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Gamer. Fighter. Rapper. Star. You ready for vlog-on-vlog combat? Part of the B/R POWER 50 Shake It Up list.
Gamer. Fighter. Rapper. Star. You ready for vlog-on-vlog combat? Part of the B/R POWER 50 Shake It Up list.
On Friday night in the main event of Bellator 161, Cheick Kongo won a woeful heavyweight bout via majority decision over Tony Johnson.
If you wanted to make someone hate mixed martial arts, you should force them to watch this fight. Kongo’s style has a…
On Friday night in the main event of Bellator 161, Cheick Kongo won a woeful heavyweight bout via majority decision over Tony Johnson.
If you wanted to make someone hate mixed martial arts, you should force them to watch this fight. Kongo’s style has always been rather boring, and this bout was no different.
Every chance Kongo got, he pressed the heavier, but shorter Johnson against the cage and imposed his will. There weren’t a lot of hard shots exchanged, but two of the three judges liked Kongo’s positioning and his three takedowns enough to give him two rounds.
The third judge saw this snooze fest even.
Johnson has some talent, but truth be told, he’d probably be a light heavyweight if he were in shape. He quickly tired, and that made it easier for Kongo to get the judges’ nod.
The 41-year-old Kongo has now won three fights in a row. One more win might put him in position to fight for the title.
It was an especially tough loss for Johnson. He’d dedicated the bout to the memory of his younger brother, who committed suicide during his training camp.
Johnson will likely be back, but it would be great to see him perform closer to a healthier weight.
Warren Chokes Out Kakai
It’s never pretty with Joe Warren, but he got the job done on Friday with a third-round submission victory over Sirwan Kakai.
Pressure was the key to victory. Warren came after Kakai with combinations and standing body control against the cage.
In the first round, Warren wasn’t landing a ton of punches, but he was controlling posture. In the second round, a big knee seemed to hurt Kakai.
He recovered but struggled to mount his own offense. While he did have his moments, Kakai‘s work in the second round wasn’t enough to get him the round on any judge’s scorecard.
Warren made it all irrelevant when he locked in the choke to force his weary opponent to tap. Per the post-fight interview, Warren says he wants his bantamweight title back, but he’ll have a long road to realistic title contention.
Nonetheless, per Bellator MMA on Twitter, Warren is fired up after his win:
Eduardo Dantas is the current champion. If we’re being honest, Warren has almost no chance to beat Dantas. Still, he pulled off a nice win on Friday night.
Main Card
Campos’ Crazy Comeback
After being rocked early in the first round, Derek Campos showed off his toughness and resilience. He rebounded to take the final two rounds and a unanimous-decision win over Djamil Chan.
As you can see from the tweeted images from Sherdog.com, Campos was in major trouble as Chan attempted to pour on the pressure:
Somehow, Campos escaped, and he then took advantage of a fatigued Chan to earn a hard-fought victory. Campos has now won two fights in a row.
Yankova Gets Controversial Victory
Anastasia Yankova is Bellator‘s version of Paige VanZant, only she’s not as good. PVZ has proven herself to be far more than a pretty face.
Yankova is stiff, and she doesn’t move her head. Veta Arteaga took advantage of her opponent’s poor defense.
Three rapid combinations buckled Yankova‘s legs in the first round, but to her credit, she battled back to stay in the fight. The second round was more competitive, but it still looked as if Arteaga‘s punches were more accurate.
The final round was all Yankova as she proved to have superior stamina. When the final scorecards were read, the crowd booed the decision.
Yankova looked embarrassed to have been the tabbed as the winner. She actually asked for a rematch during her post-fight interview. We’ll see if Bellator matchmakers comply.
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A debuting fighter who garnered his fame in a professional wrestling ring is the biggest attraction for Saturday night’s top mixed martial arts event from Cleveland, Ohio.
That bout supersedes the main event, which features a hometown hero making the f…
A debuting fighter who garnered his fame in a professional wrestling ring is the biggest attraction for Saturday night’s top mixed martial arts event from Cleveland, Ohio.
That bout supersedes the main event, which features a hometown hero making the first defense of his heavyweight title—and no, this isn’t a Bellator card.
