Tag: Bellator 112

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)

Daniel Straus Had to Cut His Damn Dreads Off to Make 145 Pounds at Yesterday’s Bellator Weigh-Ins


(Well that’s a shame. / Photo via Anthony Mazzuca)

Tonight in Hammond, Indiana, Bellator featherweight champion Daniel Straus will make his first title-defense in a rubber-match against Pat Curran, the guy he won the title from in November. But just making weight for the fight turned into a harrowing test of Straus’s character. Expecting to come in a little over the 145-pound limit, Straus chopped his own dreads off backstage to help shed some ounces. The raggedy aftermath is what you see above.

At weigh-ins, Straus immediately stripped down and got behind a towel — and he was still a half-pound over. Luckily, Straus was able to shed the extra weight with some additional time, and tonight’s title fight will proceed as scheduled. But between Straus’s new hairstyle and the sudden removals of War Machine and Joe Riggs, the Bellator 112 poster has become one of the most outdated and inaccurate posters in MMA history. It’s a crazy world, man. Everything is subject to change.

The official Bellator 112 weigh-in results are after the jump…


(Well that’s a shame. / Photo via Anthony Mazzuca)

Tonight in Hammond, Indiana, Bellator featherweight champion Daniel Straus will make his first title-defense in a rubber-match against Pat Curran, the guy he won the title from in November. But just making weight for the fight turned into a harrowing test of Straus’s character. Expecting to come in a little over the 145-pound limit, Straus chopped his own dreads off backstage to help shed some ounces. The raggedy aftermath is what you see above.

At weigh-ins, Straus immediately stripped down and got behind a towel — and he was still a half-pound over. Luckily, Straus was able to shed the extra weight with some additional time, and tonight’s title fight will proceed as scheduled. But between Straus’s new hairstyle and the sudden removals of War Machine and Joe Riggs, the Bellator 112 poster has become one of the most outdated and inaccurate posters in MMA history. It’s a crazy world, man. Everything is subject to change.

The official Bellator 112 weigh-in results are after the jump…

MAIN CARD
– Bellator Featherweight World Title Fight: Daniel Straus (145) vs. Pat Curran (144.7)
– Bellator Welterweight Tournament Opening Round: Andrey Koreshkov (170.7) vs. Nah’ Shon Burrell (171)
– Bellator Welterweight Tournament Opening Round: Sam Oropeza (170.2) vs. Cristiano Souza (170.8)
– Bellator Welterweight Tournament Opening Round: Jesse Juarez (170.7) vs. Adam McDonough (170.5)

PRELIMINARY CARD
– Bellator Welterweight Tournament Opening Round: Nathan Coy (170.5) vs. Paul Bradley (170.8)
– Welterweight Feature Fight: A.J. Matthews (170.5) vs. Belal Muhammad (170.7)
– Catchweight Feature Fight (170 lbs*): Diego Marlon (136.6) vs. Lloyd Carter (136.1)
– Featherweight Feature Fight: Darrion Caldwell (145.7) vs. Lance Surma (146)
– Catchweight Feature Fight (170 lbs.): Derek Loffer (169) vs. Bobby Reardanz (160**)
– Catchweight Feature Fight (215lbs.): Jason Guida (213.5) vs. Anthony Gomez (214)
– Heavyweight Feature Fight: Daniel James (265) vs. Erick Correa (263.5)

* This is a typo, obviously. But that’s what Bellator sent us.

** Yeesh. Good luck, Bobby.

 

Patricio Pitbull, Daniel Straus Rightfully Pissed About This Whole ‘Straus vs. Curran III’ Thing


(via Pitbull’s Twitter.)

Last night, I decided to jump on a grenade and inform you of everything that was wrong with Bellator’s decision to book a third fight between Daniel Straus and Pat Curran at Bellator 112. That I have somehow managed to avoid being dubbed a “jealous h8r” for my opinion up to this point is a miracle on par with Stefan Struve’s return to sparring, but I digress.

