Bellator MMA takes London on Saturday from The O2 Arena. A crucial welterweight bout tops the Bellator 158 card as Paul Daley takes on Douglas Lima.
The 170-pound division will again be on the display in the co-main event. The electric Michael “Venom” …
BellatorMMA takes London on Saturday from The O2 Arena. A crucial welterweight bout tops the Bellator 158 card as Paul Daley takes on Douglas Lima.
The 170-pound division will again be on the display in the co-main event. The electric Michael “Venom” Page will try to keep his unbeaten record as he faces the veteran Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos.
As you can see from the Bellator MMA tweet, the UK will be well represented:
Here’s a look at the viewing info, the card and predictions for the five televised bouts.
When: Saturday, July 16, at 9 p.m. ET
Where: The O2 Arena in London
TV: Spike
Predictions
James Gallagher over Mike Cutting—TKO
Oli Thompson over Matt Mitrione—KO
Francis Carmont over Lukasz Klinger—submission
Michael Page over Evangelista Santos—KO
Douglas Lima over Paul Daley—decision
MVP Is Must-See TV
Few performers in mixed martial arts have personas that match their fighting skills. Michael Venom Page has everything necessary to be a superstar, and he’ll take another step toward validating his status on Saturday.
I had an opportunity to speak with Page last week, and we discussed his future, his next opponent and more:
Santos (21-17-0) has plenty of experience and fights under his belt, but he will be overmatched by the well-rounded and dangerous Page. No opponent Page (10-0-0) has faced in Bellator has been able to go the distance, and that won’t change on Saturday.
MVP will win with another memorable knockout after he thwarts Cyborg’s attempts to take the fight to the ground.
Oli Will Stop Mitrione
Matt Mitrione narrowly escaped defeat in his debut against Carl Seumanutafa at Bellator 157 on June 24. After being dinged pretty badly in the early moments, Mitrione earned top position and planted Seumanutafa with a right hand while the latter was on his back.
The referee stopped the fight, and Mitrione had the win. He won’t be as fortunate against Oli Thompson.
The 36-year-old from East Sussex in the United Kingdom is massively strong. Mitrione has had an up-and-down career, but because his defense is so bad, the question isn’t if he’s going to take a shot, but when he’ll do it.
Thompson is going to beat him to the punch and win by KO.
Lima Will Stun Daley
Paul Daley was supposed to be facing bitter rival Josh Koscheck in this fight, but an injury forced the latter to pull out.
Lima is more than worthy as a replacement. He is the former Bellator welterweight champion, but he lost his title to Andrey Koreshkov via unanimous decision in July 2015.
Daley has the definitive advantage in power, but Lima is a more diverse striker and better on the ground. Injuries have impeded him in the past, but when healthy, he’s one of the best welterweights in Bellator.
He’ll prove it on Saturday when he outstrikes Daley with leg kicks, jabs and his knees.
Bellator MMA takes London on Saturday from The O2 Arena. A crucial welterweight bout tops the Bellator 158 card as Paul Daley takes on Douglas Lima.
The 170-pound division will again be on the display in the co-main event. The electric Michael “Venom” …
BellatorMMA takes London on Saturday from The O2 Arena. A crucial welterweight bout tops the Bellator 158 card as Paul Daley takes on Douglas Lima.
The 170-pound division will again be on the display in the co-main event. The electric Michael “Venom” Page will try to keep his unbeaten record as he faces the veteran Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos.
As you can see from the Bellator MMA tweet, the UK will be well represented:
Here’s a look at the viewing info, the card and predictions for the five televised bouts.
When: Saturday, July 16, at 9 p.m. ET
Where: The O2 Arena in London
TV: Spike
Predictions
James Gallagher over Mike Cutting—TKO
Oli Thompson over Matt Mitrione—KO
Francis Carmont over Lukasz Klinger—submission
Michael Page over Evangelista Santos—KO
Douglas Lima over Paul Daley—decision
MVP Is Must-See TV
Few performers in mixed martial arts have personas that match their fighting skills. Michael Venom Page has everything necessary to be a superstar, and he’ll take another step toward validating his status on Saturday.
I had an opportunity to speak with Page last week, and we discussed his future, his next opponent and more:
Santos (21-17-0) has plenty of experience and fights under his belt, but he will be overmatched by the well-rounded and dangerous Page. No opponent Page (10-0-0) has faced in Bellator has been able to go the distance, and that won’t change on Saturday.
MVP will win with another memorable knockout after he thwarts Cyborg’s attempts to take the fight to the ground.
