Author: SethF

Bellator 70 Recap: Hawn Victorious, Konrad Quickly Submits Prindle

Let’s get a few things straight before we even start to analyze this one: Yes, Cole Konrad picked up the quickest stoppage of the evening at last night’s Bellator 70 from New Orleans. No, that isn’t our way of saying that the entire card was full of decisions. And no, we aren’t lying to you.

But before we get to that, let’s talk about the evening’s main event. Despite having a heavyweight title fight on the card, the main event of the evening was the lightweight tournament finals between former welterweight standouts Rick Hawn and Brent Weedman. While the first two rounds were razor thin, the third round was all Rick Hawn. Hawn took Weedman down numerous times throughout the round and utilized elbows from inside Weedman’s guard. Weedman put together some late offense, but it was too little, too late. Rick Hawn will meet Michael Chandler next season for a shot at the lightweight title.

Let’s get a few things straight before we even start to analyze this one: Yes, Cole Konrad picked up the quickest stoppage of the evening at last night’s Bellator 70 from New Orleans. No, that isn’t our way of saying that the entire card was full of decisions. And no, we aren’t lying to you.

But before we get to that, let’s talk about the evening’s main event. Despite having a heavyweight title fight on the card, the main event of the evening was the lightweight tournament finals between former welterweight standouts Rick Hawn and Brent Weedman. While the first two rounds were razor thin, the third round was all Rick Hawn. Hawn took Weedman down numerous times throughout the round and utilized elbows from inside Weedman’s guard. Weedman put together some late offense, but it was too little, too late. Rick Hawn will meet Michael Chandler next season for a shot at the lightweight title.

When a champion who goes out and earns the quickest stoppage of his career in his first heavyweight title defense, that speaks volumes on how quickly that fighter is developing. Cole Konrad immediately put the dangerous boxer Eric Prindle on his back and locked in a kimura, earning the tap exactly one minute into the fight. If you were interested in seeing how the Team Deathclutch prospect’s standup has improved, you’ll have to wait for his next fight. Obviously, his submissions seem to be coming along. If Konrad continues to develop into a balanced, complete fighter, he’ll be a tough matchup for anyone in the heavyweight division.

And likewise, it’s hard to be too critical of Eric Prindle. For starters, stepping up to fight a teammate in the first place deserves respect from the fans. As for his performance, preventing a takedown from such a huge, yet technically solid wrestler like Konrad is no easy task. He was taken down and overpowered on his way to the early stoppage. There’s no doubt that Prindle will be back, as Bjorn Rebney already confirmed in last night’s post-event press conference that Prindle will be fighting in the next heavyweight tournament. Hopefully he’ll be back with better takedown defense next time around.

In the bantamweight tournament semifinals, Luis Alberto Nogueira was simply on a different level than Hiroshi Nakamura. Save for an early low blow to Nakamura, Nogueira’s performance was flawless. Nakamura simply had no answers for the Brazilian’s crisp standup, getting outpointed on his way to a third round TKO defeat. Props to Nakamura for almost making it the entire fight, but Nogueira was simply too much for him last night. Luis Nogueira will meet Marcos Galvao for the Season Six Tournament Championship and a shot at Bantamweight Champion Eduardo Dantas.

Also of note, Louisiana’s own Rich Clementi picked up a quick submission victory over Derek Campos. Campos managed to catch Clementi early on, using his superior standup to control the fight. However, the fight quickly changed once Clementi earned a takedown. Once “No Love” got the fight to the ground, the fight was essentially over, as Clementi’s jiu jitsu was simply too much for Derek Campos. Clementi improves to 43-21-1 with the victory.

