It has been a rough 2015 for Brandon Halsey.
In May, Halsey was stripped of his Bellator middleweight title after he missed weight for his bout with Kendall Grove at Bellator 137. He defeated Grove in that bout, but the title remained vacant thanks to his misstep.
On Friday at Bellator 144, Halsey had a chance to correct the record by reclaiming the vacant belt many viewed as his anyway. The Bellator organization appeared to hand him every opportunity, pairing him up with Rafael Carvalho, over whom Halsey was a -1050 betting favorite.
Well, that is why they fight the fights, I suppose. A liver kick felled Halsey in the second round, and Carvalho headed home with the middleweight belt. It was the first professional defeat for the 29-year-old Halsey (9-1).
You learn more from losing than winning. You learn how to keep going. Last night was a humbling… https://t.co/sKwo6VFQWQ
— Brandon Halsey (@BrandBullHalsey) October 24, 2015
After the upset, Bellator President Scott Coker told Christian Stein of MMA Junkie that weight issues had again reared their ugly head for the ex-champ.
“I was just talking to Halsey, and he was saying that when he was trying to go for the takedown and control him, he said he felt very weak,” Coker said, according to the report from Stein.
As a result of the weakness, it seems Halsey may be eyeing a move up to the light heavyweight division, according to Coker.
“He thinks that it’s a weight issue for him,” Coker said, “and that he has to go up in weight to be competitive because there’s too much of a cut for him, so you might see him at 205 here in the near future.”
There is plenty of evidence pointing to the toll that excessive weight cuts can take on a fighter’s strength and stamina. Unfortunately for Halsey, it seems he may be the latest to fall victim to an improper or excessively steep cut.
There was no official word from Halsey on what might be next for him, nor did Bellator officials offer any suggestions for Halsey’s next opponent, at any weight class.
There was also no word on the next step for new champ Carvalho (12-1).
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