Former UFC welterweight title challenger Rory “Red King” MacDonald made his long awaited Bellator debut last night (May 19, 2017), scoring an impressive second round submission victory over British knockout artist Paul “Semtex” Daley in the main event of Bellator 179. There wasn’t too much tension between the two leading up to the bout, although […]
Former UFC welterweight title challenger Rory “Red King” MacDonald made his long awaited Bellator debut last night (May 19, 2017), scoring an impressive second round submission victory over British knockout artist Paul “Semtex” Daley in the main event of Bellator 179.
There wasn’t too much tension between the two leading up to the bout, although Daley did question MacDonald’s ‘warrior mentality’. The “Red King”, however, feels as if he made Daly eat his words:
“I finished him,” MacDonald told MMAJunkie.com. “He’s the one that tapped out, so I guess, who’s the quitter now, right? This is mixed martial arts. When I see an opening I’m going to strike, whether it’s standing or on the ground. I kicked him in the head, I beat him up standing, I took him down, I beat him up there, and I choked him out. There’s really no area that I played it safe. I moved forward, I hunted him down, and I took him out.”
With the win under his belt, MacDonald earned a title shot against the winner of the upcoming June 24 title bout between champion Douglas Lima and newly signed Lorenz Larkin. At just 27 years of age, the Canadian feels as if he’s the ‘best in the world’ and he’s ready to prove that inside the Bellator cage:
“I think I’m the best in the world, and I think I made a statement tonight,” MacDonald said. “(Bellator welterweight champion Douglas) Lima had a pretty hard fight with Daley. I went out there, and I smoked him in every discipline. It was a message that I’m on another level, and these guys are going to have a lot of pain to deal with if they get in the cage with me.
“I’m going to destroy when I get in the cage. I’m not there to play games or pick my shots or win (on) points. I had a couple fights like that, but I’ve always had regrets leaving those fights. When I walk into those doors now I’m going to destroy you, and that’s it.”
Were you impressed with MacDonald’s performance last night and do you expect him to take over Bellator’s 170-pound division?
Scott Coker has confirmed what most analysts and fans had anticipated. The winner of Rory MacDonald vs. Paul Daley at Bellator 179 will receive a welterweight title opportunity. Coker confirmed the news during a media conference call (via MMAFighting.com). Champion Douglas Lima is set to defend his title against Lorenz Larkin at Bellator NYC on […]
Scott Coker has confirmed what most analysts and fans had anticipated. The winner of Rory MacDonald vs. Paul Daley at Bellator 179 will receive a welterweight title opportunity. Coker confirmed the news during a media conference call (via MMAFighting.com). Champion Douglas Lima is set to defend his title against Lorenz Larkin at Bellator NYC on […]
Saad Awad pulled off his 20th professional mixed martial arts (MMA) win, but it wasn’t easy. Awad entered the cage at Bellator 178 in hopes of snapping a two-fight skid. To do that, he had to get past Ryan Quinn. Awad earned the unanimous decision nod after a competitive match-up. This is the “Assassin’s” first […]
Saad Awad pulled off his 20th professional mixed martial arts (MMA) win, but it wasn’t easy. Awad entered the cage at Bellator 178 in hopes of snapping a two-fight skid. To do that, he had to get past Ryan Quinn. Awad earned the unanimous decision nod after a competitive match-up. This is the “Assassin’s” first […]
If there was any doubt lingering over who should’ve won last year’s Bellator middleweight championship bout between Rafael Carvalho and Melvin Manhoef, all doubt was put to rest Saturday at Bellator 176 in Turin, Italy, as Carvalho shut Manhoef&r…
If there was any doubt lingering over who should’ve won last year’s Bellator middleweight championship bout between Rafael Carvalho and Melvin Manhoef, all doubt was put to rest Saturday at Bellator 176 in Turin, Italy, as Carvalho shut Manhoef’s lights out with a brutal head kick in the fourth round.
Carvalho, now 14-1 in his career with an undefeated 5-0 record in Bellator, wasn’t doing so hot for the majority of the fight, as Manhoef was able to give the champion fits through the first three rounds. But all it took was one opening for Carvalho to strike, and strike he did.