Full Results:

Main Card:

Lightweight Tournament Final: Rick  Hawn def. Brent Weedman via unanimous decision
Heavyweight Title Fight: Cole Konrad def. Eric Prindle via submission (kimura), 1:00 of Round One
Bantamweight Tournament Semifinal: Luis Nogueira def. Hiroshi Nakamura via KO (punches), 1:58 of Round Three
Rich Clementi def. Derek Campos via submission (guillotine choke), 4:18 of Round One

Preliminary Card:

A.J. Matthews def. Charlie Rader via KO (kick), 3:34 of Round Two
Kelvin Tiller def. Jeremiah Riggs via verbal submission (kimura), 3:38 of Round Three
Jonas Billstein def. Mike Seal via submission (rear-naked choke), 2:55 of Round One
Derek Arcement def. Blake Dufour via unanimous decision

Exclusive: Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney Talks Women’s MMA, Fighter Insurance, Impact Wrestling and More

I managed to catch up with Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney after Bellator 69 at the L’Auberge du Lac Casino Resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana on Friday night. Bjorn touched on issues such as fighters who stuck out on the undercard, why the Asplund vs. Sparks fight didn’t happen, MMA in New York and much more. Come inside after the jump for the full interview, as well as fight videos from the fighters that Bjorn Rebney mentions.

I managed to catch up with Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney after Bellator 69 at the L’Auberge du Lac Casino Resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana on Friday night. Bjorn touched on issues such as fighters who stuck out on the undercard, why the Asplund vs. Sparks fight didn’t happen, MMA in New York and much more. Come inside after the jump for the full interview, as well as fight videos from the fighters that Bjorn Rebney mentions.

Unfortunately, all the videos currently online of the Josh Quayhagen fight are actually of the Richard Hale vs. Josh Burns fight. But we do have Russian prospect Andrey Koreshkov’s brilliant performance against Derrick Krantz. By the way, Koreshkov and co. all had matching airbrushed shirts, which I totally dug.


Props: IronForgesIron.com

One last video, Jessica Aguilar’s victory over Megumi Fujii:

@SethFalvo

Bellator 69 Recap: Big Rig Wins Tournament, Amoussou Squeaks By Rickels

When we last saw Maiquel Falcao and Andreas Spang in the cage with each other, the two nearly started brawling during a post-fight interview at Bellator 66. Anticipation for their main event clash at last night’s Bellator 69 from Lake Charles, Louisiana was high, even though Falcao initially missed weight for their bout. The dust has settled, and the event produced this season’s middleweight tournament champion, a close (borderline controversial) decision and much more.

The evening’s main event saw UFC veteran Maiquel Falcao dominate Swedish prospect Andreas Spang. Save for an early right cross that appeared to have Falcao in trouble, as well as an illegal knee from “Big Rig” that cost him a one point deduction on the scorecards, Maiquel Falcao controlled this entire fight. Already known for his Muay Thai prowess, Falcao utilized an ever-improving wrestling game on his way to the unanimous decision victory.

Immediately after winning this season’s middleweight tournament, Bjorn Rebney came to the cage to announce that Maiquel Falcao will be fighting Alexander Shlemenko, who was initially set for a rematch against Hector Lombard before he signed with the UFC, for the vacant middleweight title. Falcao vs. Shlemenko should be an interesting fight, especially if Falcao is healthy for it. At the post-event press conference, Maiquel Falcao revealed that he had been battling a flu leading up to his fight against Spang.

When we last saw Maiquel Falcao and Andreas Spang in the cage with each other, the two nearly started brawling during a post-fight interview at Bellator 66. Anticipation for their main event clash at last night’s Bellator 69 from Lake Charles, Louisiana was high, even though Falcao initially missed weight for their bout. The dust has settled, and the event produced this season’s middleweight tournament champion, a close (borderline controversial) decision and much more.

The evening’s main event saw UFC veteran Maiquel Falcao dominate Swedish prospect Andreas Spang. Save for an early right cross that appeared to have Falcao in trouble, as well as an illegal knee from “Big Rig” that cost him a one point deduction on the scorecards, Maiquel Falcao controlled this entire fight. Already known for his Muay Thai prowess, Falcao utilized an ever-improving wrestling game on his way to the unanimous decision victory.

Immediately after winning this season’s middleweight tournament, Bjorn Rebney came to the cage to announce that Maiquel Falcao will be fighting Alexander Shlemenko, who was initially set for a rematch against Hector Lombard before he signed with the UFC, for the vacant middleweight title. Falcao vs. Shlemenko should be an interesting fight, especially if Falcao is healthy for it. At the post-event press conference, Maiquel Falcao revealed that he had been battling a flu leading up to his fight against Spang.

