Tag: Adam McDonough

Bellator 122 Results: Koreshkov Batters McDonough, Halsey Submits Cooper, Parisyan Obliterates Baroni

Bellator’s first event under Scott Coker’s reign is over. Andrey Koreshkov blasted Adam McDonough en  route to a unanimous decision victory and Brandon Halsey dominated Brett Cooper with a first round submission win.

The event was one of Bellator’s better ones. We’ve recapped the entire card for you (and threw in some GIFs–which are all courtesy of Zombie Prophet/Fansided):

The Bellator 122 prelims were packed with action. Saad Awad pulled off one of the best TKOs from the bottom in recent memory against Joe Duarte. After getting blasted with a right hand, Awad crumbled to the mat. However, Duarte got over aggressive and Awad snagged him in a triangle. The ref called the fight about a billion elbows to Duarte’s temple later. Check out the GIF.

Other significant prelim happenings: The unheralded Fernando Gonzalez upset Bellator mainstay Karl Amoussou via unanimous decision. Gonzalez was simply quicker and better conditioned. One has to wonder about Amoussou’s future in Bellator.

Bellator put a light heavyweight tournament semifinal on the prelims. Kelly Anundson took on Luiz Philipe Lins, but the fight didn’t last long. Lins collapsed to the canvas a few minutes into the first round with a knee injury. Anundson was therefore awarded with a TKO victory.

More prelim action: Wrestling standout Bubba Jenkins steamrolled over Poppies Martinez, taking him down and scoring a TKO via ground and pound (GIF) in the first frame.

Get the rundown of the main card–plus the precious GIFs–after the jump.

Bellator’s first event under Scott Coker’s reign is over. Andrey Koreshkov blasted Adam McDonough en  route to a unanimous decision victory and Brandon Halsey dominated Brett Cooper with a first round submission win.

The event was one of Bellator’s better ones. We’ve recapped the entire card for you (and threw in some GIFs–which are all courtesy of Zombie Prophet/Fansided):

The Bellator 122 prelims were packed with action. Saad Awad pulled off one of the best TKOs from the bottom in recent memory against Joe Duarte. After getting blasted with a right hand, Awad crumbled to the mat. However, Duarte got over aggressive and Awad snagged him in a triangle. The ref called the fight about a billion elbows to Duarte’s temple later. Check out the GIF.

Other significant prelim happenings: The unheralded Fernando Gonzalez upset Bellator mainstay Karl Amoussou via unanimous decision. Gonzalez was simply quicker and better conditioned. One has to wonder about Amoussou’s future in Bellator.

Bellator put a light heavyweight tournament semifinal on the prelims. Kelly Anundson took on Luiz Philipe Lins, but the fight didn’t last long. Lins collapsed to the canvas a few minutes into the first round with a knee injury. Anundson was therefore awarded with a TKO victory.

More prelim action: Wrestling standout Bubba Jenkins steamrolled over Poppies Martinez, taking him down and scoring a TKO via ground and pound (GIF) in the first frame.

The main card started with what was the true main event of the night (for us at least): PHIL BARONI VS. KARO PARISYAN. Unfortunately, it didn’t really live up to our expectations. Baroni came out completely flat. As soon as Parisyan turned up the “heat” [Editor’s note: We’re so sorry. The intern who came up with that line has been let go], Baroni became a deer in the headlights…then a dead deer on the hood of a car. The end was particularly brutal as he was finished while sitting in Indian style (GIF), just absorbing punches to the head in a total stupor. We really, REALLY hope he retires at this point.

Next up came highly touted British Prospect Liam McGeary vs. Egidijus Valavicius in the next light heavyweight tournament semifinal. McGeary kicked Valavicius to the curb. After taking a handful of punches, McGeary clinched Valavicius. A minute or two later, a flurry of lethal knees and uppercuts (GIF) from McGeary ended the fight; Valavicius was out on his feet. McGeary will face Kelly Anundson in the finals of the light heavyweight tournament.

