Tag: Bellator 92

Bellator 92 Results: Khasbulaev Brutalizes Sandro, Marshall & Cooper Punch Their Tickets to the Middleweight Finals

(Bellator 92 highlights courtesy of Bellator.com) 

Although Mark Hunt’s comeback run in the UFC has been nothing short of inspirational, there’s been a similarly grizzled veteran quietly putting together an improbable run for a title in the Bellator realm of the world (I believed it’s pronounced “The Midwest”) as well. We’re talking, of course, about former WEC light heavyweight champion Doug Marshall, who all but fell off the face of the earth after being knocked out by then undefeated killing machine Brian Stann at WEC 33. Since then, however, Marshall has put together a respectable 9-3 record, including a pair of devastating performances in his first two Bellator appearances. Not bad for a guy we last saw getting crushed by Zelg Galesic in the Super Fight League.

On the heels of an upset victory over season 6 finalist Andreas Spang in the season 8 quarterfinals last month, Marshall squared off against the undefeated Russian Sultan Aliev last night. As we know, these are prime days to be a Russian competing in Bellator, hence why Aliev was a 3-to-1 favorite heading into the affair. The good news? Marshall took another huge step forward in what has been an unlikely championship run, defeating Aliev by way of split decision. The even better news? Despite being napped on for the majority of the first and third rounds, Marshall was handed the victory for actually bringing the fight to his opponent without needing a warning from Herb Dean to do so. It was a decision that you wouldn’t likely see swing in Marshall’s favor 9 times out of 10, but for once, takedowns + top control – any actual offense did not equal a winning combination in MMA. We were just as shocked as you were.

Full results for Bellator 92 and a couple gif highlights are after the jump. 


(Bellator 92 highlights courtesy of Bellator.com) 

Although Mark Hunt’s comeback run in the UFC has been nothing short of inspirational, there’s been a similarly grizzled veteran quietly putting together an improbable run for a title in the Bellator realm of the world (I believed it’s pronounced “The Midwest”) as well. We’re talking, of course, about former WEC light heavyweight champion Doug Marshall, who all but fell off the face of the earth after being knocked out by then undefeated killing machine Brian Stann at WEC 33. Since then, however, Marshall has put together a respectable 9-3 record, including a pair of devastating performances in his first two Bellator appearances. Not bad for a guy we last saw getting crushed by Zelg Galesic in the Super Fight League.

On the heels of an upset victory over season 6 finalist Andreas Spang in the season 8 quarterfinals last month, Marshall squared off against the undefeated Russian Sultan Aliev last night. As we know, these are prime days to be a Russian competing in Bellator, hence why Aliev was a 3-to-1 favorite heading into the affair. The good news? Marshall took another huge step forward in what has been an unlikely championship run, defeating Aliev by way of split decision. The even better news? Despite being napped on for the majority of the first and third rounds, Marshall was handed the victory for actually bringing the fight to his opponent without needing a warning from Herb Dean to do so. It was a decision that you wouldn’t likely see swing in Marshall’s favor 9 times out of 10, but for once, takedowns + top control – any actual offense did not equal a winning combination in MMA. We were just as shocked as you were.


(Gif courtesy of ZombieProphet/Bloody Elbow)

Speaking of comeback stories, heading into last night’s other middleweight tournament semifinal, Brett Cooper told us that winning the season 8 tournament “would mean I’m among the best in the world.” And after watching the first two rounds of his fight with TUF 7′s Dan Cramer, it looked as if Cooper’s lofty aspirations were all but on their way out the door. Unable to secure a solid takedown and thoroughly outgunned on the feet, Cooper found himself in a similar predicament as Tim Boetsch faced heading into the third round against Yushin Okami at UFC 144. And like Boetsch, Cooper was able to mount an epic comeback, throwing everything but the kitchen sink at Cramer in a wild exchange early in the third that put Cramer down and out. And just like that, Cooper and Marshall punched their tickets to the season 8 finals.

