(Note: The heavyweights are never photographed below the shoulders.)
Bellator 111 being able to build off Bellator 110‘s momentum was questionable. After all, three fourths of 111’s main card was comprised of heavyweights with questionable cardiovascular conditioning. What could’ve turned into a disaster instead turned into a decent night of fights (though some were not so decent), with the Bellator bantamweight title up for grabs between champion Eduardo Dantas and challenger Anthony Leone.
On the prelims: Up-and-comers Brent Primus and Abdul Razak both looked impressive. We will watch their next fights with interest. However, we can’t say that we’ll do the same for Eric Prindle, a mainstay in Bellator’s heavyweight division. In his loss to Javy Alaya, he displayed a ground game so awful it made James Toney look like Marcelo Garcia.
Also of note on the prelims: The first heavyweight tournament quarterfinal took place. Blagoi Ivanov bested Rich Hale in a tepid decision with not a whole lot of action.
(Note: The heavyweights are never photographed below the shoulders.)
Bellator 111 being able to build off Bellator 110‘s momentum was questionable. After all, three fourths of 111′s main card was comprised of heavyweights with questionable cardiovascular conditioning. What could’ve turned into a disaster instead turned into a decent night of fights (though some were not so decent), with the Bellator bantamweight title up for grabs between champion Eduardo Dantas and challenger Anthony Leone.
On the prelims: Up-and-comers Brent Primus and Abdul Razak both looked impressive. We will watch their next fights with interest. However, we can’t say that we’ll do the same for Eric Prindle, a mainstay in Bellator’s heavyweight division. In his loss to Javy Alaya, he displayed a ground game so awful it made James Toney look like Marcelo Garcia.
Also of note on the prelims: The first heavyweight tournament quarterfinal took place. Blagoi Ivanov bested Rich Hale in a tepid decision with not a whole lot of action.
In the first fight on the televised portion of the card, former Bellator heavyweight champ Alexander Volkov defeated Mark Holata via TKO. The Russian started off shaky, getting rocked early on in the first round. After some time in the clinch, Volkov managed to floor Holata with a knee and then followed up with brutal ground and pound. It was all over in 81 seconds.
In the next match, kickboxers Peter Graham and Mighty Mo squared off. The first round of this fight wasn’t terrible, but the second and third round were less than spectacular. Mighty Mo and Graham displayed some Eric Prindle-level grappling in those rounds. Mo finally put Graham out of his misery with a half-assed head and arm choke late midway through the third. If you DVR’d the fights, watch this one on fast forward.
The night’s co-main event pitted UFC and Strikeforce vet Lavar Johnson against Ryan Martinez. Martinez wrestled Johnson to the mat early on, making the UFC vet’s chances look grim. Johnson managed to return to his feet. A few of the wildest exchanges we’ve ever seen ensued (like both guys were missing by miles but still swinging anyway). Johnson managed to connect before Martinez, and it was over before the the first round ended.
So the next round of the Bellator heavyweight tournament will look like this:
Mighty Mo vs. Alexander Volkov.
Lavar Johnson vs. Blagoi Ivanov.
Now, onto the main event. Eduardo Dantas pulled off the slickest rear naked choke off all time against Anthony Leone, submitting him in the second round. Our words don’t do the martial artistry justice. You’ll just have to check out the GIF (via @ZProphet_MMA). Trust us, it’s worth it. Dantas’ submission is immediately a candidate for submission of the year (so far). Fortunately, there were no staged scuffles afterwards.
Complete results:
Main Card
Eduardo Dantas def. Anthony Leone via submission (rear naked choke), 2:04 of round 2
Lavar Johnson def. Ryan Martinez via TKO (punches), 4:22 of round 1
Mighty Mo def. Peter Graham via submission (head and arm choke), 2:31 of round 3
Alexander Volkov def. Mark Holata (punches), 1:21 of round 1
Preliminary Card
Blagoi Ivanov def. Rich Hale via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Cortez Coleman def. Daniel Miller via verbal submission (strikes), 4:49 of round 2
Javy Ayala def. Eric Prindle via TKO (doctor stoppage), 2:05 of round 3
Abdul Razak def. Matt Jones via TKO (punches), 1:23 of round 1
Brent Primus def. Chris Jones via TKO (punches), 1:45 of round 1
Chris Gutierrez def. Justin McNally via TKO (strikes), 2:50 of round 1
(Cheick Kongo relaxing before his fight, presumably listening to high-quality audio of groin shots. / Screen-cap via Chris Nelson)
After nine years in the UFC, Cheick Kongo found himself fighting for another promotion last night. The French heavyweight probably found the experience a little disconcerting, and yet entirely familiar. The cage was there, there was a man inside it, and he was tasked with disposing of him. Yet there is something less about the entire experience for a fighter competing in a lower-tier organization, deprived of the possibility of reaching the glory he once sought. For Kongo and fellow UFC cast-off Lavar Johnson, Friday’s Bellator 102 event in Visalia, California, was the beginning of the end of the road. Both are fighters on the way down, fighting not for what they once strove for, but simply because this is what they know how to do. It’s rarely a road that ends well. All they can hope for is to reclaim the one thing that doesn’t change — the euphoria of victory. Because if you can’t get that, what’s the point anymore?
