Riley Kontek | UFC Betting Sites - The Best MMA Online Bookies

TUF 21 American Top Team vs. Blackzilians: Episode 11 Recap and Results

With two fights remaining in the season and the American Top Team on the brink of elimination, could the Blackzilians finally clinch the season? Or, would ATT be able to tie things up going into the final fight?
In the aftermath of Nathan Coy’s victory…

In the aftermath of Nathan Coy’s victory for ATT, the Blackzilians had a serious meeting in the locker room to motivate them. Owner Glenn Robinson was very passionate, while Kamaru Usman accused some fighters of checking out of the competition already. Jason Jackson agreed.

We then saw the coaches meet with their staff to decide who would fight next. The Blackzilian staff all agreed that Jackson should be the next to go due to his eagerness and desire. Jackson won earlier this season against Marcelo Alfaya, a fight which he took at the ATT gym (the same situation here).

As for ATT, there was some dissension amongst the coaches as to who to pick. Mike Graves was a popular choice due to his skill set, but his drinking and mental toughness came into question in the aftermath of his loss to Kamaru Usman in episode 1. Another coach wanted to go with Cristiano Souza, but was outvoted by the rest of the staff in favor of Graves.

We then went to the owner’s challenge for the season, which was a relay race. It was a 4X100 sprint, meaning four runners each had to run 100 meters while passing the baton to the next person in the relay.

In order of the relay, ATT went with strength and conditioning coach Brian Harris, Sabah Homasi, Cristiano Souza and owner Dan Lambert. The Blackzilians went with Carrington Banks, coach Greg Jones, Jason Jackson and owner Glenn Robinson.

The first leg of the race was close, with Harris narrowly taking an early lead over Banks. After the handoff, Homasi, who was running with an injured foot, was able to edge Jones to keep the lead going into the third leg.

There is where the Blackzilians would take the lead. Jackson, with his great speed and long legs, blew out Souza going into the final handoff. Robinson started out with a bit of a lead thanks to Jackson’s effort, but would be easily overtaken by Lambert en route to an ATT victory.

Lambert won $10,000 dollars for himself, while each of his fighters took home $1,500 due to the victory.

A day before the fight, Graves hurt his neck in training, which didn’t allow him to move his head much. It was cause for concern, though Graves said he’d had this happen before and performed regardless.

Fight time came, and it was a very interesting affair. After some feeling out, Jackson looked to land a body kick which appeared to land below the belt with the shin.

Graves went down in pain, but the ref did not call a timeout to give him recovery. Instead, Jackson pounced and proceeded to shell Graves with a massive amount of punishment via punches to the head and knees to the body. The fight was on the brink of being stopped a couple of times.

Then, out of nowhere, Graves was able to reverse positions and get Jackson’s back. There, he secured a miracle rear-naked choke, earning a tapout and tying the competition up at 300 points.

ATT lives to fight at the final episode.

In the aftermath of the fight, owner Glenn Robinson and some of his team openly protested the fight. They said the ref had screwed them over and that the fight should have been stopped before Graves was able to turn his fortunes, openly bashing the ref and discussing the bout with the commission.

Next week will be the final fight, which will determine the winner of the season. That will lead into the finale, which wills see the coaches pick their fighters to fight for the title of The Ultimate Fighter.

Season Results

Winner	Loser	Points	Leader
Kamaru Usman (B)	Mike Graves (A)	25	Blackzilians lead 25-0
Luiz Firmino (B)	Uros Jurisic (A)	25	Blackzilians lead 50-0
Valdir Araujo (B)	Steve Carl (A)	25	Blackzilians lead 75-0
Carrington Banks (B)	Sabah Homasi (A)	25	Blackzilians lead 100-0
Hayder Hassan (A)	Andrews Nakahara (B)	50	Blackzilians lead 100-50
Jason Jackson (B)	Marcelo Alfaya (A)	50	Blackzilians lead 150-50
Vicente Luque (B)	Nathan Coy (A)	50	Blackzilians lead 200-50
Hayder Hassan (A)	Felipe Portela (B)	50	Blackzilians lead 200-100
Kamaru Usman (B)	Steve Carl (A)	100	Blackzilians lead 300-100

Nathan Coy (A)	Valdir Araujo (B)	100	Blackzilians lead 300-200
Mike Graves (A)	Jason Jackson (B)	100	Tied at 300-300