CM Punk will make his first-ever appearance in the UFC’s Octagon when he squares off with Mickey Gall in a main card bout at UFC 203. The WWE community and the MMA faithful will be watching to see if Punk falls flat on his face, or if he can pull off an improbable win.
By the way, there’s a pretty significant main event on tap. Cleveland native Stipe Miocic will attempt to successfully defend his UFC heavyweight title against Alistair Overeem.
In the video below from the UFC on YouTube, the prime participants discuss their upcoming bouts
Don’t count on this one lasting the full five rounds. Here’s a look at the viewing information, card and predictions for the night’s biggest fights.
The predicted winner’s names are in bold.
Main Card (on Pay-Per-View) – 10 p.m. ET
Prelims (on FS1) – 8 p.m. ET
Prelims (on UFC Fight Pass) – 7 p.m. ET
Gall Will Batter Punk
Rarely will you see a 37-year-old fighter lose to a 24-year-old because of a lack of experience, but that will be the specifics of Punk’s undoing.
Gall has had only two pro fights, but he’s trained in MMA for much longer and more exclusively than Punk.
To the contrary, Punk’s trainer Duke Roufus believes his fighter has turned a corner in his preparation. Per Chuck Mindenhall of SB Nation, Roufos said:
“You come in with a peace of mind knowing that you’re ready. You know that you put the work in, and you know you put in the dedication. And the enthusiasm. I think the turning point was when he finally booked the fight, because it’s where we saw him grow.”
The crash course Punk has received over the past 12-16 months is simply not enough to win a professional MMA bout against a respectable opponent.
It would be silly to expect him to win a fight against a man 13 years his junior, who is also more heavily invested in the sport.
A Punk win would be best for business, but that tagline only matters with his previous employer. Gall will win and it won’t even be close.
Expect to see Punk bloodied, battered and fielding questions about whether he plans to keep fighting after suffering a defeat.
Werdum Is Still Superior To Browne
Fabricio Werdum has already faced Travis Browne once. The former champion dismantled his opponent in their first bout, and there’s no reason to believe we’ll see anything different in the rematch.
Werdum’s game has more layers, and Browne has looked like a shell of himself over the past two years.
Bet on Werdum putting on a show in what will be a statement-making performance as he attempts to earn a chance to regain the title he lost to Miocic in his last fight.
Overeem Will Be The New Champion
Overeem is the best heavyweight in the world today, and he’ll prove that emphatically when he knocks out Miocic in front of his home crowd.
Alistair has always had the physical tools to be dominant, but he hasn’t always fought smart and been mentally plugged in.
That doesn’t appear to be the case in his last four fights. He’s been destroying top-notch heavyweights, and that includes Junior dos Santos, Andrei Arlovski and Roy Nelson.
Miocic is next.
The champion is a solid fighter with proven power, but Overeem has demonstrated the ability to stick to a game plan while harvesting fight-ending power shots.
The combination of patience and power has brought Overeem to this opportunity, and he’s going to take control of it with both hands.
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Demian Maia can no longer be ignored. The 38-year-old Brazilian secured what might have been the most impressive win of his career at UFC on Fox 21 in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Saturday, when he submitted Carlos Condit via rear-naked choke in the…
Demian Maia can no longer be ignored. The 38-year-old Brazilian secured what might have been the most impressive win of his career at UFC on Fox 21 in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Saturday, when he submitted Carlos Condit via rear-naked choke in the first round.
It was Maia’s sixth straight win, and it should make him next in line for a shot at the UFC welterweight title after Tyron Woodley faces Stephen Thompson.
Condit is known for his all-around game, but Maia may be the greatest Brazilian jiu-jitsu artist we’ve ever seen. Maia is primarily a one-dimensional fighter, but that single skill is so advanced that he’s able to overpower his opponents en route to victories.
His style isn’t the most crowd-pleasing, but he may be the toughest draw in the 170-pound division. Maia told Brian Stann during his post-fight interview he would wait for the winner of the Woodley-Thompson battle.
Whoever emerges as the champ best beware.
