Author: MattSaccaro

Bellator 112 Results: Curran Submits Straus With Clutch Rear Naked Choke, Koreshkov Blasts Burrell

Injury considerably dimmed Bellator 112’s star power, with War Machine and Joe Riggs withdrawing from the season 10 welterweight tournament due to injury (as well as Mark Scanlon but he’s not as high profile). We received unheralded fighters Nathan Coy, Cristiano Souza, and Paul Bradley.

Still, the card’s main event featured a featherweight title rematch between champion Daniel Straus and challenger Pat Curran, making it worth the investment of time.

But was the rest of the card worthwhile? Read our main card recap and decide for yourself.

Injury considerably dimmed Bellator 112′s star power, with War Machine and Joe Riggs withdrawing from the season 10 welterweight tournament due to injury (as well as Mark Scanlon but he’s not as high profile). We received unheralded fighters Nathan Coy, Cristiano Souza, and Paul Bradley.

Still, the card’s main event featured a featherweight title rematch between champion Daniel Straus and challenger Pat Curran, making it worth the investment of time.

But was the rest of the card worthwhile? Read our main card recap and decide for yourself.

Jesse Juarez vs. Adam McDonough

In the first round, McDonough landed a stiff knee to Juarez’s head after a brief feeling out period. Juarez, however, had presence of mind enough to take McDonough down off the knee strike. After a few minutes, Juarez advanced to mount and nearly secured an arm triangle choke. McDonough defended. The two fighters briefly rose to their feet. McDonough reversed a Juarez takedown and mounted him before transitioning to the back. The round ended with McDonough attempting to lock in a rear naked choke.

The pace was slower in the second round. McDonough again reversed a Juarez takedown and wound up on top, this time in side control. Juarez eventually escaped, and both men resorted to flashy but ineffective striking exchanges. The round ended with McDonough in a sprawl, defending a tepid takedown attempt from a tired Juarez.

The third round was much closer. McDonough landed a takedown early and controlled Juarez on the mat for the first half of the round. Juarez managed to change things though, rising to his feet and then landing two of his own takedowns, after which he nearly took McDonough’s back. He then opted for a guillotine choke, which failed.

Adam McDonough got the nod from the judges in a unanimous decision. He’ll be fighting Nathan Coy (who defeated Paul Bradley in the Bellator 112 prelims) in the next round of the welterweight tournament.

The winner will fight Nathan Coy in the next round of the welterweight tournament semifinals.

Cristiano Souza vs. Sam Oropeza

The fight ended in the first round with KO. Souza botched a lateral drop, bringing Oropeza down on top of him. However, the Brazilian managed to stay calm and rise to his feet…only to be sent to the canvas moments later by a devastating right hook from Oropeza.

Andrey Koreshkov vs. Nah-Shon Burrell

Last we saw Andrey Koreshkov, he was being ridden like a racehorse and mocked (GIF via @ZProphet_MMA) by former Bellator welterweight champ Ben Askren. At Bellator 112, he fought Nah-Shon Burrell, and looked like a different fighter.

He landed a body kick at the start of the fight that floored Burrell. The referee waved it off after a handful of follow-up punches. It was over in under a minute. He’ll be meeting Sam Oropeza in the semifinals.

Daniel Straus (c) vs. Pat Curran

Incredible fight with an incredible finish. After four and a half rounds of back and forth striking exchanges and scrambles on the mat, Pat Curran sunk in a rear naked choke with only seconds remaining in the fight to become the Bellator featherweight champion once again. If you DVR’d the event, you owe it to yourself to watch this fight.

Complete results:

Main Card

Adam McDonough def. Jesse Juarez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Sam Oropeza def. Cristiano Souza via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:07
Andrey Koreshkov def. Nah-Shon Burrell via TKO (knee, punches) – Round 1, 0:41
Pat Curran def. Daniel Straus via submission (rear naked choke) – Round 5, 4:46

Preliminary Card

Daniel James def. Erick Correa via submission (strikes) – Round 2, 4:30
Anthony Gomez def. Jason Guida via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Derek Loffer def. Bobby Reradanz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Darrion Caldwell def. Lance Surma via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 0:50
Belal Muhammad def. A.J. Matthews via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Nathan Coy def. Paul Bradley via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

UFC Fight Night 37 Results: Dana White Needs to Respond to Criticism, Not Mock It


(Photo via Getty)

By Matt Saccaro

Even though the likes of Alexander Gustafsson, Jimi Manuwa, Michael Johnson, and Melvin Guillard all met in the cage in a Fight Pass card in London today, the biggest fight of the weekend wasn’t contested in a cage. It happened over twitter.