The kick landed flush on Manhoef’s right cheek and silenced the crowd. Not out of disappointment, but out of shock.
The victory over Manhoef was Carvalho’s second win over the challenger and his second title defense.
It will be interesting to see who Bellator gives Carvalho next after his less than stellar performance, even though he did win by knockout.
Main Card Results
Rafael Carvalho def. Melvin Manhoef via knockout (Round 4, 3:15)
Anastasia Yankova def. Elina Kallionidou via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Mihail Nica def. Samba Coulibaly via submission (anaconda choke) (Round 1, 0:36)
Valeriu Mircea def. Djamil Chan via majority decision (28-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Yankova takes care of business
Since Anastasia Yankova couldn’t make the 125-pound weight limit, her fight against 18-year-old prospect Eilina Kallionidou was set as a 133-pound catchweight bout. But even though Yankova showed up Saturday overweight, she didn’t have too much trouble against the teenager.
The fight didn’t have many great moments, but Yankova outlasted Kallionidou in the three rounds and won by unanimous decision mainly because she outworked the youngster and kept ring control for the majority of the fight.
Kallionidou had some good moments, but she just couldn’t keep Yankova at a distance with her jab, which allowed the Russian to sweep under Kallionidou’s lead punch and get inside for some strikes to the midsection.
You wouldn’t know it by watching the fight, but Kallionidou was a massive underdog heading into the co-main event of the evening, and even though she lost, she gained a lot of experience. There’s no doubt her stock increased after this one.
As for Yankova, the win was expected. But she might lose some confidence from the organization after showing up overweight. It’ll be worth monitoring whether the organization looks to book her for another fight anytime soon.
Nica makes quick work of Coulibaly
Saying that Mihail Nica is a dangerous fighter is an understatement; he is downright terrifying.
in his six career fights, the 26-year-old has finished all of his opponents (three KO, four submission) with five of the six finishes coming inside the first round. The other was a second-round TKO.
It didn’t take long for Nica to show why he is becoming a force to be reckoned with in the welterweight division after submitting Samba Coulibaly with an anaconda choke.
In fact, it only took 36 seconds for the Moldovan to get Coulibaly on the ground and force the tap.
It’s hard to ignore Nica’s talents any longer, and it won’t be long before he starts getting booked against fighters in the top five of the 170-pound division. There isn’t much more to say about this fight since it didn’t last long, but it would be wise to keep an eye on Nica’s stock in the future because Bellator’s welterweight division is loaded with great fighters, and Nica could soon be one of them.
Mircea wins over judges in too-close to call fight
Valeriu Mircea vs. Djamil Chan was one of the more exciting fights at Bellator 176, and it went down to the wire.
It can be argued that Chan deserved the victory or at the least—and probably the most fair result—a draw. But Mircea did have some good moments in the fight and earned the majority-decision (28-28, 29-28, 29-28) victory.
Chan was able to get Mircea on the ground a lot during the fight, but for some reason, Mircea was the more active fighter while on his back than Chan was, even though he had the dominant position. It was a weird fight because Chan did so much work and did everything he had to do to get into position to win, but he just couldn’t put combinations together to make any significant impact.
For Mircea, the victory was his first for Bellator. He will look to improve his takedown defense moving forward. As for Chan, he needs to work on being a little bit more creative when in top position.
If he can learn how to transition from full guard to a side-mount/full-mount position and lay down some ground-and-pound, he could go a long way.
Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal always believed that he had a win over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, but he didn’t have the official scorecards to prove it. He now has an official victory as he defeated the former UFC star by unanimous decision in the main even…
Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal always believed that he had a win over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, but he didn’t have the official scorecards to prove it. He now has an official victory as he defeated the former UFC star by unanimous decision in the main event at Bellator 175.
MMAjunkie tweeted out the scores:
The heavyweight version of Rampage got off to a slow start. The 253-pound Jackson conceded the center and allowed Lawal to back him into the cage where the former collegiate wrestler worked him down to the mat.
