The welterweight bout between Shane Campbell and Derek Boyle seemed like just an ordinary fight.That is, until the third round, when Boyle dropped to his knee following a body kick from Campbell.What happened next was both strange and amazing:&nbs…
The welterweight bout between Shane Campbell and Derek Boyle seemed like just an ordinary fight.
That is, until the third round, when Boyle dropped to his knee following a body kick from Campbell.
What happened next was both strange and amazing: Campbell took a step back and appeared to fire a hadouken.
For those of you not familiar with the “hadouken” term, it was made popular in the late 1980s and early ’90s through the video game Street Fighter.
No fire appeared from Campbell’s hands, but the tactic seemed to work.
He went on to completely thrash his opponent for the win.
There is a certain expectation of any fight involving Melvin Manhoef. Someone is going to get knocked out — whether it be Manhoef or his opponent.
Pound-for-pound, the Dutch kickboxer is one of the most exciting MMA fighters around. That do…
There is a certain expectation of any fight involving Melvin Manhoef. Someone is going to get knocked out — whether it be Manhoef or his opponent.
Pound-for-pound, the Dutch kickboxer is one of the most exciting MMA fighters around. That doesn’t always translate into winning fights, but Manhoef also knows his entertainment value is one of the reasons he is employed by a big organization like Bellator.
“I do my show and I hope people enjoy it,” Manhoef told MMAFighting.com. “This is what I want to do for Bellator. I want to make great fights.”
Yes. But at age 38, there’s something else Manhoef covets: the Bellator middleweight title. He meets former champion Alexander Shlemenko in the main event of Bellator 133 on Friday night in Fresno, Calif. Though he’s coming off a loss to Joe Schilling (by knockout, of course), a win over Shlemenko puts him in excellent position in the division. That’s the kind of thing that could make Manhoef think more about a ‘W’ than a highlight-reel knockout.
“I want to be champion in Bellator,” Manhoef said. “I really want to be champion. I want to retire as champion. This is the thing that motivates me. I won’t stop until I get that belt. I won’t stop.”
Manhoef (29-12-1, 1 NC) knows exactly how Schilling was able to knock him out at Bellator 131 on Nov. 15. It’s the same reason Manhoef has lost many of his fights, including against current UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler when the two clashed in Strikeforce back in 2010.
“I overcommitted,” Manhoef said. “I thought I had him. He was stepping backwards and he got me. This is like the never-ending story of me. Always when I’m in the ring or in the cage, I want to be finishing people off. If I got you, I want to put you out immediately. I don’t have patience. So I hope this time I will have more patience to finish the fight correctly and nice.”
That’s a rare bit of self-awareness from a fighter. Many expect Manhoef’s bout with Shlemenko, another exciting striker, to be a firefight. Manhoef said he’s prepared for anything, including potentially having to show some restraint.
“I know my mistakes,” Manhoef said. “That makes Melvin Manhoef. I think I’m looking for my knockouts, I’m searching for them. That’s basically me. And from all 29 fights that I knocked people out, it worked. At the moment I got them, I finished them. The fights I lose, sometimes I was beating up my opponent and still they knocked me out or they got me submitted.”
Manhoef knows the number almost by heart. He has 29 career wins and all but two have come by way of KO. In many ways, that has been his job, more so than simply just winning fights. Manhoef is an attraction.
That fact remains, but Manhoef’s goals go deeper now. He knows the clock on his career is ticking. “No Mercy” is even putting a mini hold on his kickboxing stints with Glory to put all of his time into training for MMA.
“For me now, truly I want to focus on Bellator, focus on my MMA, focus on getting more patience and focus on getting the title,” Manhoef said. “This is what I’m focusing on.”
Don’t be fooled, though. Manhoef still has one goal for the Shlemenko fight. It doesn’t involve lay and pray.
“I’m gonna knock people out,” Manhoef said. “This is what I want to do. If I knock a few people out, I hope then [Bellator president] Scott [Coker] will give me another chance again.”
Nobody is perfect.
Even a person who’s capable of holding onto the most prestigious title in combat sports for seven years has the capacity of making choices he would live to regret—choices that could take all of the seemingly permanent acc…
Nobody is perfect.
Even a person who’s capable of holding onto the most prestigious title in combat sports for seven years has the capacity of making choices he would live to regret—choices that could take all of the seemingly permanent accolades that make for seemingly untouchable legacies and remind us that there’s no such thing.
Because for as perfect of a life as we hope to live, it’s that one regretful choice that—by sheer definition—prevents us from doing so.
Scroll on as we list five of the best fighters on the planet and their biggest regrets to date.
Matt Hamill, who defeated Jones by disqualification in 2009, will take on Vinny Magalhaes in the main event of World Series of Fighting 20 on April 20 at Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Ledyard, Conn., the organization announced Thursday night.
Hamill (11-5) has not competed in MMA since falling to Thiago Silva at UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Shields in October 2013. The 38-year-old former college wrestler, who was born deaf, announced his return and signing with WSOF last year. This bout with Magalhaes will be a semifinal in a tournament for the WSOF light heavyweight title. Silva takes on Ronny Markes in the other semi at WSOF 19 on March 28 in Phoenix.