MMA Fighting’s Luke Thomas tweeted the following yesterday:

A reasonable sentiment, especially in an age where the UFC is going to put on two events in the same day, though the tweet was not specifically directed at the UFC. It was tweeted two minutes after a jape at Bellator’s expense. Dana White ignored such nuances. He took the tweet personally, and responded with 140-character artillery fire this morning:


(Photo via Getty)

By Matt Saccaro

Even though the likes of Alexander Gustafsson, Jimi Manuwa, Michael Johnson, and Melvin Guillard all met in the cage in a Fight Pass card in London today, the biggest fight of the weekend wasn’t contested in a cage. It happened over twitter.

MMA Fighting’s Luke Thomas tweeted the following yesterday:

A reasonable sentiment, especially in an age where the UFC is going to put on two events in the same day, though the tweet was not specifically directed at the UFC. It was tweeted two minutes after a jape at Bellator’s expense. Dana White ignored such nuances. He took the tweet personally, and responded with 140-character artillery fire this morning:

Hilariously, Dana White didn’t know Luke Thomas—one of the most well-known figures in the MMA media—was a media member. Once White found out how accomplished Thomas was, specifically that he was on an episode of UFC Countdown, White brought the hammer down. But there’s something more concerning about White’s behavior. He doesn’t care about legitimate criticism that’s offered politely and eloquently. White’s intransigence in the face of disagreement is nothing new, however, but it’s starting to wear thin; he’s been more churlish than usual lately. He went mental when the always-reasonable Georges St-Pierre announced his retirement. More recently, he behaved questionably at a media luncheon, and buried Alistair Overeem and Jose Aldo after fantastic performances.

“Dana is gonna Dana” is no longer a valid excuse for such behavior. Lorenzo Fertitta has proven that you can respond to criticism courteously while maintaining the UFC’s “as real as it gets” image. Dana White needs to do the same or be yanked off stage with a Vaudeville hook. We understand he’s used to hearing whatever he wants from the media, but acting in a hyper-emotional, immature manner when writers offer their take on issues in the sport (which is their job) is unacceptable. More unacceptable than that is intentionally telling fans not to watch your product and disregarding their opinions, as White did on twitter this morning too.

The UFC’s product is clearly diminishing in value. Fans are getting restless. While White is to be commended for his accessibility on social media, hurling insults that read like they were written by a 14-year-old as well as telling fans to not watch the UFC’s product is harmful. Instructing potential customers to not buy what you’re selling is a terrible practice, but to Dana White it’s business as usual. In case you don’t understand why that’s a bad idea, check out this exchange between MMA firebrand Front Row Brian and famed MMA historian Jonathan Snowden. Telling fans to ignore your product has disastrous results. Words of apathy become acts of apathy. There are fights on tonight? Meh, who cares? Instead of fostering behavior like that, Dana White should be trying to demolish it root and stem. But White will do no such thing. If you don’t watch every single card, and shell out more cash than any other sports fan, your’e not a real fan, dummy!

By the way, here are the complete results for UFC Fight Night 37, a card some of you might not been real enough fans for:

Main Card

Alexander Gustafsson def. Jimi Manuwa via TKO (knee, punches) – Round 2, 1:18
Michael Johnson def. Melvin Guillard via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Brad Pickett def. Neil Seery via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Gunnar Nelson def. Omari Akhmedov via submission (guillotine) – Round 1, 4:36

Preliminary Card

Ilir Latifi def. Cyrille Diabate via submission (neck crank) – Round 1, 3:02
Luke Barnatt def. Mats Nilsson via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:24
Claudio Henrique da Silva def. Brad Scott via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Igor Araujo def. Danny Mitchell via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Louis Gaudinot def. Phil Harris via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 1:13

 

Martial Arts Fail of the Week: How A Ninja Passes the Guard

This week’s Martial Arts Fail was going to re-visit Master Wong—the man who warned us that eye pokes would result in our families being murdered. But midway through the week we received a tip from CagePotato contributor Adam Ackerman. When we watched the video he sent us, we knew it had to be this week’s Martial Arts Fail.

