Kimbo Slice believes in evolution. Once seen as a one-dimensional stand-up fighter who would be exploited on the ground, Slice scored the biggest win of his odd mixed martial arts career on Friday night in St. Louis.
Slice knocked out 51-year-old MMA legend Ken Shamrock in the very first round. Bellator MMA has the finish:
It looked as if the critics of Slice would be proven right as Shamrock had a tight rear-naked choke locked on. To his credit, Slice didn’t quit when he looked as if he was a goner. Slice turned his head in direction of the choke and made it to his feet.
There he had his way. Two quick and hard right hands opened up nasty gashes on Shamrock’s face and led to the stoppage win. While the pace was slow, the action delivered in this the ultimate of novelty fights.
Actress and major fight fan Rosie Perez was shocked at the result:
Slice and Shamrock had tons of bad blood leading into the fight, but they put those things aside once the bout was over. Scott Fishman of the Miami Sun-Sentinel applauded Shamrock’s show of respect after the bout.
Pitbull Does it Again
Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Freire continues to prove he can pull a victory from the jaws of defeat and retain his title. On Friday night, Pitbull was all but stopped in the closing seconds of the first round against Daniel Weichel.
The latter landed a hard combination that sent Freire careening into the Bellator cage. The champion was truly saved by the bell as referee John McCarthy seemed a bit confused at first. However, Freire wasn’t quite out at the end of the round.
He’d obviously use the time between the first and second rounds to recover. In the second round, Weichel tried to mount pressure but he got caught with a left hook that dropped him. Pitbull would go in for the finish, but McCarthy called an end to the bout before Freire could do more damage.
In his last defense, Freire was being soundly beaten by Daniel Straus before gaining an advantage on the ground and coming up with the improbable rear-naked choke victory.
Freire has some defensive deficiencies, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a more exciting champion.
Here’s a look at all of the result from Spike TV’s televised card:
Chandler’s Back
Former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler emphatically snapped his three-fight losing streak with a submission win over Derek Campos. Chandler wasted no time gaining the advantage. A quick combination dropped Campos and Chandler pounced on his downed opponent.
Campos pulled guard, but Chandler was still able to do damage with elbows. By demonstrating some solid defense off his back, Campos got to his feet, but he’d only be there for a short time.
Chandler would close the distance again and take Campos down and take his back in the process. He locked in the rear-naked choke that led to the win. Chandler hadn’t won a fight since he stopped David Rickels in 2013.
If he can put together a few more wins, he can put himself in position to challenge champion Will Brooks for a third time.
Straus Stops Corrales
After a dominant first round, Daniel Straus finished off Henry Corrales. Straus proved to be better than his opponent in every facet. On the strength of his diverse striking attack, Straus gained a clear advantage in the first round.
In the second round, Strauss put his respected ground game in action. A big left hook put Corrales down and that would be the beginning of the end.
Strauss transitioned to Corrales’ back and locked in both hooks. Corrales was able to use some hand fighting to keep Straus at bay for a short time. Ultimately, Straus would get under Corrales’ neck and forced the stoppage. Straus had Pitbull in serious trouble in his last fight before getting careless—that seems to be a common occurrence.
After this win, he’ll be looking to jump back into the Bellator cage with Pitbull as soon as possible for another shot at the title.
Lashley Smash
Bobby Lashley destroyed Dan Charles on Friday night. With a myriad of suplexes and a bevy of ground and pound, Lashley scored a dominating second-round win. To be honest, the fight could have been stopped about a minute or two before it was.
Referee John McCarthy was lurking over Lashley’s shoulder for the entire second round before moving in to end the carnage. Lashley has now won six fights in a row and he has his eyes set on earning a shot at the heavyweight title.
An old school WWE connection congratulated Lashley on his win:
Is Lashley ready for Bellator heavyweight champion Vitaly Minakov? That remains to be seen, but because of his age (38 years old) and his current form, the time is now or never for Lashley,
This was an entertaining card filled with finishes. While Slice and Shamrock aren’t contenders, Bellator 138 had a nice balance of star power and quality fights.
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