In the co-main event, Brett Cooper met Brandon Halsey in the middleweight tournament final. Halsey controlled the bout during the minute or two that it lasted. Halsey clinched Cooper, took him down, and then arm barred him (GIF). It almost resembled a Ronda Rousey fight in that aspect.

The co-main event saw Andrey Koreshkov face Adam McDonough in the welterweight tournament semifinal. It was domination from bell to bell. Koreshkov landed an array of strikes (included a wicked spinning back kick) that kept McDonough puzzled throughout the fight. Koreshkov was too fast, too accurate, and his sprawls were too powerful for McDonough, a wrestler with anemic striking, to mount anything resembling an offense. It was a strong performance for Koreshkov, who earned a title shot with the win. It was a strong performance for Bellator, too. The fight card was energetic, fun, and left us with that “let’s shadow box with our shirts off” feeling.

Here are the complete results:

Main Card:

Andrey Koreshkov def. Adam McDonough via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Brandon Halsey def. Brett Cooper via submission (armbar), Round 1, 2:09
Liam McGeary def. Egidijus Valavicius via TKO (strikes), Round 1, 2:10
Karo Parisyan def. Phil Baroni via knockout (punches), Round 1, 2:06

Preliminary Card:

Augusto Sakai def. Matt Frembling via TKO (strikes), Round 3, 3:32
Bubba Jenkins def. Poppies Martinez via TKO (punches), Round 1, 4:10
Kelly Anundson def. Philipe Lins via TKO (injury), Round 1, 1:40
Fernando Gonzalez def. Karl Amoussou via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Saad Awad def. Joe Duarte via TKO (elbows) – Round 1, 1:18
Sergio Rios def. Stephen Martinez via TKO (head kick, punches), Round 2, 0:20
Linton Vassell def. Virgil Zwicker via submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 1:07

Bellator 116 Results: Ivanov Submits Johnson, Volkov Scores KO of the Year Candidate [GIF]

There were no title fights at Bellator 116, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t worth watching. The heavyweight tournament semifinals took place on the card, as well as a single welterweight tournament semifinal.

How was it? Read the recap and find out!

Alexander Volkov vs. Mighty Mo

Mighty Mo shot for a single leg right out of the gate. Mo couldn’t get Volkov down, but managed to keep him pressed against the cage for the first half of the round. Volkov landed a knee to the body in the clinch, which caused Mo to back off. Then, Volkov hit a tremendous round kick to Mo’s face and knocked him out cold. He hit Mo so hard that the shockwaves made Mo’s belly fat jiggle. Easily one of the best head kick knockouts of the year so far, if not ever. Holy crap. Here’s a GIF (via @ZProphet_MMA)

Volkov, Bellator’s former heavyweight champ, will now be going to the season 10 tournament finals.

Read on to see a GIF of the most amazing, pro-wrestling inspired guillotine choke escape we’ve ever seen.

There were no title fights at Bellator 116, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t worth watching. The heavyweight tournament semifinals took place on the card, as well as a single welterweight tournament semifinal.

How was it? Read the recap and find out!

Alexander Volkov vs. Mighty Mo

Mighty Mo shot for a single leg right out of the gate. Mo couldn’t get Volkov down, but managed to keep him pressed against the cage for the first half of the round. Volkov landed a knee to the body in the clinch, which caused Mo to back off. Then, Volkov hit a tremendous round kick to Mo’s face and knocked him out cold. He hit Mo so hard that the shockwaves made Mo’s belly fat jiggle. Easily one of the best head kick knockouts of the year so far, if not ever. Holy crap. Here’s a GIF (via @ZProphet_MMA)

Volkov, Bellator’s former heavyweight champ, will now be going to the season 10 tournament finals.

Nathan Coy vs. Adam McDonough

Coy controlled almost the entire first round via lay and pray. Eventually, McDonough managed to escape Coy’s clutches. With about a minute left, he managed to hurt Coy with an uppercut–badly. Coy was faceplanted on the mat and taking loads of punches, but the ref let it go on. Coy managed to recover and take McDonough down again by the round’s end.