Ben Fowlkes of MMAjunkie noted the difference between the bloated Rampage in this fight and the light heavyweight incarnation of the former champion:
Jackson was ultimately able to free himself for long enough to climb along the fence, but it only allowed King Mo to also score plenty of points from the clinch along the cage.
Bloody Elbow recapped the round for King Mo:
Just when it looked like Jackson was simply too out of shape to compete against King Mo, he landed a sharp left hook that turned back time and put King Mo down. From there Jackson jumped into an advantageous position and scored from top position.
Josh Gross of the Guardian set the scene going into the third and final round:
With clear winners in Round 1 and 2, it all came down to Round 3. While Jackson scored a key takedown, it was King Mo who consistently landed the better striking as he had Rampage back to the fence again.
MMAFighting explained its reasoning for giving the round to King Mo:
After the bout, it was announced that King Mo will now see Ryan Bader at Madison Square Garden on June 24 at Bellator 180:
The win has to come as a huge sigh of relief for King Mo. There’s some genuine bad blood between these two fighters, and Lawal dropped a controversial decision in his first bout with Jackson at Bellator 120 in 2014.
After buildup in which Jackson talked of knocking out King Mo, the two engaged in a fight that offered little excitement and Jackson won on the cards.
However, only one of 13 media members scoring the fight gave the bout to Jackson. One called the fight a draw while the other 11 all had Lawal winning the fight, per MMA Decisions.
Understandably, Lawal thought it was pretty clear he won the first fight.
“For what? Cause really, I won the first fight, there shouldn’t be a rematch,” King Mo said in regards to a potential third fight, per Jason Nawara of Uproxx. “But he asked for one, so I gave it to him. That first fight, I thought I won. Most people thought I won. He thought I won. Look at his reaction. He came and asked for a rematch.”
Now that he has an official win over Rampage, there’s some serious vindication in the rivalry.
What this means for King Mo will be interesting going forward, but even more interesting is where Jackson will go from here.
Bellator has proven to be an accommodating home for former UFC veterans, and with Ryan Bader, Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva recently joining the ranks of the organization, an aging Rampage Jackson seems like a good fit moving forward.
There could be an issue with the 38-year-old that would have the fighter awkwardly returning to the UFC again, per Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting:
That would be a bummer for the former UFC champion. Not only has Bellator afforded him the flexibility to fight at heavyweight, but he has momentum with a 4-1 record in the organization.
Then again, Rampage sounds like a man who is about ready to walk away from the sport lately. Jackson mused about a life outside of MMA and missing his family in the lead up to this fight.
“I would have to honestly say that my biggest regret is even starting this sport,” Jackson said, per ESPN. “I think I would’ve lived a different life if I would’ve stayed home in Memphis and worked at the family business. I’d be closer to my family and growing old with them instead of living out at California.”
Jackson later walked those statements back. He stated that his words were taken negatively and reiterated the love for his fans, per Shaun Al-Shatti of MMAFighting.
While Jackson might not have meant that he doesn’t still love the sport, one has to wonder how much longer this heavyweight version of Rampage wants to hang around.
With a bitter loss over one of his biggest rivals and a possible contract issue keeping him from staying with his current organization, the former champ might find this is the perfect time for an exit.
“King” Mo Lawal picked up a big win Friday night at Bellator 175 in Chicago, capturing two out of three rounds on all three judges’ scorecards to win a unanimous decision in his rematch against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Following the bout, the promotion had some big news: bringing the newly signed Ryan Bader into the […]
“King” Mo Lawal picked up a big win Friday night at Bellator 175 in Chicago, capturing two out of three rounds on all three judges’ scorecards to win a unanimous decision in his rematch against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Following the bout, the promotion had some big news: bringing the newly signed Ryan Bader into the […]
If there was any doubt lingering over who should’ve won last year’s Bellator middleweight championship bout between Rafael Carvalho and Melvin Manhoef, all doubt was put to rest Saturday at Bellator 176 in Turin, Italy, as Carvalho shut Manhoef’s lights out with a brutal head kick in the fourth round.