This week’s Martial Arts Fail was going to re-visit Master Wong—the man who warned us that eye pokes would result in our families being murdered. But midway through the week we received a tip from CagePotato contributor Adam Ackerman. When we watched the video he sent us, we knew it had to be this week’s Martial Arts Fail.

The video details how to pass someone’s guard (or “scissor lock” as they call it in the video) like a ninja. It involves flopping onto your side and doing what amounts to a pro wrestling move called a single leg Boston crab. What’s sad is that the instructor, Stephen K. Hayes, is apparently some kind of ninjitsu legend. He even has a Wikipedia page (but then again, so do we and we don’t exactly epitomize legitimacy). If dubious, impractical techniques like this are being taught by the best instructor ninjitsu has to offer, god only knows what kind of crap you’ll find in the bad ninjitsu schools.

Definitely give this video a watch. And if you’re brave, test out this ninja guard pass next time you’re rolling.

If you see any video that’s good (or bad) enough to make the cut, let us know! Send it to [email protected]

And Now He’s Retired: Jay Hieron Hangs It Up After a Decade in MMA

Jay Hieron announced his retirement from MMA competition today via twitter. He retires with a 23-7 record, accrued over 10 years of competition.

Jay Hieron announced his retirement from MMA competition today via twitter. He retires with a 23-7 record, accrued over 10 years of competition.

Hieron was truly one of the most well-traveled fighters in MMA. He fought for every big organization to grace the sport in the last era. He made his mark in Strikeforce, Bellator, the WEC, and the IFL. In the latter organization, he captured gold for the first and only time in his career, becoming the inaugural IFL welterweight champion.

Hieron’s success in the B-leagues of MMA never translated into success in the UFC, however. He lost all four of his fights in the world’s leading MMA organization. That doesn’t mean Hieron was a poor fighter though. He has wins over the likes of Pat Healy, Rick Story, Jason High, Rick Hawn, and Joe Riggs, (and debatably over Ben Askren). And for the most part, Hieron only lost to the best.

Hieron’s retirement signifies an ending era of MMA. There are few fighters of his ilk anymore—men who have fought for every would-be claimant to the UFC’s throne. The landscape is different now. The only organizations big enough to showcase talent aren’t big enough to keep it.

We wish Jay Hieron the best in his life outside the cage.

 

Bellator 111 Results: Dantas Submits Leone With Incredible Choke, Johnson, Mo, Volkov, and Ivanov All Advance


(Note: The heavyweights are never photographed below the shoulders.)

Bellator 111 being able to build off Bellator 110‘s momentum was questionable. After all, three fourths of 111’s main card was comprised of heavyweights with questionable cardiovascular conditioning. What could’ve turned into a disaster instead turned into a decent night of fights (though some were not so decent), with the Bellator bantamweight title up for grabs between champion Eduardo Dantas and challenger Anthony Leone.

On the prelims: Up-and-comers Brent Primus and Abdul Razak both looked impressive. We will watch their next fights with interest. However, we can’t say that we’ll do the same for Eric Prindle, a mainstay in Bellator’s heavyweight division. In his loss to Javy Alaya, he displayed a ground game so awful it made James Toney look like Marcelo Garcia.

Also of note on the prelims: The first heavyweight tournament quarterfinal took place. Blagoi Ivanov bested Rich Hale in a tepid decision with not a whole lot of action.


(Note: The heavyweights are never photographed below the shoulders.)

Bellator 111 being able to build off Bellator 110‘s momentum was questionable. After all, three fourths of 111′s main card was comprised of heavyweights with questionable cardiovascular conditioning. What could’ve turned into a disaster instead turned into a decent night of fights (though some were not so decent), with the Bellator bantamweight title up for grabs between champion Eduardo Dantas and challenger Anthony Leone.

On the prelims: Up-and-comers Brent Primus and Abdul Razak both looked impressive. We will watch their next fights with interest. However, we can’t say that we’ll do the same for Eric Prindle, a mainstay in Bellator’s heavyweight division. In his loss to Javy Alaya, he displayed a ground game so awful it made James Toney look like Marcelo Garcia.

Also of note on the prelims: The first heavyweight tournament quarterfinal took place. Blagoi Ivanov bested Rich Hale in a tepid decision with not a whole lot of action.