The evenings co-main event, a welterweight tournament bout between David Rickels and Karl Amoussou, was a much closer fight. With the crowd expecting fireworks, the bout was paused after a low kick from Rickels caused Amoussou’s jock strap to tear. After attempting to find Amoussou a backup jock, officials decided to just tape the cup to “Psycho” and proceed with the fight. Seriously.

The first round was all Amoussou, who outstruck “Caveman” and displayed his impressive judo. Round two started off the same way, but Rickels managed to turn things around mid-round, and managed to nearly finish the fight with an armbar. Amoussou slammed his way out of the armbar attempt as the round came to a close. Round three saw Rickels thoroughly outclass Amoussou, taking him down and unloading some serious ground and pound for the remainder of the fight, including some two-handed “Caveman smash” by the end of the fight.

In the end, the judges saw the bout in favor of Karl Amoussou, who had to miss the post-event press conference due to a possibly broken orbital bone. Needless to say, David Rickels was not impressed with the decision (neither were the fans in attendance, for that matter). At the press conference, Rickels speculated that Pepe Le Pew must have been one of the judges, and paraphrased Chael Sonnen by asking in what parallel universe can a fighter break a guy’s orbital bone and have his opponent declared the winner.  The loss marks the first in his career.


Props: IronForgesIron.com

The top two women’s 115-pound fighters, Megumi Fujii and Jessica Aguilar, were also booked for the evening. Throughout the fight, Aguilar used her superior striking to keep Fujii at bay. While Fujii did not attempt a single takedown in the second round, she managed to take Aguilar down in the final round, although it was too little too late. Jessica Aguilar improves to 14-4, and emerges as the top 115 pound fighter with the victory.

Also of note, Abe Wagner and Mark Holata led off the card with a heavyweight tournament qualifier bout. The short bout ended in confusion, as Abe Wagner was caught in a seemingly ineffective foot lock. Abe Wagner attempted one of his own before saying “Tap”, ending the fight. After the bout, Wagner called his loss “fucking embarrassing” and vowed to come back with a better performance next time.

Full Results:

Main Card:

Maiquel Falcao def. Andreas Spang via unanimous decision
Karl Amoussou def. David Rickels via split decision
Jessica Aguilar def. Megumi Fujii via unanimous decision
Mark Holata def. Abe Wagner via verbal submission (ankle lock), 2:24 of Round One

Preliminary Card:

Josh Quayhagen def. Cliff Wright, Jr via unanimous decision
Shanon Slack def. Booker Arthur via unanimous decision
Andrey Koreshkov def. Derrick Krantz via TKO (strikes), 0:51 of Round Three
Richard Hale def. Josh Burns via TKO (strikes), 0:38 of Round One
E.J. Brooks def. Kalvin Hackney via unanimous decision

BREAKING: Jon Jones Arrested for DUI in Binghamton, NY *UPDATED*


I’m not touching this one. *Innocently whistles* *Walks Away* Props to reader Johnnyozone22 for the tip.

This doesn’t look good, folks. Initially reported by TMZ.com and confirmed by Josh Gross, UFC Light-Heavyweight champion Jon Jones has been arrested in Binghamton, New York on DUI charges after totaling his Bentley. From TMZ:

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ … Jones was involved in an accident at around 5:00 AM in Binghamton, NY. We’re told the car — which Jones crashed into a pole — was totaled and cops arrested Jones on the scene for DUI.

According to our sources, Jones was taken into custody by Broome County Sheriff and bailed out a few hours later … by his mom. Jones is from nearby Ithaca.

Fortunately for Jones, it appears that he only suffered minor injuries, and it does not appear that anyone else was injured from this accident. It is unclear whether or not there were any passengers in the car at the time of the accident.


I’m not touching this one. *Innocently whistles* *Walks Away* Props to reader Johnnyozone22 for the tip.

This doesn’t look good, folks. Initially reported by TMZ.com and confirmed by Josh Gross, UFC Light-Heavyweight champion Jon Jones has been arrested in Binghamton, New York on DUI charges after totaling his Bentley. From TMZ:

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ … Jones was involved in an accident at around 5:00 AM in Binghamton, NY. We’re told the car — which Jones crashed into a pole — was totaled and cops arrested Jones on the scene for DUI.