Kongo was, at least, able to make the best of his opportunity against Mark “The Hand of” Godbeer. His most formidable challenge on the night came from his pre-fight water bottle. Unfortunately, Godbeer wasn’t capable of offering such a test. If there’s one thing Kongo is known for, it’s probably his knee strikes. If there’s another thing he’s known for, it’s probably that those knee strikes tend to find his opponent’s testicles a little too often. Fortunately for almost everyone involved, Kongo managed to keep himself in Cheick tonight. (I’m so sorry.) He battered Godbeer with knees from the clinch throughout the fight, and finished him in the second round with a monster right knee followed by an uppercut against the fence. Able to stave off the reaper for another few months, Kongo advances into the next round of Bellator’s heavyweight tournament.
The same can’t be said for Lavar “Big” Johnson. Cast aside from the UFC for failing a drug test — to say nothing of possessing one of the least imaginative nicknames in a sport rife with them — Johnson was essentially fed his opponent Vinicius “Spartan” Queiroz in his Bellator debut upon returning from his suspension. The expectation was that Johnson, a one-dimensional heavy-hitter, would have no problem dispatching Queiroz in a spectacularly violent fashion. Queiroz, it was reasoned, could offer trouble on the ground, but the fight wouldn’t last long enough to get there. If you’re familiar with ironic foreshadowing, you’ve probably figured out what happens next.
(Cheick Kongo relaxing before his fight, presumably listening to high-quality audio of groin shots. / Screen-cap via Chris Nelson)
After nine years in the UFC, Cheick Kongo found himself fighting for another promotion last night. The French heavyweight probably found the experience a little disconcerting, and yet entirely familiar. The cage was there, there was a man inside it, and he was tasked with disposing of him. Yet there is something less about the entire experience for a fighter competing in a lower-tier organization, deprived of the possibility of reaching the glory he once sought. For Kongo and fellow UFC cast-off Lavar Johnson, Friday’s Bellator 102 event in Visalia, California, was the beginning of the end of the road. Both are fighters on the way down, fighting not for what they once strove for, but simply because this is what they know how to do. It’s rarely a road that ends well. All they can hope for is to reclaim the one thing that doesn’t change — the euphoria of victory. Because if you can’t get that, what’s the point anymore?
Kongo was, at least, able to make the best of his opportunity against Mark “The Hand of” Godbeer. His most formidable challenge on the night came from his pre-fight water bottle. Unfortunately, Godbeer wasn’t capable of offering such a test. If there’s one thing Kongo is known for, it’s probably his knee strikes. If there’s another thing he’s known for, it’s probably that those knee strikes tend to find his opponent’s testicles a little too often. Fortunately for almost everyone involved, Kongo managed to keep himself in Cheick tonight. (I’m so sorry.) He battered Godbeer with knees from the clinch throughout the fight, and finished him in the second round with a monster right knee followed by an uppercut against the fence. Able to stave off the reaper for another few months, Kongo advances into the next round of Bellator’s heavyweight tournament.
The same can’t be said for Lavar “Big” Johnson. Cast aside from the UFC for failing a drug test — to say nothing of possessing one of the least imaginative nicknames in a sport rife with them — Johnson was essentially fed his opponent Vinicius “Spartan” Queiroz in his Bellator debut upon returning from his suspension. The expectation was that Johnson, a one-dimensional heavy-hitter, would have no problem dispatching Queiroz in a spectacularly violent fashion. Queiroz, it was reasoned, could offer trouble on the ground, but the fight wouldn’t last long enough to get there. If you’re familiar with ironic foreshadowing, you’ve probably figured out what happens next.
The fight started and Queiroz fired a counter-right over Johnson’s lazy hook that staggered Johnson, who attempted to recover only to faceplant on the mat. Whatever hope Johnson had of a career recovery was snuffed out in 23 seconds. Meanwhile, Queiroz received the satisfaction of proving his doubters wrong, and can now look forward to a modicum of respect. Though he’ll probably get knocked out when he faces Kongo. Oh well.
If this recap sounds a little depressing or pessimistic, that’s what happens when your primary talent for a card consists of aging fighters who have recently been released by the UFC. Bellator has solid, younger fighters; the fight between Brennan Ward and Joe Pacheco was a good fight while it lasted, as Ward secured the victory with a modified guillotine. Rafael Silva looked impressive as he earned a title shot with a unanimous decision victory over Anthony Leone. Bellator, however, put all of its promotional stock in fighters whose stocks are on the decline. Even Kongo’s victory is but a halt in his inexorable descent. By tying their image to fighters like him, it only serves to reinforce the perception that Bellator is being led down the same road they are. Maybe it will work for now. But inevitably it won’t end well.
Full Bellator 102 Results
MAIN CARD
– Cheick Kongo def. Mark Godbeer via TKO, 2:04 of round 2
– Vinicius Spartan def. Lavar Johnson via KO, 0:23 of round 1
– Rafael Silva def. Anthony Leone via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
– Mikkel Parlo def. Jason Butcher via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x 2)
– Brennan Ward def. Joe Pacheco via submission (guillotine choke), 2:41 of round 2
PRELIMINARY CARD
– Scott Cleve def. Isaac de Jesus via TKO, 3:14 of round 2
– Javy Ayala def. Thiago Santos via KO, 5:00 of round 1
– Brandon Girtz def. Poppies Martinez via submission (armbar), 1:20 of round 1
– Stephen Martinez def. Bryan Travers via technical submission (guillotine choke), 0:56 of round 1
– Cain Carrizosa def. Juan Quesada via submission (triangle choke), 4:41 of round 2
– Brandon Cash def. William Richey via TKO (exhaustion), 5:00 of round 2
