Author: Brian Mazique

On Saturday night at UFC Fight Night 77 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Vitor Belfort won the rubber match between him and Dan Henderson. The win looked similar to his last one against Henderson back in November 2013.

After each fighter showed the other a ton of respect in the opening moments of the bout, the 38-year-old Belfort unleashed a head kick on the 45-year-old Henderson that found its mark. Henderson thought the strike was coming low, and he ducked right into its path.

Belfort’s shin caught him flush in the face, and Henderson stumbled into the cage. Charged by the raucous crowd, the Brazilian’s finishing instincts immediately kicked in. He pounced on the reeling Henderson and pounded him out until referee Mario Yamasaki stepped in.

Fox Sports shared the finish:

Henderson protested, but the stoppage was a good one. He was badly hurt, and there were just less than three minutes left in the round. Yamasaki did his job in sparing Henderson unnecessary damage.

Per MMA Fighting, Belfort said the key to his win was patience, and he made a reference to his previous loss to UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman:

Henderson was more simplistic in his description of his loss:

It’s hard to know what to make of Belfort at this point in his career. As he comes up on 40 years of age, it’s clear that his best days are behind him, but it’s also evident that he still has some explosion. How many more wins does he realistically need to earn another shot at the title?

Perhaps the better question is this: Does he have enough left in the tank to secure those victories?

Maybe the answer is no, but it’ll likely be an entertaining ride nonetheless.

Henderson should retire, but he probably won’t. He’s lost six of his last eight fights, with four of the defeats coming by stoppage.

There’s nothing left for him to accomplish. He’ll never be a UFC champion again, and there are only a handful of guys he can still be competitive against. Even if the UFC were to cut him, he’d land with Bellator faster than Ronda Rousey can submit an opponent.

You can only hope he gets and listens to some sound career advice.

 

Teixeira Smokes Cummins

Patrick Cummins is a world-class wrestler but not much else. Early in his co-main event bout with Glover Teixeira, Cummins successfully took Teixeira down twice. However, the Brazilian quickly made it back to his feet both times.

From there, the fight was all downhill for Cummins.

Teixeira rocked him twice in the first round with hard punches. The second time came right before the end of the round. Had there been about 30 more seconds left, Cummins might have succumbed in that frame.

In the second round, Teixeira picked up where he left off. He teed off with hard lefts and rights until referee Herb Dean had to step in to end the assault. Ken Myers of FightMatch.com shared the finish:

When it was over, Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting.com provided Teixeira’s quote about his game plan coming into the fight:

Teixeira and his team have to be happy with the result. With the win, he remains a strong title contender for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, though he’ll likely have to wait before he gets another chance at the gold.

A battle with Anthony “Rumble” Johnson might be a logical next fight for him. Both men had chances to win the title in the last two years but failed. They may as well use each other to climb back up the ladder. Here’s a look at all of the results from a destructive Saturday night in Sao Paulo. 

UFC Fight Pass Early Prelims
Matchup	Weight Class	Result
Bruno Korea vs. Matheus Nicolau	Bantamweight	Nicolau by submission (Japanese necktie, third round)
Pedro Munhoz vs. Jimmie Rivera	Bantamweight	Rivera by split decision (28-29, 29-28×2)
Viscardi Andrade vs. Gasan Umalatov	Welterweight	Andrade by unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
Fox Sports 1 Prelims
Matchup	Weight Class	Result
Kevin Souza vs. Chas Skelly	Featherweight	Skelly by submission (rear-naked choke, second round)
Clay Guida vs. Thiago Tavares	Featherweight	Tavares by submission (guillotine, first round)
Yan Cabral vs. Johnny Case	Lightweight	Case by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Gleison Tibau vs. Abel Trujillo	Lightweight	Tibau by submission (rear-naked choke, first round)
Fox Sports 1 Main Card
Matchup	Weight Class	Result
Fabio Maldonado vs. Corey Anderson	Light Heavyweight	Anderson by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Gilbert Burns vs. Rashid Magomedov	Lightweight	Magomedov by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Alex Oliveira vs. Piotr Hallmann	Lightweight	Oliveira by KO in third round
Thomas Almeida vs. Anthony Birchak	Bantamweight	Almeida by KO in first round
Glover Teixeira vs. Patrick Cummins	Light Heavyweight	Teixeira by TKO in second round
Vitor Belfort vs. Dan Henderson	Light Heavyweight	Belfort by TKO in first round

 

Nicolau Makes Statement

In an entertaining opening bout, Matheus Nicolau took a back-and-forth battle over Bruno Korea with a third-round submission victory via Japanese necktie. After controlling the first round, Nicolau ate a spinning kick that dropped him in the second.