Magalhaes (12-7, 1 NC) has won two in a row, most recently a fourth-round submission victory over Jason Brilz at Titan FC 30 last September. The win earned Magalhaes the Titan light heavyweight title. The 30-year-old Brazilian, a 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu black belt under Eddie Bravo, is a former UFC veteran and coach for Chael Sonnen on The Ultimate Fighter 17.
In the co-main event, Melvin Guillard will meet Ozzy Dugulubgov in a lightweight bout. Guillard (32-14-2, 2 NC), a UFC veteran, has missed weight his previous two bouts. He is 1-1 with WSOF, including a loss to lightweight champ Justin Gaethje last November. Dugulubgov (6-2), a 26-year-old prospect from New Jersey is coming off a knockout of Keon Caldwell last September.
Matt Hamill, who defeated Jones by disqualification in 2009, will take on Vinny Magalhaes in the main event of World Series of Fighting 20 on April 20 at Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Ledyard, Conn., the organization announced Thursday night.
Hamill (11-5) has not competed in MMA since falling to Thiago Silva at UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Shields in October 2013. The 38-year-old former college wrestler, who was born deaf, announced his return and signing with WSOF last year. This bout with Magalhaes will be a semifinal in a tournament for the WSOF light heavyweight title. Silva takes on Ronny Markes in the other semi at WSOF 19 on March 28 in Phoenix.
Magalhaes (12-7, 1 NC) has won two in a row, most recently a fourth-round submission victory over Jason Brilz at Titan FC 30 last September. The win earned Magalhaes the Titan light heavyweight title. The 30-year-old Brazilian, a 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu black belt under Eddie Bravo, is a former UFC veteran and coach for Chael Sonnen on The Ultimate Fighter 17.
In the co-main event, Melvin Guillard will meet Ozzy Dugulubgov in a lightweight bout. Guillard (32-14-2, 2 NC), a UFC veteran, has missed weight his previous two bouts. He is 1-1 with WSOF, including a loss to lightweight champ Justin Gaethje last November. Dugulubgov (6-2), a 26-year-old prospect from New Jersey is coming off a knockout of Keon Caldwell last September.
Daniel Weichel figured he’d be fighting Pat Curran after winning the Bellator season 10 featherweight tournament last May. Of course, he also figured Curran would be the champion when the fight went down.
That no longer is the case. Curran l…
Daniel Weichel figured he’d be fighting Pat Curran after winning the Bellator season 10 featherweight tournament last May. Of course, he also figured Curran would be the champion when the fight went down.
That no longer is the case. Curran lost the belt to Patricio Freire last September and Weichel’s tournament victory didn’t guarantee him a title shot since Bellator has a new regime, led by president Scott Coker.
Still, Weichel is happy with the opportunity he is getting against Curran at Bellator 133 on Friday night in Fresno, Calif. This is by far the biggest fight of his busy 13-year career.
“I’m very happy that I’m fighting Pat Curran, because he achieved so much in Bellator and has a very good reputation,” Weichel told MMAFighting.com. “I respect him for that a lot. My overall goal is to get the belt and for that goal I have to beat the best fighters in the world. And that is Pat at the moment.”
Weichel (34-8), who hails from Germany, has been quite the workhouse in his career and has earned victories over the likes of UFC veteran Dennis Siver and former Bellator tournament winner Frodo Khasbulaev. He has also faced names like Dan Hardy, Paul Daley and Thiago Tavares.
Most of those bouts came in his younger days. For the last six years or so, Weichel has transitioned from a guy willing to fight whenever and wherever regardless of purse to someone who viewed MMA more like a career. The turning point was signing with manager/trainer Niels Schlaegel and MMA Spirit in Frankfurt.
“Before I always loved the sport,” Weichel said. “I just wanted to fight no matter who it is, no matter when it is, no matter how much I get paid. Now, I feel I know what it is to be a professional mixed martial artist. You have to train like that. You have to carry yourself like that. This is an important thing. If you have no professional surroundings, no professional team, sooner or later you will stop winning. You won’t get to where you want to go.”
Though he has two careers worth of fights on his record, Weichel is still only 30 years old. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist has won six in a row, including five by submission. In his native Germany, the ground game is not understood as well as striking is, but Weichel might be the guy to change that. Now with Bellator and closing in on a title shot, “The Weasel” is starting to receive some attention in his home country, which has a burgeoning MMA scene.
“They’re starting to get interested,” said Weichel, who finished Desmond Green via rear-naked choke in the tourney finals at Bellator 119 on May 9. “It’s a good thing to inspire people to start the sport.”
He has a chance to do plenty of that Friday. Curran is a two-time Bellator featherweight champion. Though coming off a loss to Freire, Curran is still regarded as one of the top 145-pound fighters on the planet. Coker has already said Georgi Karakhanyan, who is coming off an impressive first-round submission win over Bubba Jenkins last month, will get the next title shot. But Weichel would put himself in that conversation if he beats Curran.
“I don’t know if I can change his mind, but I definitely can make an impression and prove my value for the company,” Weichel said. “I want to go there and fight in exciting fashion, and I want to win in exciting fashion. I come there to finish the fight, and I want to give a war that people remember and then remember me.”
