Tag: Alexis Vila

Dantas, Vila Advance in Bellator Bantamweight Tournament

Filed under: BellatorEduardo Dantas and Alexis Vila will meet in the final of the Bellator Fighting Championships bantamweight tournament after both men won split decisions at Bellator 55 on Saturday night.

The 22-year-old Dantas showed off his trade…

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Eduardo Dantas and Alexis Vila will meet in the final of the Bellator Fighting Championships bantamweight tournament after both men won split decisions at Bellator 55 on Saturday night.

The 22-year-old Dantas showed off his trademark fast pace in beating Ed West by split decision, staying active and clearly earning the decision. The judges scored it 30-27 Dantas, 29-28 Dantas and 29-28 West, and it was surprising that one judge gave the fight to West: This was Dantas’s fight all the way.

The decision in the other semifinal was much more controversial: One judge scored it 30-27 for Marcos Galvao, while the other two scored it 29-28 for Vila, and it was clear from the crowd’s reaction that most of the fans in attendance thought the judges got it wrong, and Galvao deserved to win.

Dantas vs. Vila should be a very good fight for the bantamweight final, culminating what has been an entertaining eight-man tournament, but the controversial decision in the main event had the crowd booing when Dantas and Vila squared off in the cage Saturday night.

In other action, Bellator’s light heavyweight champion, Christian M’Pumbu, lost to Travis Wiuff and in the process became the first Bellator champion to lose a non-title “super fight.” The bigger, stronger Wiuff controlled most of the way, and M’Pumbu didn’t really get things going until he knocked Wiuff down and appeared close to winning by TKO in the third round. That late rally wasn’t enough, and Wiuff won by unanimous decision. M’Pumbu is still the light heavyweight champ, but he’d be well served to move down to middleweight: He’s just not big enough to take on a guy the size of Wiuff.

And Ricardo Tirloni, widely regarded as one of the best young lightweights in MMA, sunk in a rear-naked choke to force a quick tap from Steve Gable in the second round of the opening fight on the MTV2 broadcast. Tirloni, who was making his Bellator debut, improved his pro record to 14-1. He looks like he’s going to be a very good fighter in the Bellator lightweight division.

 

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Defection, Prison Weigh Heavily on Alexis Vila

Filed under: BellatorAlexis Vila earned by far the biggest victory of his mixed martial arts career when he knocked out Bellator featherweight champion Joe Warren in the first round of the promotion’s bantamweight tournament. For Vila, it was an achiev…

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Alexis Vila earned by far the biggest victory of his mixed martial arts career when he knocked out Bellator featherweight champion Joe Warren in the first round of the promotion’s bantamweight tournament. For Vila, it was an achievement that had special meaning because of everything he’s been through on his way to making his mark in MMA, at the age of 40.

Vila was a bronze medalist in wrestling at the 1996 Olympics, when he represented his native Cuba. A year later he defected to the United States and began exploring the possibility of becoming a professional fighter — but that process was nearly derailed when he was sent to prison for three years after what he says was an accident, but the authorities labeled a terrorist act.

In an appearance on The MMA Hour, Vila described how his prison experience motivated him to make something of himself in MMA.

“I was in prison for three years,” Vila said. “It’s no good. I’m a little guy so people who don’t know me try things all the time. So I fought a lot. They didn’t believe that I could fight. I said when I get out and I fight I’m going to be the champ.”

In 2004 Vila crashed his SUV into a crowded terminal at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. No one was hurt, and Vila has always maintained that it was simply an accident. But authorities initially believed Vila had committed a terrorist act, and charged Vila with committing airport violence, a felony that could have put him in prison for 20 years. He eventually pleaded guilty in exchange for a lesser sentence.

Even before that incident, Vila had been through a lot. He still struggles with his decision to leave his family and his country behind in 1997.

“My dad is really sick over there but there’s nothing I can do. I can only send money, not visit,” Vila said. “I tell my mom, I send money so you guys can have a better life.”

