terrible he had to be stretchered out.
You can’t make this stuff up.
Ken Shamrock – You have to feel bad for the old codger. Brother Ken went in there with every intention to make it a fight, kept his composure, calculated his strikes after feeling Royce out and ended up getting a knee to the crotch in the clinch, which sealed his fate. By the time he was hit in the face with the followup knee, he was already snakebit by the low blow and was obviously wincing in pain by the time the bout hit the ground courtesy of Gracie’s bodylock takedown. Gracie’s Russow-like hammerfists of doom ended the bout, but Ken had plenty of fight left in him and could have shown this if it were a bout that were properly refereed. Speaking of which…
Jacob Montalvo – I’ve seen the man ref before, but never have I seen him miss a groin shot like that. Certainly not one that was so consequential. He’s probably a better ref than I’m giving him credit for right now, but he done goofed. Hard. This is why people laugh at the regulatory bodies of all things Texas.
Melvin Guillard – I had really good expectations for this fight, and I’m not taking anything that I said in the lead-up back. This was a fight Melvin could win, but he ignored all defense and decided to just swing as hard as he could. With reports that he makes a pretty penny and two straight losses in fights he should have won, he might have to renegotiate his contract with Bellator or find another home.
Royce Gracie – What? You thought this was going to end up in the winning column? The low blow could was more than likely not intentional, and it’s on the ref to catch the informal and make the break when there’s a foul. His attitude after the match was not up to snuff, and the fight itself wasn’t anything to write home about. No disrespect to Uncle Royce, but that was no bueno.
Neither
Emanuel Newton’s stock didn’t really take that much of a hit. As mentioned above, 205 is congested at the top and pretty bare bones past the top 5-6. He’ll be back, but his overall defensive game still shows some strong deficiencies.