In the featherweight semifinals, Russian (go figure) grappling specialist Magomedrasul Khasbulaev put a merciful end to Marlon Sandro’s tournament run. Despite being felled with by a brutal low blow in the first, Khasbulaev outstruck, outgrappled, and plain outworked the former Sengoku champion en route to a third round TKO stoppage. Unfortunately for Sandro — who I personally feel was gifted a victory against Akop Stepanyan in the featherweight quarterfinals at Bellator 88 —  the performance only furthered the belief in many fan’s eyes that his best days are behind him. We wouldn’t count him out just yet, but to say that Sandro has looked rather uninspired as of late would be no hyperbole. As for Khasbulaev, the Russian will face Mike Richman, who emerged victorious in a close split decision battle with Alexandre Bezzera earlier in the evening, in the tournament finals.

Although the refereeing was leagues above the average Bellator event, did anyone else think John McCarthy was a little off his game last night? It’s really the only complaint we can register for the event, but there were two occurrences involving McCarthy that just seemed out of place for the normally bulletproof ref.

Aside from his somewhat baffling attempt to force Khasbulaev to his feet following the aforementioned low blow from Sandro in their fight, his decision to allow Chris Saunders to take a further beating after having his intestines mushed via an Akop Stepanyan spinning back kick seemed odd to say the least. McCarthy appeared to realize that Saunders was done for as he crumpled to the mat, but for some reason, forced Stepanyan to deliver a few more unnecessary follow up punches before he waved off the bout. Clearly confused by McCarthy’s decision as well, Stepanyan broke out his best Matt Brown/Pete Sell “Seriously, ump?” impression before obliging McCarthy. Check out a gif below (via ZombieProphet/BloodyElbow) and let us know if you thought the stoppage was kind of funky as well.

The full results for Bellator 92 are below.

MAIN CARD
-Magomedrasul Khasbulaev def. Marlon Sandro via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 2:38 – featherweight tournament semifinals
-Doug Marshall def. Sultan Aliev via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28) – middleweight tournament semifinals
-Brett Cooper def. Dan Cramer via knockout (punches) – Round 3, 3:19 – middleweight tournament semifinals
-Mike Richman def. Alexandre Bezerra via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) – featherweight tournament semifinals

PRELIMINARY CARD
-Nick Piedmont def. Cleber Luciano via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:55
-Ricky Legere Jr. def. Sabah Homasi via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:52
-Akop Stepanyan def. Chris Saunders via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 3:55
-Keith Berry def. Richard Rigmaden via submission (kimura) – Round 1, 1:31
-Josh Appelt def. Manny Lara via unanimous decision (30-24, 30-24, 30-24)
-Aaron Miller def. Shad Smith via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
-Brandon Halsey def. Rocky Ramirez via technical submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 3, 0:50

–J. Jones

Bellator 92 Interview: Brett Cooper and Mike Richman Fight for Finals Berth, Respect


(Images via Sherdog, @MikeUSMCRichman)

By Elias Cepeda

You may have never heard of Brett Cooper (18-7), but chances are you know a lot of the guys he’s beaten. The middleweight has scored victories against six veterans of the UFC, Strikeforce, and WEC over the course of his eight-year career.

Tonight at Bellator 92, Cooper fights another UFC veteran – TUF 7 castmember Dan Cramer – in the semifinals of Bellator’s Season 8 Middleweight tournament, airing on Spike. The 25-year-old Southern-California native’s journey towards respect and notoriety has been long and hard since he decided he wanted to become a mixed martial arts fighter.

His interest was as it is now, simple but hard to explain. “I was always an athlete as a kid, and in all the sports I did I always wanted to be the best,” Cooper tells CagePotato.

“When I started training martial arts, I figured the way to show you’re the best at that was to fight in MMA. So, when I first walked into a gym, I told the coaches, ‘I want to be a fighter,’” he laughs.

Cooper admits that people like that often get dismissed or laughed at in serious gyms. But the kid stuck with it and threw himself into the deep end, fighting early and often. Cooper was seventeen the first time he fought as a professional, though it wasn’t until a couple years later that he says he started thinking of himself as a pro.