Nicolau looked a little dazed, but he was able to get through the round. In the third, both men opened up their games in search of control in the final five minutes.

A scramble on the ground saw Nicolau take control and wind up with the choke that Korea couldn’t escape from.

 

Rivera Outlasts Munhoz

Competitive battles were the early theme. The difference in the matchup between Jimmie Rivera and Pedro Munhoz was the hand speed and boxing of the former.

In the first round, he used counter uppercuts and combinations on the inside to land the more significant strikes. After Munhoz mounted a better attack in the second, Rivera came back with more of the action he used to gain an advantage in the first.

More accurate striking led to Rivera getting the edge in the third round and ultimately the decision win.

 

Andrade Handles Umalatov

Per UFC.com, Viscardi Andrade outlanded Gasan Umalatov 78-38 en route to an easy unanimous-decision win. Umalatov’s slow hands and feet made winning this fight a long shot, and he was unable to take the battle to the ground to eliminate the speed disadvantage.

One judge gave a round to Umalatov, but that was generous.

 

Skelly Wins a Wild One

Things got hairy for Chas Skelly in the first round, but he leaned on his superior submission game to pull out the win. In the first round, Kevin Souza rocked Skelly and nearly had his opponent out. Unfortunately for the Brazilian, he didn’t finish the job.

In the second round, Skelly was able to get the fight to the mat, where he’s more comfortable. Souza has had issues defending submissions in the past, having lost three previous bouts via tapout.

Skelly would give Souza his fourth such defeat courtesy of a rear-naked choke despite injuring his foot at some point in the decisive round, per Fox Sports:

Skelly doesn’t necessarily look like a major contender, but MMA Fighting noted you can’t ignore his accomplishments:

 

Record-Setting Win for Tavares

It took just 39 seconds for Thiago Tavares to make Clay Guida submit. Guida shot for the double-leg takedown, and Tavares immediately locked in the guillotine. Guida tried to roll out of it, but Tavares cinched it in even tighter.

Guida had no choice but to tap out. It was the fastest submission win in UFC featherweight history. Per Shaheen Al-Shatti of MMA Fighting, Guida’s memorable career may be in bad shape:

It’s hard to imagine where Guida goes from here. He’s not a big puncher, and it’s clear his grappling isn’t as effective at 145 pounds. With that said, dropping back down to 135 pounds doesn’t seem realistic or safe for the 33-year-old.

 

Johnny on the Case

With the charisma of a young, up-and-coming movie star in the Octagon, Johnny Case secured another win. After losing a grappling battle in the first round against Yan Cabral, Case was able to do serious damage on his feet in the second frame.

A right-left combination dropped Cabral and badly bloodied his face. Case couldn’t get the stoppage, but he took firm control of the fight with the big round. Cabral had a brief moment in the third, but Case quickly regained control of the action by getting to his feet and teeing off with hard punches.

It was an impressive performance from Case, and afterward, he called out phenom Sage Northcutt. Per MMA Fighting, Case called Northcutt a Mark-Paul Gosselaar lookalike: 

That’s funny.

 

Tibau Beats Trujillo in Controversial Ending

Gleison Tibau was dominating the one-dimensional Abel Trujillo with relative ease. He’d gained full mount twice and transitioned to a head-and-arm choke.

It looked as though Trujillo was moments away from tapping, but he hadn’t given up. Nonetheless, referee Keith Peterson called an end to the bout. Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com immediately wanted to see the replay:

In Peterson’s defense, Trujillo did close his eyes. That’s normally a sign that a guy has gone to sleep. These fights happen fast, and the refs are always taught to err on the side of caution. 

While the stoppage might have been early, there’s no doubt that the end result would have been the same. Per Mike Bohn of USA Today, Tibau believes the same thing:

 

Anderson Breezes Past Maldonado

Corey Anderson made easy work of Fabio Maldonado in the first fight on the main card. Maldonado leans heavily on his chin and punching power. Anderson disregarded the home-standing Maldonado’s qualities as he took turns beating the Brazilian in the stand-up and on the ground.

According to UFC.com, Anderson landed 60 significant strikes, compared to just 26 for Maldonado. He also secured six takedowns.

There was only one way to score this one-sided beatdown. Anderson won every round on all three judges’ scorecards.