Notes and Observations

I can totally understand why the one coach for ATT did not want to go with Graves. He did not take losing very well and resorted to drinking and kind of mentally checking out. However, as the coaches pointed out, Graves, while young, is very skilled and well-rounded, which is why making him their choice for this bout the right one. He is one of the better guys on the squad and was able to show why.
Wow, Jason Jackson is fast. He has to have some kind of track background, which also wouldn’t be surprising considering he is Jamaican and that country has a dynamite track program.
Dana White is 100 percent correct. I have no idea how the Blackzilians could be crying about the reffing when the ATT fighter was the one getting screwed by poor reffing. Graves took a shot to below the belt, which started the entire onslaught by Jackson, shots to the back of the head and a fence grab when he reversed position. They can argue that fight should have been stopped all they want, but Graves was trying to get out and it’s at the referee’s discretion. You want to finish the fight and take the ref out of the equation? Knock him completely out cold.
Again, the Blackzilians protesting that loss was beyond annoying. That is not the ref’s fault, that is a credit to the toughness and perseverance of Graves. Their constant complaining this season has been off-putting. It actually took ATT coach Ricardo Liborio to calm Robinson down post-fight, saying it wasn’t the time or place to be protesting. Surprisingly, Robinson listened to Liborio, who he says he has immense respect for.
This should win Fight of the Season just based on circumstance. Jackson was laying a serious beatdown on Graves that was exciting because it could have been stopped at any time, but Graves denied that with his unwillingness to quit. It was an amazing comeback that should net each man a nice paycheck at the end of the season.
Rashad Evans is a great coach and teammate. He is a really mature, smart fighter who should really open his own gym and start his own team. He was an amazing coach on The Ultimate Fighter 10 and has been a strong coach for the Blackzilians this season. He is a great benefit to any gym he offers his services to.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

The Beaten Path: 5 MMA Prospects to Watch in July

Another month of MMA, another month of high-end prospects plying their craft in hopes of grabbing the attention of a major MMA organization.
Between Titan FC, One Championship, Invicta and RFA, there is no shortage of great fighters who are looking to …

Another month of MMA, another month of high-end prospects plying their craft in hopes of grabbing the attention of a major MMA organization.

Between Titan FC, One Championship, Invicta and RFA, there is no shortage of great fighters who are looking to make a name for themselves. The month of July is filled with MMA action, which allows us to see some of the best prospects in the sport.

That’s where we come in. At The Beaten Path, our job is to point you in the direction of these future players so you can get a head start on seeing their handiwork.

So, here are the five prospects you should watch in the month of July.

Begin Slideshow

UFC Fight Night 70: B/R Staff Main Card Predictions

UFC Fight Night 70 is limping toward the finish line, but it will nonetheless go down Saturday in Florida.
Headlined by Yoel Romero and Lyoto Machida, the card has gone through massive changes due to a problem in the visa system. So, fighters like Rani…

UFC Fight Night 70 is limping toward the finish line, but it will nonetheless go down Saturday in Florida.

Headlined by Yoel Romero and Lyoto Machida, the card has gone through massive changes due to a problem in the visa system. So, fighters like Rani Yahya, Erick Silva and The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 4 finalists were unable to compete here, so they joined other cards.

The card may be lacking in star power, but there are some exciting matchups. Look no further on the main card than Thiago Santos vs. Steve Bosse and Lorenz Larkin vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio for fireworks.

With that, let’s examine the main card. Per usual, James MacDonald, Scott Harris, Sean Smith, Craig Amos and myself, Riley Kontek, guide you through UFC Fight Night 70.

Begin Slideshow

TUF 21 American Top Team vs. Blackzilians: Episode 10 Recap and Results

With the 21st season of The Ultimate Fighter nearing the finish line, could the Blackzilians clinch the season victory on episode 10? Or would American Top Team live to fight another day?
With three 100-point fights left, ATT cannot lose any more of th…

With the 21st season of The Ultimate Fighter nearing the finish line, could the Blackzilians clinch the season victory on episode 10? Or would American Top Team live to fight another day?

With three 100-point fights left, ATT cannot lose any more of the fights. Otherwise, it loses and the Blackzilians claim victory in this heated rivalry.

Knowing it needs a victory, ATT decides to go with team captain Nathan Coy to not only look to stay alive but bring the fights back to its home gym. Coy is 0-1 on the season, falling via submission to Vicente Luque in the 50-point round.