If Vila wins his next two fights and is crowned the Bellator tournament champion, he’ll have a lot more money to send back home. After all he’s been through, that’s what motivates Vila.


 

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The MMA Hour With Cruz, Johnson, Brenneman, Vila, Hamman and Roundtable

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The MMA Hour is back in your life on Monday. Here’s what we have planned for our 101st episode.

* MMA Fighting’s Mike Chiappetta, MMAConvert.com’s Jim Genia and TapouT’s Mike Straka will return for another edition of the MMA Media Roundtable. We’ll discuss the fallout from UFC 135, UFC on Versus 6 and much more.

* Dominick Cruz and Demetrious Johnson will stop by to discuss their bantamweight title fight on Saturday night.

* Charlie Brenneman will talk about his fight against Anthony Johnson at UFC on Versus 6.

* Alexis Vila will look back at his vicious knockout win over Joe Warren at Bellator 51.

* And Jared Hamman will talk about his move down to 185 pounds and his new wine label.

Of course, we’ll be taking your calls. Give us a shout at: 212-254-0193, 212-254-0237 or 212-254-0714.

*** You can also stream the show live on your iPhone or iPad by clicking here.

Watch the show live below beginning at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT. Subscribe to The MMA Hour on iTunes: audio feed here; video feed here. Download previous episodes here. Listen to the show via Stitcher here.

 

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The MMA Hour is back in your life on Monday. Here’s what we have planned for our 101st episode.

* MMA Fighting’s Mike Chiappetta, MMAConvert.com’s Jim Genia and TapouT’s Mike Straka will return for another edition of the MMA Media Roundtable. We’ll discuss the fallout from UFC 135, UFC on Versus 6 and much more.

* Dominick Cruz and Demetrious Johnson will stop by to discuss their bantamweight title fight on Saturday night.

* Charlie Brenneman will talk about his fight against Anthony Johnson at UFC on Versus 6.

* Alexis Vila will look back at his vicious knockout win over Joe Warren at Bellator 51.

* And Jared Hamman will talk about his move down to 185 pounds and his new wine label.

Of course, we’ll be taking your calls. Give us a shout at: 212-254-0193, 212-254-0237 or 212-254-0714.

*** You can also stream the show live on your iPhone or iPad by clicking here.

Watch the show live below beginning at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT. Subscribe to The MMA Hour on iTunes: audio feed here; video feed here. Download previous episodes here. Listen to the show via Stitcher here.

 

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Bellator 51 Recap: Joe Warren No Longer Feels Like the Baddest Man on the Planet

Or no longer feels anything, for that matter. Props to MiddleEasy for the video.

It’s Sunday afternoon. Most of you were too busy with UFC 135 to even bother watching Bellator 51 last night. Today, you’re probably too busy with your religious practices to spend time reading a full recap, so I’ll make this quick for you.

For those of you who don’t even have the time to watch that video, damn. Let me first ask you what it’s like to have responsibilities. Let’s also say that Joe Warren will not become Bellator’s first multiple weight class title holder any time soon. Forty year old Bellator newcomer Alexis Vila delivered a left hook that zombified Warren just over one minute into the fight. Look on the bright side, Joe: After getting knocked out like that, you have that featherweight title defense against Patricio Freire to look forward to.

Full results, courtesy of MMAJunkie, after the jump.


Or no longer feels anything, for that matter. Props to MiddleEasy for the video.

It’s Sunday afternoon. Most of you were too busy with UFC 135 to even bother watching Bellator 51 last night. Today, you’re probably too busy with your religious practices to spend time reading a full recap, so I’ll make this quick for you.

For those of you who don’t even have the time to watch that video, damn. Let me first ask you what it’s like to have responsibilities. Let’s also say that Joe Warren will not become Bellator’s first multiple weight class title holder any time soon. Forty year old Bellator newcomer Alexis Vila delivered a left hook that zombified Warren just over one minute into the fight. Look on the bright side, Joe: After getting knocked out like that, you have that featherweight title defense against Patricio Freire to look forward to.