 

Magomedov Extinguishes Burns’ Unblemished Record

Gilbert Burns came into his fight with Rashid Magomedov unbeaten; he left with the first loss of his MMA career. In a dominant performance, Magomedov had his way with Burns.

The Russian landed 80 significant strikes, compared to just 28 for Burns. The latter attempted to take the fight to the ground to work his expert submission game, but Magomedov was having none of it.

He escaped every one of Burns’ overtures and easily waltzed to the unanimous-decision win.

 

Oliveira Smashes Hallmann

Charles “Cowboy” Oliveira put on another hallmark performance on his way up the UFC’s lightweight ladder. On Saturday, he beat up Piotr Hallmann for two-plus rounds and then knocked him out with a couple of huge right hands to the chin.

The second shot had Hallmann out before his limp body came crashing down to the mat. Karyn Bryant of Fox Sports brought out the cheerleader chant to describe the KO:

The hardworking Brazilian has turned in one of the most productive years in the promotion. Since losing his UFC debut to Burns in March, Oliveira has reeled off three straight victories. 

 

Almeida Demolishes Birchak

For a few moments, Anthony Birchak made it appear as though he might make his fight with Thomas Almeida competitive. That didn’t last long.

With just 24 seconds left in the first round, Almeida landed a nasty combination that left Birchak lying grotesquely against the Octagon cage and unconscious. Radio Formula’s Esteban Tapia shared the vicious finish:

Almeida improved his MMA record to 21-0 with the win, and he is rapidly approaching a title shot at 135 pounds. With a few more wins, it’s only a matter of time before fans will be calling for an Almeida vs. T.J. Dillashaw match.

At this point, I’m not sure how big of a favorite Dillashaw would be.

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Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter.

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Daniel Straus finally got it right.

On Friday night in St. Louis, Missouri at Bellator 145, Straus defeated long-time nemesis and reigning featherweight champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47×2). The win earned Straus the title for the second time.

Spike Sports congratulated the new champion:

The scorecards showing just a one-point margin were a little questionable. Straus looked to have won the first four rounds with a potential 10-8 frame in the second when he dropped Pitbull with a powerful left hand.

Check it out here:

Straus’ length and speed appeared to control the striking sequences in the third and fourth rounds. The counter left hands bounced off Pitbull’s resilient skull with regularity, though Straus appeared to hurt his power hand in the waning seconds of the fourth.

In the final round, Straus nearly choked away a certain victory for the second time against Pitbull. Back in January, Straus had beaten Pitbull through almost four rounds before making a tactical mistake.

In the final 10 seconds of the fourth round, Straus gave up his back and allowed Pitbull to rescue his title by submission via rear-naked choke. History almost repeated itself on Friday as Pitbull again took Straus’ back—this time with just over two minutes left in the fifth round.

This time Straus would stay composed. He escaped the predicament and slugged it out with his opponent until the final bell. Here’s the exciting finish:

When the fight was over, Straus talked about his “broken hand” and the possibility of a fourth fight with Pitbull:

Few would complain about another meeting between the two. The series is officially still 2-1 in favor of Freire, who also beat Straus back in 2011. If these two can continue to put together classic fights like they have the last two times out, Bellator will be all the better for it.

 

Brooks Beats Held at His Own Game

Marcin Held is one of the most deadly submission artists in the sport of MMA. Because of that, most thought Will Brooks needed to keep the fight standing to retain his Bellator lightweight title. That wasn’t the case.

After a first round that saw him nearly submitted with a knee bar, Brooks proceeded to dominate Held on the ground with vicious ground-and-pound and expert-level submission defense.

Brooks had several opportunities to stand up and take advantage of a fatigued Held, but he elected to take him down and pound away through the Pole’s guard. 

When it was over, we found out that early knee bar from Held did more damage than it appeared. Here’s Brooks talking about the injury he suffered that dictated his approach:

Quite honestly, the fact that the champion dominated a submission fighter of Held’s ilk on the ground—with an injured knee—makes the win all the more impressive. It’s time Brooks makes the climb on everyone’s pound-for-pound list.

Here’s a look at all of the televised results from Bellator 145.

