Tag: Bellator 86

Bellator 86 Recap: Askren Finishes (!) Amoussou, King Mo Squashes Other Dude, Fancy Flips Can’t Save Zaromskis


(Sorry Ben, I don’t think we can count those as “significant strikes.” GIF via ZombieProphet/BloodyElbow)

For the first time since his controversial technical submission of Ryan Thomas during his Bellator debut three years ago, Ben Askren has finished an opponent. Sure, it was one of those sort-of-assisted finishes where the doctor steps in between rounds to wave the fight off, but let’s not take anything anything away from Funky Ben, here: The undefeated Bellator welterweight champion smashed the living dog-poop out of Karl Amoussou for three full rounds last night, and might have permanently injured him had the fight gone on any longer.

It was a prototypical performance from Askren, who spent most of the fight on top of Amoussou, throwing down punches and elbows. Still, there seemed to be a greater sense of urgency from the champ in this fight, a little more intention with his strikes. He slashed open a cut above Amoussou’s eye with an elbow in the first round, and by the end of round three, Amoussou’s left eye was swollen shut and his face was a wet canvas of blood. The fight was mercifully stopped before the fourth round could begin, giving Askren a well-deserved TKO victory.

“I told you guys that it was just a matter of time before my hands got some power in them,” Askren said after the fight. “I dominate positionally, and my hands [have] power too. Welterweights anywhere in the world better watch out, I’m coming.” Askren’s next challenge will likely be the winner of this season’s welterweight tournament, which produced four semifinalists last night…


(Sorry Ben, I don’t think we can count those as “significant strikes.” GIF via ZombieProphet/BloodyElbow)

For the first time since his controversial technical submission of Ryan Thomas during his Bellator debut three years ago, Ben Askren has finished an opponent. Sure, it was one of those sort-of-assisted finishes where the doctor steps in between rounds to wave the fight off, but let’s not take anything anything away from Funky Ben, here: The undefeated Bellator welterweight champion smashed the living dog-poop out of Karl Amoussou for three full rounds last night, and might have permanently injured him had the fight gone on any longer.

It was a prototypical performance from Askren, who spent most of the fight on top of Amoussou, throwing down punches and elbows. Still, there seemed to be a greater sense of urgency from the champ in this fight, a little more intention with his strikes. He slashed open a cut above Amoussou’s eye with an elbow in the first round, and by the end of round three, Amoussou’s left eye was swollen shut and his face was a wet canvas of blood. The fight was mercifully stopped before the fourth round could begin, giving Askren a well-deserved TKO victory.

“I told you guys that it was just a matter of time before my hands got some power in them,” Askren said after the fight. “I dominate positionally, and my hands [have] power too. Welterweights anywhere in the world better watch out, I’m coming.” Askren’s next challenge will likely be the winner of this season’s welterweight tournament, which produced four semifinalists last night…

Douglas Lima used a series of savage leg kicks to chop down Michail “The Lonely Wolf” Tsarev, forcing a stoppage in the second round. Though Lima looks like a favorite to win the welterweight bracket — again — he’s already suffered a loss to Ben Askren, during their title fight last year. Also on the main card, Ben Saunders out-grappled, out-struck, and out-classed Bellator newcomer Koffi Adzitso, winning all three rounds on the judges scorecards.

Two other welterweight tournament bouts were relegated to the prelims: Raul Amaya scored a first-round TKO against Jose Gomes, while Marius Zaromskis continues to under-perform in the U.S., losing a unanimous decision to Brett Weedman. Zaromskis was docked a point in round three for a pair of blatantly illegal knees (not cool, bro). On the bright side, he added a couple more completely absurd somersault moves to his highlight reel:

Finally, the Mo’-ment we’d all been waiting for — DO YOU SEE WHAT I DID THERE? DO YOU SEE IT?? — Muhammad Lawal‘s light-heavyweight quarterfinal bout against Przemyslaw “Don’t Bother Learning How to Pronounce This Name” Mysiala was even more lopsided than we thought it would be. Lawal’s training at the Mayweather gym was fully evident, as he lit up Mysiala with jabs thrown from Money May’s loved/loathed “Philly shell” stance. I can’t recall if Mysiala landed a single punch. It honestly looked like Mo was having a sparring session with an inanimate object.

After bloodying up the hapless Pole’s face with his precision striking, Lawal ended the match with a short counter-right that turned Mysiala’s brain off. After the fight, Lawal explained that his gameplan was to knock Mysiala out, and his strategy in the tournament is to knock everybody out. Alright…no need to complicate things, I guess. He’ll now face Emanuel Newton in the light-heavyweight tournament semi-finals.