Oli Will Stop Mitrione
Matt Mitrione narrowly escaped defeat in his debut against Carl Seumanutafa at Bellator 157 on June 24. After being dinged pretty badly in the early moments, Mitrione earned top position and planted Seumanutafa with a right hand while the latter was on his back.
The referee stopped the fight, and Mitrione had the win. He won’t be as fortunate against Oli Thompson.
The 36-year-old from East Sussex in the United Kingdom is massively strong. Mitrione has had an up-and-down career, but because his defense is so bad, the question isn’t if he’s going to take a shot, but when he’ll do it.
Thompson is going to beat him to the punch and win by KO.
Lima Will Stun Daley
Paul Daley was supposed to be facing bitter rival Josh Koscheck in this fight, but an injury forced the latter to pull out.
Lima is more than worthy as a replacement. He is the former Bellator welterweight champion, but he lost his title to Andrey Koreshkov via unanimous decision in July 2015.
Daley has the definitive advantage in power, but Lima is a more diverse striker and better on the ground. Injuries have impeded him in the past, but when healthy, he’s one of the best welterweights in Bellator.
He’ll prove it on Saturday when he outstrikes Daley with leg kicks, jabs and his knees.
Jon Lineker is a 135-pound wrecking ball and Michael McDonald was his latest demolition project. In the main event of UFC Fight Night 91 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Lineker defeated McDonald via first-round TKO.
McDonald was brave enough to try and t…
Jon Lineker is a 135-pound wrecking ball and Michael McDonald was his latest demolition project. In the main event of UFC Fight Night 91 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Lineker defeated McDonald via first-round TKO.
McDonald was brave enough to try and trade punches with Lineker, but the Brazilian’s shots were too hard and his chin too sturdy.
A huge right hand dropped McDonald near the cage. He quickly got to his feet and began firing shots, but Lineker kept coming with more heavy punches.
Ultimately, he put McDonald down for good and referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the bout. Here’s the closing sequence. per Fox Sports UFC:
During his post-fight interview, Lineker called out current UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz:
Lineker has grabbed some attention with his devastating finishes, but is he really ready for Cruz? He just might get an opportunity to prove it.
El Cucuy and Groovy Put On Gnarly Show
Tony Ferguson was supposed to fight Michael Chiesa, but an injury forced the latter out of the bout. Lando Vannata stepped in to face Ferguson and we’re glad he did.
Vannata didn’t win, but he came really close. He stunned Ferguson twice in the first round. The second time put Ferguson in dire straits. Fox Sports UFC has the sequence:
The first round had a frenetic pace with back-and-forth action. Ferguson’s jabs and body kicks did damage, but Vannata’s movement, counter right hands, kicks and spinning backfists scored as well.
In the second round, it looked as if Vannata lost a little steam. Ferguson started to employ his jab even more and he also connected with a powerful Superman punch off the cage.
Vannata made a tactical mistake and left his neck in a comprising position. Ferguson went for the guillotine first, but transitioned to a D’Arce choke. That move led to the win.
Despite it lasting just over a round, this was a great fight. Scott Holtzman, who fought earlier in the evening, admired the action as well:
Here’s a look at all of the action.
Results
Alex Nicholson def. Devin Clark via first-round KO
Rani Yahya def. Matthew Lopez via third-round submission (head-and-arm choke)
Scott Holtzman def. Cody Pfister via unanimous decision (30-27×2, 29-28)
Cortney Casey def. Cristina Stanciu via first-round TKO
Sam Alvey def. Eric Spicely via first-round submission (guillotine)
Katlyn Chookagian def. Lauren Murphy via unanimous decision (29-28×3)
Louis Smolka def. Ben Nguyen via second-round TKO
Keita Nakamura def. Kyle Noke via second-round submission (rear-naked choke)
Daniel Omielanczuk def. Aleksei Oleinik via majority decision (29-28×2, 28-28)
Tim Boetsch def. Josh Samman via second-round TKO
Tony Ferguson def. Lando Vannata via second-round submission (D’Arce Choke)
John Lineker def. Michael McDonald via first-round TKO
Analysis and Highlights
Don’t Grapple With Yahya
Matthew Lopez came into his fight with Rani Yahya undefeated, but he left with his first loss. Lopez attempted to match transitions and submission holds with the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu expert and that’s something almost no one can do successfully.
After a competitive first two rounds, Lopez was gassed coming into the third. Yahya took advantage and finished the rookie with a head-and-arm choke.
An exhausted Yahya talked about his win:
Casey Blasts Stanciu
Cortney Casey came out looking to make a statement. Mission accomplished. She knew Cristina Stanciu may possess a more diverse striking game, so Casey took her down and dominated.