 

Bellator 145 Card, Schedule and Results

Matchups	Weight Class	Result
Emmanuel Sanchez vs. Justin Lawrence	Featherweight	Sanchez by split decision (29-28×2, 28-29)
James Thompson vs. Bobby Lashley	Heavyweight	Lashley by TKO in first round
David Rickels vs. Michael Chandler	Lightweight	Chandler by TKO in second round
(c) Will Brooks vs. Marcin Held	Bellator Lightweight Championship	Brooks by decision (50-45, 49-46×2)
(c) Patricio “Pitbull” Freire vs. Daniel Straus	Bellator Featherweight Championship	Straus by unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47×2)

 

Sanchez Wins Close One

After losing the first round, Emmanuel Sanchez needed something to stem the tide in the second frame. He found it just before the bell sounded with a right-leg kick that caught Justin Lawrence square on the chin.

Lawrence crumpled into the cage and was visibly hurt by the shot.

Because the kick landed so close to the end of the round, Sanchez didn’t have a chance to finish what he started, but he had clearly taken the momentum. Here’s a look at the kick:

In the third and final round, Sanchez resumed the aggression. To Lawrence’s credit, he did a good job recovering enough to survive the final round, but the mobility he used to befuddle Sanchez in the first frame was gone.

Sanchez’s activity earned him the round, and the fight on two of the three scorecards. When the fight was over, Sanchez paid respect to his opponent in his post-fight interview:

 

Lashley Collapses the Colossus

Bellator brought out WWE, TNA and Olympic legend Kurt Angle to commentate the Bobby Lashley vs. James “The Colossus” Thompson rematch, but the former gold medalist’s services weren’t needed for long. 

Within the first minute of the fight, Lashley shot for a powerful single-leg takedown that hyperextended Thompson’s left knee. The 6’5″ giant crumpled as Lashley took top position and proceeded to pound on his injured foe.

A series of unanswered powerful ground-and-pound shots forced the referee to call an end to the fight. Here’s a look at the finish:

Lashley wants to move toward a shot at the Bellator heavyweight championship. This was a solid step in that direction. Lashley’s win avenged a previous controversial loss to Thompson in 2012.

 

Chandler Punishes the Caveman

The rematch between David “Caveman” Rickels and Michael Chandler lasted longer the initial bout, but the result was the same. Chandler bloodied Rickels and ultimately stopped him in the second round.

Here’s a look at the finish:

Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Snowden thought the fight went on longer than it should have:

Rickels showed improvement from the last time the two met in 2013, but in the end, Chandler simply has too many layers to his game. His strikes had more impact, and there was no question coming in that he was the superior wrestler.

After the fight, Chandler had high praise for himself:

With a second straight victory after a three-fight losing streak, Chandler may very well be prepared to make another strong run at the 155-pound title. He’s already lost to Brooks twice, so he knows wrestling the title from him won’t be easy.

Then again, that didn’t stop Straus.

 

The Announcements

No major Bellator event is complete without at least one big announcement. This time, there were two. The first revealed an eight-man tournament to ring in the new year. It’s called New Years Rizin, and King Mo Lawal will represent Bellator in a light heavyweight tournament in Japan.

The card will also feature the return of Fedor Emelianenko and a women’s fight pitting former TNA Knockout Lei’D Tapa against Gabi Garcia. 

The second announcement was something right out of the backyard and 1993. A double main event on February 19 in Houston will feature a commercially attractive scrap between Kimbo Slice and Dada 5000, and a throwback battle between Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie.

I can’t believe I typed that, but ESPN.com’s Brian Campbell confirmed it with this tweet:

MMA GIFS said it best:

Together, the two men are nearly 100 years old (Shamrock 50, Gracie 48), so it’s hard to say this is an exciting bout. Some of us will be watching simply to see if something hilarious happens. In any case, it should at least be entertaining on some level.

I guess that’s the name of the game.

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In my Kanye West voice: Robin van Roosmalen is a good fighter, but Sittichai Sitsongpeenong deserved to win the Glory lightweight title Friday in Milan.

I hate to bring up old pop-culture events, but West’s utter disrespect of Taylor Swift at the 2008 Video Music Awards was the last time I saw a winner treated as poorly as Sitsongpeenong at Glory 25.

Van Roosmalen retained his title via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) despite being outfought in a boring main event. Sitsongpeenong’s height and the speed of his left leg kicks allowed him to seemingly score throughout the five-round bout.

He never hurt the champion, but the 24-year-old Thai fighter was hardly touched himself. The judging should have come down to which fighter did the most in a punchless fight, and that appeared to be Sitsongpeenong.

The Pastor of Disaster thought he saw Sitsongpeenong have the edge as well, but the broadcast stat numbers seemed to change his tune:

The validity of the stats in that graphic is questionable. There were rounds—mainly the first and second—where the champion barely appeared to land anything of significance. Meanwhile, Sitsongpeenong kept a steady diet of kicks flowing to Van Roosmalen’s midsection and arms.