According to our sources, Jones was taken into custody by Broome County Sheriff and bailed out a few hours later … by his mom. Jones is from nearby Ithaca.

Fortunately for Jones, it appears that he only suffered minor injuries, and it does not appear that anyone else was injured from this accident. It is unclear whether or not there were any passengers in the car at the time of the accident.

As of writing this, Dana White’s only response to the incident has been a text to TMZ, saying “Wow, i guess its not my week is it?”. Given the week he’s had, that may be putting it mildly. Neither Jones nor his teammates will be commenting on the arrest at this time.

In and of itself, the incident isn’t too surprising: Jon Jones is a young, talented and seemingly invincible athlete. Like many other athletes in his position, Jones decided to get behind the wheel after clearly drinking too much. Or for that matter, like many of those reading this article, myself included, at one point or another. I’m not saying that drunk driving isn’t a reckless, stupid thing to do, but I also wouldn’t be surprised to see the media be harsher on Jon Jones than they would on, say, Braylon Edwards.

It will be interesting to see how this story develops. Jon Jones is the face of the UFC – and in many ways, mixed martial arts. How will the mainstream media cover this incident? How will Jones be disciplined for this? Will any of his sponsors bail on him? And how will this story be treated in the state of New York, which recently made viewing child porn legal while deeming that MMA should remain illegal? We’ll keep you up to date as more details become available.

@SethFalvo

Update: A statement from First Round Management has been forwarded to Cagepotato.com:

Note: There will be no interviews granted at this time from Jon Jones, or any of his representatives

“I can confirm that Jon Jones was arrested early this morning on suspicion of DUI. While the facts of this situation are still being gathered and situated, First Round Management fully supports Jon and we are asking for fans and media to respect the privacy of Jon and his family during this time.”

–Malki Kawa, Jon “Bones” Jones’ Manager

KSW 19 Recap: Multiverse – 1 Dignity – 0


Is there ANYTHING about this man that makes him unqualified to talk about the infinitely accelerating current of creativity? Didn’t think so.

If last night taught us anything, it’s that some things never change. Nick Diaz will be Nick Diaz. Kimbo Slice will crush cans. And literally anything that involves Bob Sapp will lack anything that resembles dignity. What a universe we live in.

But today is Mother’s Day, so I’m going to try to be somewhat positive for a few sentences. The good news to come out of this event is that Matt Horwich managed to snap a four fight skid with a third round TKO over Poland’s own Antoni Chmielewski, who was 22-8 coming into this fight. Horwich has always been an interesting character, sort of a non-juiced up hippy Ultimate Warrior. Even though he’s too crazy for most major promotions to take a chance on him (not to mention his pedestrian 27-21 record), he fits in just fine with KSW’s roster. That wouldn’t usually be intended as a compliment, but in whatever section of the multiverse Matt Horwich is from, it is.

Video of Horwich’s victory and the freak show that was Bob Sapp vs. Mariusz Pudzianowski after the jump.


Is there ANYTHING about this man that makes him unqualified to talk about the infinitely accelerating current of creativity? Didn’t think so.

If last night taught us anything, it’s that some things never change. Nick Diaz will be Nick Diaz. Kimbo Slice will crush cans. And literally anything that involves Bob Sapp will lack anything that resembles dignity. What a universe we live in.

But today is Mother’s Day, so I’m going to try to be somewhat positive for a few sentences. The good news to come out of this event is that Matt Horwich managed to snap a four fight skid with a third round TKO over Poland’s own Antoni Chmielewski, who was 22-8 coming into this fight. Horwich has always been an interesting character, sort of a non-juiced up hippy Ultimate Warrior. Even though he’s too crazy for most major promotions to take a chance on him (not to mention his pedestrian 27-21 record), he fits in just fine with KSW’s roster. That wouldn’t usually be intended as a compliment, but in whatever section of the multiverse Matt Horwich is from, it is.

Okay, positive sentences over. Time to talk about Bob Sapp vs. Mariusz Pudzianowski.