The second round didn’t last long. Perhaps Coy wasn’t so composed after all. McDonough landed a hook that sent Coy to the floor. After that one punch, the fight was stopped.

Adam McDonough will be meeting the winner of Andrey Koreshkov vs. Sam Oropeza (which will take place later in the season) in the welterweight tournament finals.

Joey Beltran vs. Vladimir Matyushenko

After an eternity, Matyushenko vs. Beltran started (seriously it felt like an hour of shitty commercials). The first round lacked action. Both men snapped jabs. Both reached with looping hooks and, for the most part, missed by miles. Eventually (and thankfully), the feeling out process sorted itself out, and the fighters engaged with a little more zest. Neither landed anything significant, but it was more fun to watch. The rest of the first round played out like this. Each guy threw big punches but didn’t land too many.

Matyushenko hit Beltran with a stiff jab and an uppercut to start the round. The two started to get more aggressive in round two. There was close to zero technique, but at least it wasn’t a staring contest. Matyushenko backed up Beltran with a flurry and landed a few punches. Beltran countered with his own. Eventually, they started just swinging at random. They might as well have had their eyes closed, to be honest. Matyushenko shot for a takedown from 30 light years away and Beltran stuffed it with zero effort. Beltran and Matyushenko both started breathing heavy as the round ended, making their punches super-labored and slow. The fight got less fun to watch as the seconds passed.

Round 3 was much of the same, but Beltran decided to work the body instead of constantly throwing at (and missing) Matyushenko’s head. Matyushenko shot in, but Beltran reversed him. In the scramble, Beltran wound up on top in side control. He transitioned to north-south and sunk in a north-south choke, earning the submission win. Vladimir Matyushenko’s last fight ends in defeat. And Beltran will meet Alexander Volkov in the heavyweight tournament finals.

Lavar Johnson vs. Blagoi Ivanov

Ivanov attempted to rush Johnson and ate an uppercut. Still, he managed to successfully clinch Johnson and keep him against the cage. It didn’t take long for him to hit a single leg and drag Johnson to the floor. Ivanov dropped for a leg lock but botched it. He wound up with Johnson on top of him, hitting him. However, Johnson’s lack of grappling enabled Ivanov to rise to his feet without harm, and then even put Johnson in a guillotine. To escape, Johnson body slammed Ivanov in what was the most awesome guillotine escape I’ve ever seen (it was the closest thing to a pro wrestling body slam you’ll see in MMA–here’s the GIF, again via Zombie Prophet). But Ivanov’s superior grappling skills allowed him to turn the tide. He got back to his feet after the slam, clinched Johnson, and landed a judo throw. A few moments later, he submitted Johnson with an effortless keylock.

Here are the complete results:

Main Card

Blagoi Ivanov def. Lavar Johnson via Submission (keylock), 4:08 of round 1
Joey Beltran def. Vladimir Matyushenko via Submission (north-south choke), 3:06 of round 3
Adam Mcdonough def. Nathan Coy via KO (punches), 0:30 of round 2
Alexander Volkov def. Mighty Mo via KO (head kick), 2:44 of round 1

Preliminary Card

Brandon Halsey def. Joe Pacheco via Unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Karo Parisyan def. Ron Keslar via KO (punches), 4:05 of round 2
Rob Emerson def. Joe Taimanglo via Unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Ricky Rainey def. Andy Murad via TKO (head kick and punches), 1:11 of round 1
Phelipe Lins def. Travis Clark via Submission (rear naked choke), 0:40 of round 1
Rodney Wallace def. Carlos Eduardo via Unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

Not Aired
Featherweight Brandon Bender vs. Mario Navarro
Middleweight Dave Vitkay vs. Keith Berry

Bellator 112 Results: Curran Submits Straus With Clutch Rear Naked Choke, Koreshkov Blasts Burrell

Injury considerably dimmed Bellator 112’s star power, with War Machine and Joe Riggs withdrawing from the season 10 welterweight tournament due to injury (as well as Mark Scanlon but he’s not as high profile). We received unheralded fighters Nathan Coy, Cristiano Souza, and Paul Bradley.