A trip towards the end of the first round led to a full mount and a series of elbows. Stanciu covered up until the referee called an end to the fight.
Smiling Sam Takes Over the Fox Prelims
Sam Alvey is known for his smile and striking prowess. Only the first half of those qualities were on full display on Wednesday.
Alvey defeated Eric Spicely with a surprising guillotine. He did use the threat of his strikes to set up the winning maneuver, but it’s obvious Alvey has been working to make his game more well rounded.
Here’s a look at the finish, per Fox sports UFC:
After the victory, Alvey went on a post-fight rant that almost sounded like a monologue for a comedic talk show:
Smothering Smolka
Ben Nguyen was fighting in his hometown, but Louis Smolka didn’t care. In an epic grappling battle, Smolka proved to have ground-and-pound and transition game that was too advanced for Nguyen.
After several minutes of domination from top position, referee Herb Dean stopped the fight just when Nguyen’s corner was throwing in the towel.
Nguyen showed incredible toughness. He took a beating and escaped a ton of submission attempts, but Smolka was too tough in the end.
Last-Second Tap
Keita Nakamura was getting rocked in the first round by Kyle Noke, but the Japanese veteran showed great toughness to withstand the punishment.
In the second round, it was Nakamura who would gain advantage. A knee on the inside dropped Noke and Nakamura would take his back, flatten him out with the rear-naked choke cinched.
It was less than 10 seconds remaining in the fight when the hold was applied, Noke tried to gut it out, but he tapped less than a second before the buzzer that would have allowed him to escape.
Take a look:
That may have been the latest submission in a round. It’s hard to imagine one coming later. this was Sioux Falls’ first UFC show. The crowd was great and the fights were solid.
Amanda Nunes is the new UFC women’s bantamweight champion after a punishing performance against Miesha Tate at UFC 200 on Saturday.
Nunes became the first Brazilian female UFC champion in the promotion’s history. The end came via rear-naked choke…
Amanda Nunes is the new UFC women’s bantamweight champion after a punishing performance against Miesha Tate at UFC 200 on Saturday.
Nunes became the first Brazilian female UFC champion in the promotion’s history. The end came via rear-naked choke, but she did the major damage with devastating right hands to the face. Nunes was teeing off on Tate minutes into the first round, and the former champ was retreating, trying to survive.
The desperate attempt was unsuccessful.
Tate had no answer for Nunes’ strikes and speed. She crumbled under the pressure, and Nunes sunk in the choke to get the win.
It capped off what was a crazy evening and weekend in the UFC.
Brock Locks Up Hunt
Behind a smothering ground game, Brock Lesnar took Mark Hunt apart. In the first and third rounds, he seemingly took Hunt down at will.
Once he got him there, he pummeled The Super Samoan with ground-and-pound. To be honest, it wasn’t all that entertaining.
Lesnar looks like a legitimate UFC heavyweight threat, though his stamina is still a major question mark. That could potentially be a problem against Cain Velasquez or Junior dos Santos, but on Saturday night, Lesnar was up to the task.
Chamatkar Sandhu of MMA Junkie already has thoughts on Lesnar’s next opponent:
That would be an interesting bout commercially, but Fedor Emelianenko is way past his prime. We’ll see.
Cormier’s Empty Victory
To no one’s surprise, Daniel Cormier dominated Anderson Silva en route to a unanimous-decision victory. As expected, Cormier was too big, conditioned and skilled as a wrestler for Silva, who stepped in for Jon Jones on just two days’ notice.
Despite Cormier’s dominant performance, the crowd booed loudly whenever he took Silva down and jeered him when the final decision was read.
It was a no-win situation for him. Fans wanted Cormier to fight Silva in the only style that gave The Spider a chance to win. That’s insane and unfair.
Cormier did what he was supposed to do to prevent himself from taking an embarrassing loss.
Results
Jim Miller def. Takanori Gomi via first-round TKO
Gegard Mousasi def. Thiago Santos via first-round TKO
Joe Lauzon def. Diego Sanchez via first-round TKO
Sage Northcutt def. Enrique Marin via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
TJ Dillashaw def. Raphael Assuncao via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Julianna Pena def. Cat Zingano via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Cain Velasquez def. Travis Browne via first-round TKO
Jose Aldo def. Frankie Edgar via unanimous decision (49-46×2, 48-47)
Daniel Cormier def. Anderson Silva via unanimous decision (30-26 x3)
Brock Lesnar def. Mark Hunt via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Amanda Nunes def. Miesha Tate via first-round TKO
Highlights and Analysis
First-Round Fight Pass Finishes
Takanori Gomi is a Japanese legend, but based on his UFC record (4-7), he had no business being on this card. Jim Miller made him look out of place by taking him down within the first minute of the fight and blistering him with left hands until the referee stopped the fight.