In the first fight on the televised portion of the card, former Bellator heavyweight champ Alexander Volkov defeated Mark Holata via TKO. The Russian started off shaky, getting rocked early on in the first round. After some time in the clinch, Volkov managed to floor Holata with a knee and then followed up with brutal ground and pound. It was all over in 81 seconds.

In the next match, kickboxers Peter Graham and Mighty Mo squared off. The first round of this fight wasn’t terrible, but the second and third round were less than spectacular. Mighty Mo and Graham displayed some Eric Prindle-level grappling in those rounds. Mo finally put Graham out of his misery with a half-assed head and arm choke late midway through the third. If you DVR’d the fights, watch this one on fast forward.

The night’s co-main event pitted UFC and Strikeforce vet Lavar Johnson against Ryan Martinez. Martinez wrestled Johnson to the mat early on, making the UFC vet’s chances look grim. Johnson managed to return to his feet. A few of the wildest exchanges we’ve ever seen ensued (like both guys were missing by miles but still swinging anyway). Johnson managed to connect before Martinez, and it was over before the the first round ended.

So the next round of the Bellator heavyweight tournament will look like this:

Mighty Mo vs. Alexander Volkov.

Lavar Johnson vs. Blagoi Ivanov.

Now, onto the main event. Eduardo Dantas pulled off the slickest rear naked choke off all time against Anthony Leone, submitting him in the second round. Our words don’t do the martial artistry justice. You’ll just have to check out the GIF (via @ZProphet_MMA). Trust us, it’s worth it. Dantas’ submission is immediately a candidate for submission of the year (so far). Fortunately, there were no staged scuffles afterwards.

Complete results:

Main Card

Eduardo Dantas def. Anthony Leone via submission (rear naked choke), 2:04 of round 2
Lavar Johnson def. Ryan Martinez via TKO (punches), 4:22 of round 1
Mighty Mo def. Peter Graham via submission (head and arm choke), 2:31 of round 3
Alexander Volkov def. Mark Holata (punches), 1:21 of round 1

Preliminary Card

Blagoi Ivanov def. Rich Hale via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Cortez Coleman def. Daniel Miller via verbal submission (strikes), 4:49 of round 2
Javy Ayala def. Eric Prindle via TKO (doctor stoppage), 2:05 of round 3
Abdul Razak def. Matt Jones via TKO (punches), 1:23 of round 1
Brent Primus def. Chris Jones via TKO (punches), 1:45 of round 1
Chris Gutierrez def. Justin McNally via TKO (strikes), 2:50 of round 1

23 Things in MMA We’re Glad We Never Have to Experience Again


(This was a real thing. / Photo via Getty)

By CagePotato.com Staff

1. A Paul Buentello post-fight speech.

2. Anything Kimbo Slice related.

3. A James Toney promo.

4. Nick Serra’s butt-scoots.

5. Fedor vs. Lesnar discussions.

6. Tim Sylvia.

7. Strikeforce vs. UFC debates.

8. PRIDE vs. UFC debates.


(This was a real thing. / Photo via Getty)

By CagePotato.com Staff

1. A Paul Buentello post-fight speech.

2. Anything Kimbo Slice related.

3. A James Toney promo.

4. Nick Serra’s butt-scoots.

5. Fedor vs. Lesnar discussions.

6. Tim Sylvia.

7. Strikeforce vs. UFC debates.

8. PRIDE vs. UFC debates.

9. Internet message board rants about how the WEC is more exciting than the UFC.

10. Incessant whining about how GSP is the most boring fighter on earth.

11. Pulling an all-nighter to live-blog a PRIDE event (this is a little bittersweet).

12. Trying to remember the horrid IFL team names.

13. Articles about [insert middleweight] being the Guy to Beat Silva™.

14. Articles about [insert heavyweight] being the Guy to Beat Fedor™.

15. Articles about [insert welterweight] being the Guy to Beat GSP™.

16. Commentators referring to BJJ techniques as “some kind of choke.”

17. Commentators referring to guard as “the Gracie guard” and just putting “Gracie” in front of standard BJJ and Judo techniques in general.

18. Antonio McKee‘s trash talking.

19. Antonio McKee’s fighting.

20. Watching Chuck Liddell get violently knocked out.

21. Gus Johnson doing commentary.

22. EliteXC.

23. Sententious lectures about TRT—either for it or against it.