Showtime Is Back
Anthony Pettis made a smashing debut in the featherweight division. Riding a three-fight losing streak, Pettis looked like a new man at 145 pounds as he submitted Charles Oliveira. Fox Sports: UFC shared the replay:
Pettis was aggressive and did damage in stand-up exchanges with punches and kicks to the midsection. Oliveira looked to have issues with Pettis’ speed early, but he came on a bit in the second round.
Pettis punched himself out as Oliveira seized the momentum. In the third round, Pettis got a second wind. After escaping a choke and omoplata attempt, he transitioned to a guillotine.
That choke secured the victory for Pettis in a well-rounded performance.
Main Card
Undercard
Highlights and Analysis
Alvey Pummels Casey
Sam Alvey continues to knock people out and deliver WWE-like post-fight interviews. Here’s a look at his finish of Kevin Casey, via Fox Sports: UFC:
As usual, Casey’s lack of stamina rendered him almost defenseless after the first round. He went after several takedowns in the first five minutes.
He didn’t land any of them and was spent by the start of the second frame. With his opponent’s strikes noticeably slower, Alvey closed the distance and secured the finish.
After the fight, the always-entertaining Alvey called out every light heavyweight in Europe.
Miller Bests Lauzon Again
In a rematch of the Fight of the Year from 2012, Jim Miller again pulled out a hard-fought victory over Joe Lauzon. This time, Miller prevailed by split decision in a fight that was even closer than the first meeting.
Lauzon had his moments in the fight, and many of the fans booed the judges’ decision. Lauzon secured a takedown in all three rounds, but Miller landed the more solid punches.
The decision could have gone either way.
Will we see a third fight? Miller said no during his post-fight interview, but we’ll see what happens.
Paige VanZant Is Going to Be a Superstar
If you’re looking for the “OMG” moment of the event, it came during the only women’s fight on the card. Paige VanZant decimated Bec Rawlings with this switch kick to the head in the second round, via Fox Sports: UFC:
PVZ has as much star potential as anyone in the sport. If she can continue to dazzle crowds, she’s headed for the top of a UFC pay-per-view card in the future.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com
Benson Henderson got his first win with Bellator on Friday night against Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, but it didn’t happen the way most would have wanted.
During the second round, Pitbull suffered a right leg injury that prevented him from continuing. Th…
Benson Henderson got his first win with Bellator on Friday night against Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, but it didn’t happen the way most would have wanted.
During the second round, Pitbull suffered a right leg injury that prevented him from continuing. The result was a technical-knockout victory for Henderson in a bout that had the fans on hand for Bellator 160 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, booing.
There didn’t appear to be much contact, but Pitbull may have planted wrong after attempting a kick. Nonetheless, Henderson will move on to receive a title shot against lightweight champion Michael Chandler on Nov. 19.
MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani summed up most of the MMA community’s thoughts:
Aside from the anticlimactic ending of a much-anticipated fight, this was also a terrible way to end what had been an entertaining main card.
In the co-main event, Derek Anderson outdueled veteran Saad Awad via unanimous decision. Anderson and Awad both had their moments, but the striking of the former—who used his reach effectively—earned the victory.
Awad couldn’t find a way to get inside Anderson’s reach after the first round. Anderson has now won two fights in a row, and he could be in position to challenge for the lightweight belt in the near future.
Here’s a look at the post-fight press conference, which also includes news on the signing of Rory MacDonald as the promotion’s latest free-agent acquisition, via Bellator:
Results
Main card
Undercard
McKee Continues to Impress
A.J. McKee is one of the most well-rounded prospects in the sport, and he proved that again Friday. No opponent in Bellator had made it into the second round against McKee before Friday. Cody Walker accomplished that, but he wasn’t around much longer.
After a dominant performance in the first round that consisted mostly of ground-and-pound strikes, McKee quickly finished Walker with a power guillotine choke in the opening minute of Round 2.
McKee wants a shot at 145-pound champion Daniel Straus, but the flamboyant star called out Pitbull.
“I’ve got a leash and a kennel waiting for you, Pitbull,” he said on the Spike broadcast after his win.
With Pitbull suffering what appeared to be a serious injury, he’ll likely be out of action for a while. We’ll see which fighter Bellator serves up next for McKee.