Full results, courtesy of MMAJunkie, after the jump.

MAIN CARD

Bantamweight-Tournament Opening Round:

Alexis Vila def. Joe Warren via KO (punch) – Round 1, 1:04 
Eduardo Dantas def. Wilson Reis via KO (flying knee) – Round 2, 1:02
Marcos Galvao def. Chase Beebe via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Ed West def. Luiz Nogueira via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)

PRELIMINARY CARD

Frank Caraballo def. Dustin Kempf via TKO (knee Injury) – Round 1, 1:19
Jessica Eye def. Casey Noland via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Jesse Riggleman def. Farkhad Sharipo via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
Dan Spohn def. Dan Bonnigson via KO (knee) – Round 1, 0:09
John Hawk def. Allan Weickert via TKO (retirement) – Round 2, 5:00
Joey Holt def. Clint Musser via KO (flying knee) – Round 1, 4:07

Miami Hustle: That Man From Cuba

Genghis Con continues his campaign to make you like Mondays, as the second episode of his web-doc Miami Hustle dropped right on schedule. This episode follows decorated Cuban wrestler Alexis Vila as he prepares for his ninth pro MMA fight at flyweight. The episode starts with the final stages of sweating just before weigh-ins, and ends with his fight with OKC-based Lewis McKenzie at MFA New Generation 4 in February. Vila is an impressive talent, and don’t be surprised if you hear his name pop up when people start talking about the UFC’s plans at 125 pounds.

As with pretty much everything Genghis Con does, this is completely worth the time to sit down and watch. The two-man film crew managed to catch some funny stuff, not the least of which is Vila’s girlfriend stunningly bad timing to start with “I need to lose some weight…” Considering that she’s talking to a wrestler — an Olympic wrestler at that — and a pro fighter who’d just weighed in hours before, she’s not going to get much sympathy about how hard it is to shed ten pounds.

Also keep an eye out for Bellator’s Zombifier-in-Chief Hector Lombard, as he comes to watch Vila fight and gift Jorge Masvidal with a big knife, and JZ Cavalcante and Jorge Santiago ditching training to go surfing. Slackers.

You can catch Miami Hustle Monday nights here at 8pm ET, but seeing as how you can barely remember where you left your phone and what pants you’re wearing, we’ll go ahead and remind you next week.

[RX]

Genghis Con continues his campaign to make you like Mondays, as the second episode of his web-doc Miami Hustle dropped right on schedule. This episode follows decorated Cuban wrestler Alexis Vila as he prepares for his ninth pro MMA fight at flyweight. The episode starts with the final stages of sweating just before weigh-ins, and ends with his fight with OKC-based Lewis McKenzie at MFA New Generation 4 in February. Vila is an impressive talent, and don’t be surprised if you hear his name pop up when people start talking about the UFC’s plans at 125 pounds.

As with pretty much everything Genghis Con does, this is completely worth the time to sit down and watch. The two camera men managed to catch some funny stuff, not the least of which is Vila’s girlfriend stunningly bad timing to start with the ol’ “I need to lose some weight” attention gambit. Considering that she’s talking to a wrestler — an Olympic wrestler at that — and a pro fighter who’d just weighed in hours before, she’s not going to get much sympathy about how hard it is to shed ten pounds.

Also keep an eye out for Bellator’s Zombifier-in-Chief Hector Lombard, as he comes to watch Vila fight and gift Jorge Masvidal with a big knife, and JZ Cavalcante and Jorge Santiago ditching training to go surfing. Slackers.

You can catch Miami Hustle Monday nights here at 8pm ET, but seeing as how you can barely remember where you left your phone and what pants you’re wearing, we’ll go ahead and remind you next week.

[RX]