Complete Bellator 86 Results

MAIN CARD
– Ben Askren def. Karl Amoussou via TKO (doctor stoppage), 5:00 of round 3
– Muhammed Lawal def. Przemyslaw Mysiala via KO, 3:52 of round 1
– Douglas Lima def. Michail Tsarev via TKO (leg kicks), 1:44 of round 2
– Ben Saunders def. Koffi Adzitso via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)

PRELIMINARY CARD
– Hunter Tucker def. Javier Obregon via submission (guillotine choke), 3:17 of round 2
– Jason Sampson def. Chris Pham via submission (armbar), 4:55 of round 3
– Brent Weedman def. Marius Zaromskis via unanimous decision (29-27 x 3)
– Raul Amaya def. Jose Gomes via TKO, 3:12 of round 1
– Damon Jackson def. Zach Church via submission (rear-naked choke), 2:43 of round 2
– Cortez Coleman def. Matt Jones via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)

A bout between Mike Maldonado and Jospeh Salas was cancelled due to time constraints

Exclusive: ‘King Mo’ Looks to Regain His Crown After Year-Long Exile



By Elias Cepeda

With how often former Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion Muhammed Lawal talks about money, one might think it is his only motivation. He can go on and on about how cash motivates him during fights and how he invests wisely so as not to have to depend solely on professional fighting for income.

Lawal’s financial focus fits in well with the namesake of the Mayweather Boxing Club in Las Vegas, where Lawal does much of his training these days. (San Jose, CA, the home of the American Kickboxing Academy where he has previously trained during fight camps, got “too expensive,” according to Mo.) But just as with Floyd Mayweather Jr., there is a lot more substance behind the former wrestler’s style and talk.

The fighter known as “King Mo” has not been able to fight professionally for over a year because of a suspension stemming from a positive steroid test after his last fight against Lorenz Larkin. So, for the past year Mo has not gotten paid a red cent to fight — yet he says his motivation to train hard never waned.

“I never had a problem [staying motivated]. Never,” he tells CagePotato. “I love being in the gym, I love working out. My mind is always on fighting of some sort.”



By Elias Cepeda

With how often former Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion Muhammed Lawal talks about money, one might think it is his only motivation. He can go on and on about how cash motivates him during fights and how he invests wisely so as not to have to depend solely on professional fighting for income.

Lawal’s financial focus fits in well with the namesake of the Mayweather Boxing Club in Las Vegas, where Lawal does much of his training these days. (San Jose, CA, the home of the American Kickboxing Academy where he has previously trained during fight camps, got “too expensive,” according to Mo.) But just as with Floyd Mayweather Jr., there is a lot more substance behind the former wrestler’s style and talk.

The fighter known as “King Mo” has not been able to fight professionally for over a year because of a suspension stemming from a positive steroid test after his last fight against Lorenz Larkin. So, for the past year Mo has not gotten paid a red cent to fight — yet he says his motivation to train hard never waned.

“I never had a problem [staying motivated]. Never,” he tells CagePotato. “I love being in the gym, I love working out. My mind is always on fighting of some sort.”

Take, for example, a month-long training trip that Lawal took to Holland. “I just wanted to test myself,” he remembers.

“It was tough, man. I was up every day at 5:30, training by 7. We did that until 11:30 every morning and then came back at 6. We did pads, partner drills, sparring, ground and pound drills, conditioning,” Mo details.

The former collegiate and international wrestling standout says that because grappling comes more easily to him, he wanted to do intensive striking work. He chose Holland over Thailand to train Muay Thai kickboxing because, for one, the Dutch style is considered better for larger fighters, and also because he had friends like Melvin Manhoef who could ensure he’d get quality instruction.

“In Thailand they’ve just got a guy holding pads yelling at you, ‘Harder! More! Faster!’ You don’t get no technical training out there. They just want to get paid.”

In Holland, Mo found himself being taught and pushed each day during strenuous training. To underscore the rigor, he remembers the day Japanese heavyweight prospect and former Olympic champion Satoshi Ishii walked into the gym.

“Ishii showed up one day. We sparred for an hour,” Lawal recounts. “He never showed up again after that. It’s hard training. Melvin [Manhoef] and I did 15-20 rounds out there. The guys are very good out there.”

In earlier years of MMA, it seemed that top practitioners from different styles, like wrestling or Brazilian jiu Jitsu, were reluctant to put in time to learn other styles. Lawal says he loves to stay in the gym year-round and also loves to turn his weaknesses into his strengths.

“I always enjoy other disciplines because I like to learn and I like to improve,” he says. “I like doing everything because you never know who you will have to face.”