I think it’s safe to say that Bob Sapp can’t do anything right at this point in his career, except be a large, scary looking guy that has zero chance of winning and even less of a chance of hurting his opponent. At the weigh-ins, he put a picture of Pudzianowski on a (presumably uncooked) chicken. See, because he thinks Mariusz is “chicken”, get it? It’s not exactly the most clever way to mock someone- especially when you remember that Bob Sapp just tapped out to a double leg takedown- but he clearly put far more effort into that than he did training.

Perhaps it’s only because he was fighting Bob Sapp, but Mariusz seems to have made strides in his standup. I’m not saying he’s ready for legit competition or anything, but still, props to him for taking this fight seriously. You know the drill by now: Sapp gets caught, Sapp covers up and waits for the “fight” to end, the referee decides that the fight should stop before Bob Sapp actually takes some kind of damage (even though Pudzianowski initially doesn’t oblige), and then everyone is laughing and giving out bro-grabs afterwards, seemingly forgetting that Sapp was “out” just a few seconds ago.

As KSW likes to say, biznes jak zwykle. At least I think it’s them that says that.

Full Results

Mariusz Pudzianowski def. Bob Sapp via TKO, Round One
Mamed Khalidov def. Rodney Wallace via KO, Round One
Michal Materla def. Jay Silva via Majority Decision
Matt Horwich def. Antoni Chmielewski via TKO, Round Three
Aslambek Saidov def. Grigor Aschugbabjan via submission (Kimura), Round One
Marta Chojnoska def. Paulina Suska via submission (Scarf Hold Armlock), Round One
Borys Mankowski def. Marcin Naruszczka via Majority Decision

[VIDEO] Kimbo Slice Crushes ANOTHER Can, Improves to 5-0 as Professional Boxer

Speaking of things that happened last night that were laughably predictable, Kimbo Slice is still earning his bread as a professional boxer. Well, perhaps “earning” is the wrong word. Earning implies that he is making it by winning competitive matches against reasonably credible opponents. Really, $kala is just giving Kimbo his bread at this point. Or, if you’re cheesy enough to go there, Shaw is just feeding the guy.

I will say this much: At least last night’s fight wasn’t the (potentially-worked) shitstorm that was his last fight against Brian Green. After watching Kimbo get saved by the bell against a fitness instructor making his professional boxing debut on one day’s notice followed by his aforementioned bout with Brian Green, Shaw was taking absolutely no chances when searching for an opponent this time around.

Speaking of things that happened last night that were laughably predictable, Kimbo Slice is still earning his bread as a professional boxer. Well, perhaps “earning” is the wrong word. Earning implies that he is making it by winning competitive matches against reasonably credible opponents. Really, $kala is just giving Kimbo his bread at this point. Or, if you’re cheesy enough to go there, Shaw is just feeding the guy.

I will say this much: At least last night’s fight wasn’t the (potentially-worked) shitstorm that was his last fight against Brian Green. After watching Kimbo get saved by the bell against a fitness instructor making his professional boxing debut on one day’s notice followed by his aforementioned bout with Brian Green, Shaw was taking absolutely no chances when searching for an opponent this time around.

His opponent last night was a Lamar, Arkansas pugilist named Jesse Porter*, who entered the bout with a 3-4 professional boxing record. Porter had never gone the distance in his boxing career, with all seven fights ending by knockout. Furthermore, he was coming off of a knockout loss to Lee Bagan forty two seconds into the second round of their bout, which marked the longest that Porter had lasted in a fight he lost.

Sorry, spoiler alert.


Props: Zombie Prophet

Kimbo Slice is now 5-0 as a professional boxer, while Jesse Porter gets to drift back into obscurity where he belongs. But look on the bright side: It was a quick fight that delivered a knockout, and both fighters got paid more for this bout than I got paid to mock it. There’s (something resembling) dignity in knowing that.

* There’s actually some confusion as to who the hapless can was. A lot of sites are reporting that 1-0 boxer Richard Dawson was his opponent last night instead of Jesse Porter. AllTheBestFights.com’s review of the bout sums up the confusion with the unintentionally hilarious ”at the moment we don’t know exactly who is his opponent”. In a way, that’s probably for the best.

@SethFalvo