It can’t get much easier than that.
As Fox Sports: UFC indicated with this tweet, Miller became the first fighter to win at UFC 100 and UFC 200. Lesnar would join him later in the evening:
Gegard Mousasi was too experienced for Thiago Santos. The Brazilian is an explosive striker, but he made a tactical error that cost him the fight.
Santos was working his way to his feet after a takedown, but he didn’t protect his face during the transition. Mousasi nailed him with a hard right hand that led to the finish.
In another quick and early finish, Joe Lauzon vs. Diego Sanchez was supposed to be a candidate for Fight of the Night. That didn’t work out. Lauzon smashed through the shopworn warrior in the first round.
He’s one of the most prolific finishers in UFC history, per Michael Carroll of FightMetric:
Lauzon talked about his win after the fight:
The card was decent, but there’s no denying it was missing Jones, Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey. It didn’t feel as big as it should have felt. Quite honestly, we have Jones to blame for that.
Well, there’s always UFC 300. See you in a few years for that one.
UFC 200 is already one of the most memorable cards in the promotion’s history, and there hasn’t been one punch thrown.
The top portion of this card has changed three times in two days. Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier were supposed to headline this e…
UFC 200 is already one of the most memorable cards in the promotion’s history, and there hasn’t been one punch thrown.
The top portion of this card has changed three times in two days. Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier were supposed to headline this event, but the former was removed from the card after failing a drug test that took place on June 16.
For a time, Cormier was without an opponent, and the Brock Lesnar vs. Mark Hunt fight was elevated to the main event. On Thursday evening, UFC president Dana White found a replacement for Jones.
Per Brandon Wise of CBSSports.com, former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva is stepping up on two days notice to face Cormier, the current light heavyweight champion.
Meanwhile, the main event changed from Lesnar-Hunt to the UFC women’s bantamweight title bout featuring champion Miesha Tate and Amanda Nunes.
It’s been a wild two days.
This is the UFC, so things are subject to change, but as of Friday night, the card is as shown below. Predictions for each fight are listed as well:
Here’s the final press conference for the ever-changing event. (Warning: NSFW language)
Does Silva Have a Chance Against Cormier?
The short answer to this question is: yes. However, that chance isn’t necessarily a good one. Silva is coming off gall bladder surgery two months ago, he hasn’t trained in months, and he’s a middleweight fighting the best active fighter in the light heavyweight division.
Did I mention he’s also 41 years old?
As deadly as Silva can still be with his striking, he’s facing an uphill battle. Cormier‘s biggest potential impediment is experiencing an emotional letdown after having the opponent he’s obsessed over removed from the event.
Even with that potential pitfall, Cormier is a spectacular wrestler, and fighters with that base discipline have given Silva the most trouble.
ChaelSonnen (nearly beat Silva) and Chris Weidman (beat him twice) come to mind immediately when recalling The Spider’s toughest opponents. With Cormier‘s size advantage (206 lbs to 198.5 lbs, per Friday’s weigh-in from UFC on YouTube), it’s hard to imagine Silva having success.
Hunt Will Chop Lesnar Down
As you can see from the image comparison above that was tweeted by ChamatkarSandhu of MMA Junkie, Lesnar looks to be in as good a shape as he was when he last fought in 2009.
It won’t matter.
This one wouldn’t rate high on my list if this were a confidence pool, but Hunt’s experience should win out. Lesnar is going to try to take the fight to the ground, but Hunt’s 69 percenttakedown defense isn’t deceiving.
He’s a tough guy to get to the ground, and his power can make opponent’s pay for trying.
Let’s hope the WWE has a storyline in place to rebuild Lesnar‘s character with their organization, because The Beast is going to get knocked out.
Tate Will Dismantle Nunes
Quite honestly, Nunes isn’t skilled enough to beat Tate. Nunes has a puncher’s chance, of course, but Tate has proved to be as tough as nails.
She takes a shot as well as anyone in her division and maintains her game plan.
Nunes may have a few moments early, but Tate will ultimately take Nunes down, and the challenger is defenseless from that position.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk had to work for it, but she retained her UFC strawweight title with a unanimous-decision win over Claudia Gadelha on the finale of The Ultimate Fighter 23 on Friday (48-46, 48-45, 48-46).