The Blackzilians counter with Valdir Araujo, as they believed Sabah Homasi would be ATT‘s next pick. They came to that conclusion because he was cutting weight in the house, signifying he would likely be fighting next.

When it came time for the weigh-ins, both teams sent out their guys. When it was revealed Coy was the pick for ATT, coach Conan Silveira handed Homasi something to rehydrate with, showing he was a decoy for the Blackzilians‘ assumptions.

Somehow, this led Blackzilians owner Glenn Robinson to accuse Dan Lambert of pulling a fast one. He theorized that if he had sent out Jason Jackson, Lambert would have sent out Homasi.

Basically, Lambert would have multiple people ready and match up based on whom Robinson sent out.

Of course, that is impossible, as paperwork for who is fighting needs to be handed in on the day of the weigh-ins. That means only one fighter could have had paperwork handed in for them, making that theory incorrect.

This led to Lambert challenging Robinson to a grappling match or for him to shut his mouth. After the gauntlet was laid down by Lambert, Robinson backed down a bit.

Come fight time, we saw an exciting grappling display full of transitions, ground-and-pound and submission attempts. It was Coy’s wrestling that would ultimately earn him a unanimous decision after two rounds, despite some good aggression from Araujo, who was constantly trying to be a threat in the fight.

That win by ATT claimed home-gym advantage, put the score to 300-200 and ultimately saved its season.

It still needs wins in the last two fights to win, but it can tie the score next week with another win, which would keep it afloat.

Season Results

Winner	Loser	Points	Leader
Kamaru Usman (B)	Mike Graves (A)	25	Blackzilians lead 25-0
Luiz Firmino (B)	Uros Jurisic (A)	25	Blackzilians lead 50-0
Valdir Araujo (B)	Steve Carl (A)	25	Blackzilians lead 75-0
Carrington Banks (B)	Sabah Homasi (A)	25	Blackzilians lead 100-0
Hayder Hassan (A)	Andrews Nakahara (B)	50	Blackzilians lead 100-50
Jason Jackson (B)	Marcelo Alfaya (A)	50	Blackzilians lead 150-50
Vicente Luque (B)	Nathan Coy (A)	50	Blackzilians lead 200-50
Hayder Hassan (A)	Felipe Portela (B)	50	Blackzilians lead 200-100
Kamaru Usman (B)	Steve Carl (A)	100	Blackzilians lead 300-10
Nathan Coy (A)	Valdir Araujo (B)	100	Blackzilians lead 300-200

Notes and Observations

I think it’s important to note that before his fight, Coy was visited by his wife and children. I know he still has to go to the cage and fight, but I think that motivation helped him get through the fight. He saw what he needs to fight for, and I think that’s what he needed to motivate him and get him to perform at a higher level.
I have come to like Dan Lambert a lot and dislike Glenn Robinson this season. Robinson’s attitude and personality rub me the wrong way, and his excuses when things haven’t gone his way have bothered me. The theory at the weigh-ins that ATT prepared two fighters was annoying. His complaining and annoyance at the loss in the Hayder Hassan-Felipe Portela fight were also peeving. I am sure I am not the only person who feels that way, too.
Speaking of Lambert and Robinson, a grappling match should have been the coaches challenge. That or a sparring match. I know for a fact that won’t be it, as the previews suggest it will be a track and field challenge, but seeing their hatred play out on the mat or in the cage would have been awesome.
It was great strategy by ATT to have a decoy fighter cutting weight to throw off the other team. Robinson’s theory of having Araujo fight Homasi was a smart one, but because Homasi was the decoy, it was the wrong matchup. That allowed ATT to gain the strategic advantage.
During the Harley-Davidson episode of TUF, there should be absolutely no commercials from the company otherwise. Basically, the Harley-Davidson episode is a 10-15-minute commercial for the motorcycle company, plus ads for other products on the station. That really makes it an episode to miss because I don’t want to be watching ads for more than half of the show.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Bellator 139’s Joe Schilling: Looking to Stitch ‘Em Up

Since Scott Coker took the reigns at Bellator, the promotion has become more of a spectacle, featuring cards with more recognizable names. With attractions like Kimbo Slice and crossover stars like Bobby Lashley, Bellator has been using its stable…

When it comes to crossover stars, none may be more exciting or violent than Joe Schilling. As a kickboxing star promoted by both Bellator and Glory, Schilling splits his time between the promotions, both of which air on Spike TV.