Apparently, Glory officials thought the punch numbers were fishy as well:

In any case, Van Roosmalen is still the champion despite the questionable judging.

 

The Doctor Is Back

The Glory return of Giorgio Petrosyan was a successful one. In the co-feature on the card, Petrosyan dominated Josh Jauncey for three rounds. 

His legendary quickness, reflexes and overall skills looked to be in top form as he won every round against the up-and-coming Canadian. Like most of his opponents, Jauncey had a tough time landing a clean shot on Petrosyan.

The Armenian-Italian legend remarkably stayed in the pocket, landed and befuddled Jauncey en route to the lopsided victory (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Hayabusa tweeted congratulations to the fighter:

The last time Petrosyan was in a Glory ring, things didn’t go well. In 2013 at Glory 21, the hard-punching Andy Ristie knocked Petrosyan out in a stunning upset. After a long hiatus from the promotion, Petrosyan hasn’t missed a beat.

When the bout was over, he expressed interest in fighting the winner of the main event for the Glory lightweight championship. We’ll see if a bout between him and Van Roosmalen can be made.

 

Glory 25 Results
Matchup	Weight Class	Results
Yoann Kongolo vs. Karim Ghajji	Welterweight	Ghajji by majority decision (29-27, 29-27, 28-28)
Murthel Groenhart vs. Nicola Gallo	Welterweight	Groenhart by TKO (cut)
Ghajji vs. Groenhart	Welterweight	Groenhart by decision (29-27, 29-27, 30-27)
Giorgio Petrosyan vs. Josh Jauncey	Lightweight	Petrosyan by decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Robin van Roosmalen vs. Sittichai Sitsongpeenong	Lightweight	Van Roosmalen by decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)

 

Welterweight Tournament

Ghajji Outlasts Kongolo

After competitive action in the first two rounds, Yoann Kongolo and Karim Ghajji both came out looking to claim the final frame. Ghajji was able to evade his opponent’s early attempts to take a quick lead in the round.

Instead, the 34-year-old Frenchman scored with his boxing. Ghajji landed shots to the body and a snapping left hook that had to have grabbed the judges’ attention. Kongolo sensed he needed to make a statement.

He tried a jumping knee and spinning kick in the final minute but was unable to land either strike.

The better work in the final round earned Ghajji the majority-decision win and a spot in the finals.

 

Groenhart Gashes Gallo

Every part of Murthel Groenhart’s body is a weapon. His knees are always among the most dangerous. Nicola Gallo found that out firsthand.

In the second round, Groenhart took advantage of an inside encounter as he landed a well-placed knee to Gallo’s face. A nasty cut opened immediately, and shortly after, the referee stepped in to call a halt to the bout.

MMA media expert Caposa caught the leaping attack from Groenhart:

Officially, the fight was called because of the severity of the cut, and Groenhart would face Ghajji in the tournament final.

 

Groenhart Brings It Home

In the tournament final, Groenhart wasted no time putting pressure on Ghajji. The Frenchman could not match Groenhart’s aggression.

Ghajji was dropped in the first round by a knee-right-hand combination. The punch landed behind Ghajji’s left ear and seemed to disturb his equilibrium. Ghajji got to his feet, but he spent most of the round just trying to survive.

In the second round, the pace changed. Groenhart looked tired. Ghajji took advantage of the opening and appeared to do the better work. He didn’t win the round as decisively as Groenhart did in the first, but it was enough to create drama for the final round.

Groenhart seemed to know he needed to step up the action in the final round. More knees found their marks, and they helped solidify a strong performance that led to the unanimous-decision win. 

Groenhart’s win earned him a shot at Glory welterweight champion Nieky Holzken in December in Amsterdam. The two Dutch fighters should generate some buzz in their country as they battle it out for Glory gold.

 

Glory’s New Broadcast Home

Less than 24 hours before the start of Glory 25, officials from the promotion secured a deal with ESPN to broadcast live events, per Mike Sloan of Sherdog.com. Friday’s event was televised live on ESPN3, and a replay will air on ESPN2 early Saturday morning at 1:30 a.m. ET.

Glory has broadcast events on Spike TV, but the two companies could not come to an agreement to extend their deal.

Kickboxing fans and the folks at ESPN should be happy with the initial card of the partnership—even if the main event featured a poor decision from the judges.

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