The challenger dominated the …
Joanna Jedrzejczyk had to work for it, but she retained her UFC strawweight title with a unanimous-decision win over Claudia Gadelha on the finale of The Ultimate Fighter 23 on Friday (48-46, 48-45, 48-46).
The challenger dominated the first two rounds with her wrestling, but she was gassed midway through the third, and the champion was as fresh as a daisy.
Jedrzejczyk outstruck Gadelha 153-41 over the final three rounds, per UFC.com, and proved herself worthy of keeping the title.
Cardio, striking and speed were the story. It was impressive that Jedrzejczyk had so much left in the gas tank after a grueling two-plus rounds in which she was dropped by a left hand and smothered on the ground.
The speed and potency of her strikes didn’t appear to be affected late in the fight, and she rode those tools to the victory. The two women had one of the most bitter buildups to a fight that we’ve seen in the UFC.
However, after the bout, they both showed each other respect. Sports Illustrated’s Jeff Wagenheim was complimentary of the scrap and the sportsmanship:
Jedrzejczyk and Gadelha sent the MMA community into Saturday’s UFC 200 on a high note.
‘TUF’ Finals
Suarez Takes the Trophy
Tatiana Suarez earned The Ultimate Fighter title for the women’s strawweight division. She made quick work of Amanda Cooper as she secured the first-round submission with a beautifully executed D’Arce choke.
Suarez was looking for the takedown from the beginning of the bout. Once she got the fight to the mat, her superiority on the ground shined through quickly.
The D’Arce was sunk in, and Cooper tapped quickly. Unfortunately, referee John McCarthy didn’t see Cooper’s submission. She had to kick before he noticed, as the veteran referee was out of position.
Suarez is a cancer survivor, and she took exception to Cooper’s pre-fight trash talk.
Listen to her post-fight interview:
Sanchez Smothers Rountree
With a barrage of takedowns, Andrew Sanchez dominated Khalil Rountree en route to The Ultimate Fighter trophy for the light heavyweights.
Rountree is a powerful striker, but his ground game paled in comparison to Sanchez. With a perfectly executed strategy, Sanchez planted Rountree six times and coasted to the easy unanimous-decision victory.
The crowd hated the fight, but he did what he had to do.
Results
Li Jingliang def. Anton Zafir via first-round knockout.
Kevin Lee def. Jake Matthews via first-round technical knockout.
Cezar Ferreira def. Anthony Smith via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Matheus Nicolau def. John Moraga via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29).
Gray Maynard def. Fernando Bruno via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
Joaquim Silva def. Andrew Holbrook via first-round technical knockout.
Doo Ho Choi def. Thiago Tavares via first-round knockout.
Will Brooks def. Ross Pearson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Tatiana Suarez def. Amanda Cooper via submission (D’Arce choke).
Andrew Sanchez def. Khalil Rountree via unanimous decision (30-25, 20-25, 30-26).
joanna Jedrzejczyk def. Claudia Gadelha via unanimous decision(48-46, 48-45, 48-46).
Highlights and Analysis
Fight Pass Fury
Li Jingliang and Kevin Lee needed less than a round to end their fights during the Fight Pass preliminaries. Jingliang wrestled Anton Zafir to the mat and pounded him out to score the first stoppage win.
A few minutes later, Kevin Lee continued his rise up the lightweight rankings. After dazing the equally celebrated Jake Matthews with a combination early, he took him to the ground and gained mount position.
Lee then rained down enough shots to get the stoppage.
It was his second straight victory since losing by knockout to Leonardo Santos at UFC 194 in December. Lee is ultra confident and talented. In the next two to three years, he should be a title contender.
Silva and Choi’s Ferocious Finishes
Joaquim Silva needed just 34 seconds to take Andrew Holbrook out. The latter was undefeated coming in, but Silva’s power and explosion were impressive.
Holbrook attempted a kick that Silva caught. The Brazilian flipped Holbrook to the mat, and as he tried to get to his feet, Silva cracked him with a right hand.
Holbrook went down and Silva pummeled him with hammerfists to bring an end to the bout:
Silva is exciting, but the Korean Superboy Doo Ho Choi isn’t boring. It took him a little over three minutes to dispatch veteran Thiago Tavares.
After making his way back to his feet when Tavares took him down, Choi showed off the striking skills that have many in the MMA world calling the 25-year-old South Korean a future superstar.
A straight right hand wrecked Tavares, and a follow-up punch caused the stoppage. Choi has had three fights in the UFC, and he’s scored a KO win in each of them. He’s for real.
Bellator MMA takes London on Saturday from The O2 Arena. A crucial welterweight bout tops the Bellator 158 card as Paul Daley takes on Douglas Lima.