Bellator 152: “Pitbull vs. Souza” airs TONIGHT (Sat., April 16, 2016) from Pala Alpitour in Torino, Italy, featuring a key match between Bellator Lightweight veteran Patricky “Pitbull” Freire and the debuting Kevin Souza.
Freire would seem to be the favorite going in given Souza is replacing Derek Campos on under a week’s notice, but the 16-4 Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) veteran should not be taken lightly coming into this main event.
Elsewhere on the Spike TV-televised main card we’ve got hometown favorite Alessio Sakara making his promotional debut over veteran “Professional Predator” Brian Rogers and A.J. McKee looking to remain undefeated at Featherweight.
Bellator 152 will start tonight on Spike TV at 10 p.m. ET. MMAmania.com will be here all night long to deliver all of the results and play-by-play for the tape-delayed televised fights.
Many readers check in before, during and after the fights to share their thoughts on all of the action. Feel free to leave a comment (or 152) about the bouts before you leave and chat with all the other Maniacs during the show — it’s always a lot of fun!
BELLATOR 152 QUICK RESULTS:
Patricky Freire vs. Kevin Souza — Freire UD 30-27 X3.
Alessio Sakara vs. Brian Rogers — Sakara via TKO 2:29 R2.
A.J. McKee vs. Danilo Belluardo — McKee via TKO 2:44 R1.
Anastasia Yankova vs. Anjela Pink — Yankova via sub (armbar) 1:35 R1.
Daniele Miceli vs. Daniele Scatizzi — Scatizzi via TKO 3:20 R1.
BELLATOR 152 PLAY-BY-PLAY:
Patricky Freire vs. Kevin Souza
Souza is in the white trunks and blue gloves for the main event. Freire is in the yellow trunks and red gloves. Souza is 15-4 and Freire is 15-7. Souza fights out of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Freire fights out of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. “Big” John McCarthy is in charge. Here we go!
Round 1: Souza is quickly bouncing around in his feet and switching his stance up constantly. Freire just waits patiently in front of him leading on his left foot and firing off a right. Souza continues to bob and weave for the first minute until the Italian crowd starts to chastise them for inactivity. Freire throws a leg kick. A decent flurry by Freire at 1:20. Souza just keeps on dancing. Another good combo by Freire at 2:26. He tried a spin kick that misses at 2:54. Souza lands a good left hook but Freire hits a takedown at 3:15 and starts pounding on the ribs. Souza ties him up to avoid too much damage. That’s how R1 ends – Freire on top, Souza defending.
Round 2: The first minute of this round is exactly like the first minute of the last. Freire lands a nice body kick but obviously not a Rafael Carvalho level one as the fight continues in a boring manner until McCarthy brings them together at 1:50 and calls for more work. Freire gets another takedown at 2:34. They both get up at 3:30. Souza tries to turn it up at 4:28 and Freire dances away. If one takedown equals a 10-9 round then Freire got it.
Round 3: A minute into the third round Freire is beckoning Souza to engage, but he’s the one who does it by landing a solid right at 1:12. Now it feels like Freire is really pushing Souza around the cage and making him be totally defensive as opposed to slightly offensive. To be honest though 13 minutes of this fight is OFFENSIVE in a wholly different sense of the word. After four great fights on the night it’s a real let down to end like this and the booing fans feel the same way. Souza is momentarily knocked to the ground off a leg kick and Freire tries to get him to the ground off the fence then realizes he doesn’t have it and resets. Both men swing wildly at 4:04 and miss. Freire tries a back kick. He hits a hard takedown at 4:20 and momentarily considers a guillotine. He goes for it again at 4:40 and lets it go again, content to let the clock tick away to see if the judges score it his way.
Final result: All three judges score the fight 30-27 for the unanimous winner Patricky “Pitbull” Freire.
Alessio Sakara vs. Brian Rogers
Rogers enters the venue to the strains of “Notorious Thugs.” Blue trunks and blue gloves are his outfit for the evening. Sakara gets a rousing cheer and makes his way out to “Kung Fu Fighting.” He sports black trunks and red gloves. Rogers is 12-8 and Sakara is 17-11. Rogers fights out of Denver, Colorado by way of Kent, Ohio. Sakara fights out of Rome, Italy. Our referee in charge is Marc Goddard.