“I didn’t start to take it as a professional thing until I was around twenty years old,” he says. “Around that time, I fought Rory Markham, I fought [Jason] Von Flue. I started to take it more seriously and train even better, to fight those guys.”


(Images via Sherdog, @MikeUSMCRichman)

By Elias Cepeda

You may have never heard of Brett Cooper (18-7), but chances are you know a lot of the guys he’s beaten. The middleweight has scored victories against six veterans of the UFC, Strikeforce, and WEC over the course of his eight-year career.

Tonight at Bellator 92, Cooper fights another UFC veteran – TUF 7 castmember Dan Cramer – in the semifinals of Bellator’s Season 8 Middleweight tournament, airing on Spike. The 25-year-old Southern-California native’s journey towards respect and notoriety has been long and hard since he decided he wanted to become a mixed martial arts fighter.

His interest was as it is now, simple but hard to explain. “I was always an athlete as a kid, and in all the sports I did I always wanted to be the best,” Cooper tells CagePotato.

“When I started training martial arts, I figured the way to show you’re the best at that was to fight in MMA. So, when I first walked into a gym, I told the coaches, ‘I want to be a fighter,’” he laughs.

Cooper admits that people like that often get dismissed or laughed at in serious gyms. But the kid stuck with it and threw himself into the deep end, fighting early and often. Cooper was seventeen the first time he fought as a professional, though it wasn’t until a couple years later that he says he started thinking of himself as a pro.

“I didn’t start to take it as a professional thing until I was around twenty years old,” he says. “Around that time, I fought Rory Markham, I fought [Jason] Von Flue. I started to take it more seriously and train even better, to fight those guys.”

Cooper’s motivation in the sport is still to become the best in the world. He looks at this Bellator tournament, with its brutal competition schedule and cable network television stage, as a chance to take his next big step in that direction.

“The stage that Bellator is providing, especially now with being on Spike, is a big opportunity,” he says. It is even worth putting himself through fighting every three or four weeks, something previously unheard of in modern MMA. “I don’t think anyone would really want to do a tournament, because it is so challenging. But, with this opportunity, I’m all for it. If I were to win this tournament, it would mean I’m among the best in the world.”

Bellator Featherweight tournament semi-finalist Mike Richman (14-2) had a different path to MMA but has a similar goal as Cooper. Richman’s fight against Alexandre Bezerra tonight in Temecula, CA — also on the Bellator 92 main card — is a bit of a homecoming for the former Marine.

In between three tours of Iraq, Richman was stationed at nearby Camp Pendleton. He’s actually spending time there with old friends and amidst familiar surroundings while speaking with us during fight week.

Richman says that after high school, with all his friends going off to college, he instead joined the Marine Corps because he “wanted to get out there, travel, and actually do something.” While Richman loves the Marine Corps and says it has become a huge part of his identity and who he is, he got out of military service because of an intense desire to once more, “do something.” This time, it was to compete in MMA professionally.

“We watched a lot of fights, a lot of UFC, out there,” he says. “We also did a lot of grappling in training.”

Richman began to think that he, in fact, could also do what he saw pro fighters do on TV. “I told my superiors and friends and they thought I was crazy,” Richman says.

“They said, ‘Richman, you’re doing great as a Sergeant, you could make a career out of this.’ But I knew I wanted to try MMA.”

While he is still struggling to break through, no one thinks Richman is crazy anymore. He’s built one of the best records out of any American featherweight prospect and is two wins away from a title shot with a major organization.

“My old Sergeant told me recently, ‘I remember you telling me you wanted to fight years ago and now we see you fighting on TV – you’re really doing it.’ Hearing that meant the world to me,” the Minnesota native admits.

Like Cooper, Richman believes that that winning the Bellator tournament will put him in elite company. “Winning would mean less financial stress in my life. I do have two kids. Winning that amount of money in that amount of time would be really great,” he says.

But as with all true fighters, the fighting isn’t done for the money alone. Two days before stepping into the cage to fight another man, but also to try and make his dreams come true, Richman reveals his perhaps his truest motivation. “Winning also means breaking into the top ten in the world, and that doesn’t have a price tag,” he says.