Georgi Karakhanyan Owns Bubba Jenkins
Sometimes a guy just has another fighter’s number, and that’s apparently the case with Georgi Karakhanyan and his dominance of Bubba Jenkins.
When the two men met in January 2015, Karakhanyan scored a first-round win via submission. He put Jenkins to sleep with a guillotine choke.
Jenkins was hungry for revenge, but he again suffered a first-round stoppage Friday. A vicious right hand that landed right on Jenkins’ chin knocked him out cold.
Here’s the finish, via Bellator:
Karakhanyan had just got caught a kick from Jenkins, and before he fully relinquished his opponent’s leg, he fired the punch that ended the fight.
Karakhanyan had lost two fights in a row since beating Jenkins the first time. This win will breathe new life into his career.
The loss is devastating for Jenkins. He’d won three in a row since losing to Karakhanyan last year. Now he’ll have to regroup yet again.
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One of the UFC’s most anticipated rematches is finally here. At UFC 202 on Saturday night in Las Vegas, Conor McGregor will have his opportunity to avenge his loss to Nick Diaz.
To say this is a heated rivalry is like saying flyweight champion Demetrio…
One of the UFC’s most anticipated rematches is finally here. At UFC 202 on Saturday night in Las Vegas, Conor McGregor will have his opportunity to avenge his loss to Nick Diaz.
To say this is a heated rivalry is like saying flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson is kind of fast. Take a look at the highlights from the press conference that turned rowdy on Wednesday:
In the co-main event, two hard-hitting light heavyweight title contenders will collide. Anthony “Rumble” Johnson takes on Glover Teixeira in a fight that could have an explosive ending.
Here’s the viewing information for the card and predictions for each bout.
When: Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET
Where: T-Mobile Center in Las Vegas
TV: Fight Pass prelims (live stream), Fox Sports 1 prelims and pay-per-view main card
Predictions
Why Rumble Will Win
Along with being an accomplished Brazilian jiu-jitsu artist, Teixeira is also a powerful and skilled striker. Unfortunately for him, Rumble’s power is on another level.
As powerful as Teixeira is, it’s doubtful he stands a chance if he elects to strike with Johnson. The latter is quicker and more explosive.
That would lead you to believe he’ll beat Teixeira to the punch during exchanges. The best style to utilize against Johnson is a pure wrestling approach that takes him off his feet and neutralizes his power.
That’s not Teixeira’s specialty.
He would prefer to strike, and his takedown accuracy is just 50 percent, per FightMetric.
Since Johnson moved to light heavyweight in the UFC, he’s lost to one man: Daniel Cormier. At this point, DC and Jon Jones may be the only 205-pounders with a chance to stop Rumble.
Why McGregor Will Win
Love him or hate him, McGregor is a special fighter. While his game has flaws, his strengths are so overwhelming that he’s usually able to overcome his shortcomings.
He’s not a great grappler and probably never will be. That said, he has tremendous balance, speed and striking accuracy for his offensive style (44 percent), and he’s a maniacal competitor.
Diaz is a great boxer with an expert-level ground game, but he’s not going to improve. He’ll be the same guy he was when he beat McGregor in March.
Therein lies the problem for Diaz in the rematch. McGregor will not be the same guy. He won’t gas out trying to put Diaz away in the first round.
He’ll respect Diaz‘s power a little more than he did in the first fight, and he’ll battle like there’s no tomorrow to stay off the ground.
McGregor landed 61 significant strikes against Diaz in the first fight, and the latter’s face was showing serious wear before The Notorious One lost steam from carrying the extra weight.
This time, he’ll be ready and won’t run out of gas. McGregor will win by TKO. Don’t be surprised.
Sleeper Bout for Fight of the Night
McGregor vs. Diaz and Johnson vs. Teixeira are the featured attractions, but keep an eye on Gyu Lim vs. Perry.
Gyu Lim has already won two Fight of the Night bonuses in his five-fight UFC career. He likes to mix it up and brawl. He’ll likely have a willing participant in Perry.
In six fights—all victories—Perry has scored a knockout victory. Here’s a look at one of his most recent finishes in March against Frank Carrillo at Island Fights 37. The end comes at the 4:45 mark of the video:
Lim and Perry should put on a good show.
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