Round 1: Sakara takes the center and forces Rogers to circle on the outside and throw leg kicks. Sakara is content to pressure and jab. In the early going Rogers is not phased, even though the crowd is loudly chanting for his foe. Sakara appears to have clipped him at 1:30 but not enough to make him wobble. Rogers hits a takedown at 2:01. He’s landing some good body work and an elbow to the head from on top. Sakara tries to throw his legs up for a triangle but Rogers smells it coming. Goddard tells them to stay busy at 3:36. Sakara tries to lock up the left arm to force a stand up but Rogers muscles his way out. Another call to stay busy at 4:08. Rogers is hitting body shots to the ribs at 4:25 as Goddard makes them reset. Sakara tries and fails to score a home run in the last 15 seconds of R1.
Round 2: Sakara rushes ahead aggressively to open round two. They clinch up and Rogers complains that Sakara grabbed the hair to land a blow to the head. Goddard acknowledges the complaint and briefly stops the action to warn Sakara. A fired up Sakara lands several forearms once they restart. Rogers puts his hands up to defend himself then lands a right over the top as Sakara pushes him into the fence. Sakara responds in kind before they break apart. Sakara wobbles Rogers with a right at 2:25 and gets the stoppage four seconds later.
Final result: Alessio Sakara via technical knockout at 2:29 of the second round.
A.J. McKee vs. Danilo Belluardo
Belluardo is in the blue trunks for tonight’s fight, bringing an undefeated 5-0 record to the Bellator cage. McKee is also undefeated at 3-0 and he too sports matching attire – red shorts and red trunks. Belluardo fights out of Milan, Italy and McKee fights out of Long Beach, California. Our referee is “Big” John McCarthy.
Round 1: Both men tap gloves, before Belluardo taps him in the face and sends him backward onto his behind 15 seconds into the fight. Belluardo gets up and McKee presses him to the fence. Belluardo tries to grab a clinch and McKee shoves him away at 1:02. McKee reaches out with his hands trying to feel out the range and/or lure Belluardo in. McKee lands a few leg kicks at 2:05. Belluardo reels back from a lead right hand at 2:18. McKee gets kicked in the groin and McCarthy calls time. McKee recovers quickly and we resume at 2:34. McKee throws a head kick then lands a stunner left hand and pounds it out about 10 seconds later.
Final result: A.J. McKee via TKO at 2:44 of the first round.
Anastasia Yankova vs. Anjela Pink
Officially Pink is making her pro debut tonight. She’s in black trunks and a black top, fighting out of Spokane, Washington. Internet darling Yankova is in the white trunks and black top with a 2-0 record, fighting out of Moscow, Russia. Our referee is Marc Goddard.
Round 1: Yankova quickly fires off a body kick and headlocks Pink, who is warned to let go of Yankova’s shorts. Yankova pushes her into the fence and fires off a series of knees, then drags Pink to the ground and winds up on top in half guard. 1:06 into the fight she’s got a full mount. Pink tries to push off the fence with her feet while Yankova responds by going for an armbar, and this fight is over in just over 90 seconds.
Final result: Anastasia Yankova via tapout (armbar) at 1:35 of the first round.
Daniele Miceli vs. Daniele Scatizzi
Miceli is in the white trunks and his professional record is 2-0. Scatizzi is in the green trunks and his record is 6-2. Both fighters hail from Italy. The referee is “Big” John McCarthy.
Round 1: Scatizzi is quickly pushed into the fence but turns it around at 31 seconds. The action stalls until Scatizzi drops levels and scoops Miceli at 1:16, but he’s having trouble turning him away from the fence. He spins to full mount at 1:35 and takes Miceli’s back when he tries to escape. Scatizzi is starting to rain down punishment at 2:10 as Big John looks on. Miceli is just covering his head with his hands and not offering much else by way of defense. McCarthy issues a warning at 2:55. He’s finally seen enough at 3:20 and stops the fight.
Final result: Daniele Scatizzi via TKO at 3:20 of the first round.