In any case, the main point I outlined in the case against Straus vs. Curran III was that there was a far more interesting (and logical) matchup to be had: Straus vs. Pitbull 2. You see, not only had Patricio “Pitbull” Freire won the season 9 featherweight tournament in November with a first round TKO of Justin Wilcox (the third TKO win in his past 4 fights), but he remains the only man to defeat newly-crowned champion Daniel Straus in Bellator. Throw in the fact that Straus was utterly dominant in his victory over Curran just two months ago and you’d have to be a short-sighted nincompoop to rebook Straus vs. Curran III, right?

Wrong. Bellator booked it, and now Patricio Pitbull is pissed right the fuck off. Which can only mean that he will be forced to fight for Bellator for the rest of his natural life, Amen.


(via Pitbull’s Twitter.)

Last night, I decided to jump on a grenade and inform you of everything that was wrong with Bellator’s decision to book a third fight between Daniel Straus and Pat Curran at Bellator 112. That I have somehow managed to avoid being dubbed a “jealous h8r” for my opinion up to this point is a miracle on par with Stefan Struve’s return to sparring, but I digress.

In any case, the main point I outlined in the case against Straus vs. Curran III was that there was a far more interesting (and logical) matchup to be had: Straus vs. Pitbull 2. You see, not only had Patricio “Pitbull” Freire won the season 9 featherweight tournament in November with a first round TKO of Justin Wilcox (the third TKO win in his past 4 fights), but he remains the only man to defeat newly-crowned champion Daniel Straus in Bellator. Throw in the fact that Straus was utterly dominant in his victory over Curran just two months ago and you’d have to be a short-sighted nincompoop to rebook Straus vs. Curran III, right?

Wrong. Bellator booked it, and now Patricio Pitbull is pissed right the fuck off. Which can only mean that he will be forced to fight for Bellator for the rest of his natural life, Amen.

After posting a series of Tweets, Facebooks, and Instagrams mocking Bellator’s “Where Titles are Earned” motto, Fabricio spoke with MMAJunkie:

I’m very disappointed with the whole situation. I’m very upset with the organization.

They said I would be fighting the winner of Straus vs. Curran III, but I question why that fight has to happen first. I told them I should get the shot, and then they just said that’s the direction the company is going and for me to just keep doing what I’m doing. Nothing they do right now is going to make right what they have done to me.

But if Bellator doesn’t believe in me – if they don’t want me to be champion and to do things right – I’d like to just ask them to let me out of my contract.


Fun fact: Swap the pistol with a railroad spike, and this is exactly how a Bellator contract meeting looks. 

I find it interesting that Bellator told Patricio that his rematch wouldn’t be in line with “the direction the company is going.” Fans have been wondering for a while if Bellator’s merger with Viacom has been responsible for any of their puzzling business decisions as of late, and exactly how much decision-making power founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney has been left with. Decisions like Straus vs. Curran III, which a fan of the sport like Bjorn would probably recognize as against his company’s best interest, seem to suggest that he is either not driving the Bellator bus anymore or is asleep at the wheel.

But one aspect I didn’t cover in my virulent takedown objectionable critique of Straus vs. Curran III is the location in which the fight will take place. Thankfully, Daniel Straus is here to comment on that situation as well (via Straus’ Facebook):

Oh, now I see what Bellator was talking about with “the direction they were going.” Bellator 112 is transpiring at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana, a mere hour and a half drive from Curran’s hometown of Crystal Lake, Illinois. They were just being literal. I wonder how Eddie Alvarez is going to feel when they announce that his trilogy fight with Michael Chandler will be going down in the backseat of the Trans Am that Chandler got his first hummer in. (#carpuns)

So yeah, you done fucked up, Bellator. Here with a closing statement about how bad you done fucked up is, once again, Patricio Pitbull (via MMAFighting this time):

That whole ‘where the title shots are earned, not given’ is pure bulls–t now. That doesn’t exist anymore. Bellator is eating its own words. They didn’t respect my wins in the tournament.

It wasn’t even close. Straus won and is the f–king champion. Curran does not deserve a rematch. Curran is (Bellator’s) little boy. I hope Straus beats him up. I want Straus to destroy him inside the cage.

I won’t fight again. I will wait for my shot at the title to shut Bellator up.

File another grievance form to Bellator’s HR department, which has got to look like Charlie Kelly’s mailroom by now.

–J. Jones