Still, the card’s main event featured a featherweight title rematch between champion Daniel Straus and challenger Pat Curran, making it worth the investment of time.

But was the rest of the card worthwhile? Read our main card recap and decide for yourself.

Injury considerably dimmed Bellator 112′s star power, with War Machine and Joe Riggs withdrawing from the season 10 welterweight tournament due to injury (as well as Mark Scanlon but he’s not as high profile). We received unheralded fighters Nathan Coy, Cristiano Souza, and Paul Bradley.

Still, the card’s main event featured a featherweight title rematch between champion Daniel Straus and challenger Pat Curran, making it worth the investment of time.

But was the rest of the card worthwhile? Read our main card recap and decide for yourself.

Jesse Juarez vs. Adam McDonough

In the first round, McDonough landed a stiff knee to Juarez’s head after a brief feeling out period. Juarez, however, had presence of mind enough to take McDonough down off the knee strike. After a few minutes, Juarez advanced to mount and nearly secured an arm triangle choke. McDonough defended. The two fighters briefly rose to their feet. McDonough reversed a Juarez takedown and mounted him before transitioning to the back. The round ended with McDonough attempting to lock in a rear naked choke.

The pace was slower in the second round. McDonough again reversed a Juarez takedown and wound up on top, this time in side control. Juarez eventually escaped, and both men resorted to flashy but ineffective striking exchanges. The round ended with McDonough in a sprawl, defending a tepid takedown attempt from a tired Juarez.

The third round was much closer. McDonough landed a takedown early and controlled Juarez on the mat for the first half of the round. Juarez managed to change things though, rising to his feet and then landing two of his own takedowns, after which he nearly took McDonough’s back. He then opted for a guillotine choke, which failed.

Adam McDonough got the nod from the judges in a unanimous decision. He’ll be fighting Nathan Coy (who defeated Paul Bradley in the Bellator 112 prelims) in the next round of the welterweight tournament.

The winner will fight Nathan Coy in the next round of the welterweight tournament semifinals.

Cristiano Souza vs. Sam Oropeza

The fight ended in the first round with KO. Souza botched a lateral drop, bringing Oropeza down on top of him. However, the Brazilian managed to stay calm and rise to his feet…only to be sent to the canvas moments later by a devastating right hook from Oropeza.

Andrey Koreshkov vs. Nah-Shon Burrell

Last we saw Andrey Koreshkov, he was being ridden like a racehorse and mocked (GIF via @ZProphet_MMA) by former Bellator welterweight champ Ben Askren. At Bellator 112, he fought Nah-Shon Burrell, and looked like a different fighter.

He landed a body kick at the start of the fight that floored Burrell. The referee waved it off after a handful of follow-up punches. It was over in under a minute. He’ll be meeting Sam Oropeza in the semifinals.

Daniel Straus (c) vs. Pat Curran

Incredible fight with an incredible finish. After four and a half rounds of back and forth striking exchanges and scrambles on the mat, Pat Curran sunk in a rear naked choke with only seconds remaining in the fight to become the Bellator featherweight champion once again. If you DVR’d the event, you owe it to yourself to watch this fight.

Complete results:

Main Card

Adam McDonough def. Jesse Juarez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Sam Oropeza def. Cristiano Souza via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:07
Andrey Koreshkov def. Nah-Shon Burrell via TKO (knee, punches) – Round 1, 0:41
Pat Curran def. Daniel Straus via submission (rear naked choke) – Round 5, 4:46

Preliminary Card

Daniel James def. Erick Correa via submission (strikes) – Round 2, 4:30
Anthony Gomez def. Jason Guida via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Derek Loffer def. Bobby Reradanz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Darrion Caldwell def. Lance Surma via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 0:50
Belal Muhammad def. A.J. Matthews via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Nathan Coy def. Paul Bradley via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)