“Splitting time between Glory and Bellator has been so far, so good to this point,” Schilling told Bleacher Report in an exclusive interview. “The plan is to win this fight at Bellator 139 and to finish the year fighting for Glory.”

At Bellator 131, Schilling made a return to mixed martial arts when he took on Melvin Manhoef. It was his first MMA bout since 2008, when Schilling shifted his focus to his primary sport, kickboxing.

In that bout, he brutally put down Manhoef, who is also a kickboxer. It was considered one of the best knockouts of 2014, which instilled more confidence in Schilling to return to the cage.

With that said, he followed the win up with a bout at Bellator 136 against Rafael Carvalho. In a bout that was expected to be a striking affair, Carvalho took a snoozer of a decision by electing to stay away from striking and focus on grappling with Schilling instead.

“I took that loss badly,” Schilling confessed. “That loss seriously irritates the s–t out of me. I still think I won that fight. I was especially pissed at the one judge that gave Carvalho all three rounds. He had to be either drunk or blind.”

That loss still haunts Schilling. It’s the reason he made a move to round out his game and sought help from a group of great trainers and training partners.

“My goal from now on is to stop boring fighters,” Schilling vowed. “In my last fight, Carvalho fought like a vagina. Because of that fight with him, I have been working with American Top Team on my wrestling. Nobody is going to make my fights boring anymore.”

This year also saw Schilling involved in an entertaining Twitter beef with MMA veteran Phil Baroni. Baroni, who last competed with Bellator about a year ago, campaigned for a fight with Schilling and took some personal jabs to elicit a response from Schilling.

“The whole beef with Phil Baroni was blown out of proportion,” Schilling explained. “Honestly, he is irrelevant. That’s why he called out my name, to get his name back out there. He used Twitter to start s–t with me.”

It started with a lot of one-sided chirping from Baroni trying to provoke Schilling. However, at some point, Schilling decided he had to respond, regardless of the circumstances. As he claimed to Bleacher Report, his response came as a result of some behind-the-scenes trash-talking that infuriated him.

“I was going to ignore him, but then a mutual friend showed me a text from him that had some racial stuff that really pissed me off,” Schilling revealed. “My girlfriend and kids have black in them, so that really made me furious when I saw his texts. That said, even if I wanted to fight that irrelevant joke, I doubt any state athletic commission would sanction it.”

Looking ahead to Bellator 139, Schilling takes on Bellator newcomer Hisaki Kato. Kato is a 4-2 fighter who has finished all of his wins via knockout.

It seems like this should be a good matchup, as, in theory, he would entertain Schilling on the feet. However, Schilling has another theory about how this fight may go, despite Kato’s skill set.

“Honestly, I don’t know much about him,” Schilling mentioned. “He’s a wild card coming into this bout trying to make a name for himself off me. My guess is that he goes the route of most other guys and tries to lay-and-pray his way to victory.”

Regardless of the outcome Friday night, Schilling has long-term goals, not only for Glory, but for Bellator as well.

“My plan is to be in Bellator for a long time, make as much money as possible, keep getting fights, keep getting better and eventually become champion.”

Expect Schilling to keep busy between MMA and kickboxing. He plans to keep stacking them up, knocking them down and living up to his nickname, Stitch ‘Em Up.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Fight Night 70 Preliminary Card Predictions

UFC Fight Night 70 is limping to the finish line but will come to you live on Saturday on Fox Sports 1.
Originally set to be The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 4 finale, the card underwent massive changes in the lead-up to the event due to an ongoing vi…

UFC Fight Night 70 is limping to the finish line but will come to you live on Saturday on Fox Sports 1.

Originally set to be The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 4 finale, the card underwent massive changes in the lead-up to the event due to an ongoing visa problem in the USA. Many fights were cancelled or shifted to other events, leaving holes on the card that needed to be filled.

That is especially the case for the preliminary card. Because of the loss of so many fights, the UFC had to put together four late-notice preliminary card fights, utilizing many new fighters to the organization and a couple of veterans.

Last time around, the prelim picks were subpar at best. We have a chance to do better here, though having just four fights won’t make a huge difference in this year’s record.

With that, let’s take a look at the prelims and make some picks.

2015 Riley’s Record: 73-43

Last Event: UFC Fight Night 69 (3-4)

Begin Slideshow