The next man Lawal will face is Przemyslaw Mysiala at tonight’s Bellator 86: Askren vs. Amoussou card on Spike, and his attitude should serve him well in his new promotional home. Mo’s fight against Mysiala is part of this season’s light-heavyweight tournament, and if he is to advance through and win, he’ll have to fight about once a month.

The pace is breakneck for MMA, and pretty much un-matched outside of Bellator. Mo says that his wrestling experience, where he’d have to compete in tournaments on a weekly basis at times, prepares him well for this new fighting challenge.

“I guess so,” he chuckles. “It’s going to have to. I plan to go out there, get the knockouts and come out as healthy as possible. If I get injured, I’ll keep on fighting, because that’s how I am.”

His extensive, high-level, amateur wrestling experience has also helped Lawal deal with the pressure of fighting in a cage. The psychological and physical grind of professional MMA is nothing compared to amateur wrestling, according to Mo.

“I started wrestling when I was sixteen. The goal from that point on was to be an Olympic champion,” he explains.

The pressure he put on himself to succeed in wrestling far surpasses any that he places on his shoulders now as a fighter. Plus, the guaranteed pay is much better now than it was as an international amateur wrestler.

In terms of the physical toll competition takes, don’t let the punches and kicks of MMA fool you, Lawal says. Wrestling in a tournament is its own formidable meat grinder.
“Compared to amateur wrestling, MMA is a lot easier,” he maintains.

“These punches don’t hurt. These knees don’t hurt. Leg kicks hurt the next day. You go out there and do a wrestling tournament you’ll feel like you just went through a fight. That’s how it feels. You’ve got an Iranian in the first round, a Cuban the next round. Then you’ve got a guy from Azerbaijan after that and a Russians in the final. You are out there scrapping.”

Bellator Confirms Stacked Lineup for Jan. 17 Spike TV Premiere, Debut Date for King Mo and ‘Babalu’

Bellator’s first event on Spike TV will take place Thursday, January 17th, at the University of California’s Bren Center in Irvine, California, and will be headlined by a pair of title fights. The promotion confirmed the news today, revealing that undefeated phenom Michael Chandler will make his first official lightweight title defense at the event (aka Bellator 85) against Rick Hawn, the 14-1 Olympic judoka who won the Season 5 lightweight tournament earlier this year.

Also on the card, featherweight champion Pat Curran — who’s 4-0 since dropping to 145 and is coming off his near-murder of Joe Warren — will be putting his belt on the line against explosive contender Patricio “Pitbull” Freire. Though Freire won all three of his fights in 2011, winning the Season 4 featherweight tournament, he wasn’t able to compete in 2012, partly due to injuries.

And that’s not all. During a Bellator/Spike TV conference call held earlier today, many more details about Bellator 85 and the promotion’s upcoming eighth season were announced. For instance…

Bellator’s first event on Spike TV will take place Thursday, January 17th, at the University of California’s Bren Center in Irvine, California, and will be headlined by a pair of title fights. The promotion confirmed the news today, revealing that undefeated phenom Michael Chandler will make his first official lightweight title defense at the event (aka Bellator 85) against Rick Hawn, the 14-1 Olympic judoka who won the Season 5 lightweight tournament earlier this year.

Also on the card, featherweight champion Pat Curran — who’s 4-0 since dropping to 145 and is coming off his near-murder of Joe Warren — will be putting his belt on the line against explosive contender Patricio “Pitbull” Freire. Though Freire won all three of his fights in 2011, winning the Season 4 featherweight tournament, he wasn’t able to compete in 2012, partly due to injuries.

And that’s not all. During a Bellator/Spike TV conference call held earlier today, many more details about Bellator 85 and the promotion’s upcoming eighth season were announced. For instance…

– Season 8 will last 12 weeks, and will feature five tournaments in the featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, middleweight and light heavyweight divisions.

– Via MMAJunkie: “[Bellator 85] will feature Seth Petruzelli and Mike Guymon, plus the Bellator debut of Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral in the light heavyweight tourney against Russian Mikhail Zayats.” UFC vets Jason Lambert and Hector Ramirez are also scheduled to compete.

– Bellator 86 will take place the following week, January 24th, at the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma, and will feature Ben Askren‘s latest title defense against Karl Amoussou, King Mo vs. TBA, and welterweight fights featuring Ben Saunders and Douglas Lima.

– The postponed Season 7 featherweight tournament final between Rad Martinez and Shahbulat Shamhalaev will happen sometime in Season 8, since Martinez has to take care of his father this weekend. (You can learn more about that here, if you want to feel sad for the rest of the day.)