Tag: Bellator News

Twitter Reacts To Action-Packed Bellator 206

Last night’s (Sat., September 29, 2018) Bellator 206 from the SAP Center in San Jose, California, was one of the best cards in promotional history on paper. With the results now in the books, it’s safe to say the event delivered on that lofty promise due to the sheer amount of action involved. Gegard Mousasi dominated […]

The post Twitter Reacts To Action-Packed Bellator 206 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Last night’s (Sat., September 29, 2018) Bellator 206 from the SAP Center in San Jose, California, was one of the best cards in promotional history on paper.

With the results now in the books, it’s safe to say the event delivered on that lofty promise due to the sheer amount of action involved.

Gegard Mousasi dominated Rory MacDonald to retain the middleweight title (highlights here) in the main event. Rampage Jackson finished Wanderlei Silva (highlights) to even their four-fight series at two wins apiece.

Douglas Lima got the Bellator World Welterweight Grand Prix off to a great start by submitting Andrey Koreshkov. And finally, Aaron Pico continued his meteoric rise with another brutal first-round KO (watch it).

There’s a lot to unpack. Find out how social media reacted to the action-filled event right here:

Stan Szeto for USA TODAY Sports

The post Twitter Reacts To Action-Packed Bellator 206 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Gegard Mousasi Finishes Rory MacDonald To Retain Middleweight Title

Gegard Mousasi stayed on top of the middleweight division after stopping Rory MacDonald.

The post Gegard Mousasi Finishes Rory MacDonald To Retain Middleweight Title appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Rory MacDonald was attempting to go for history in this fight as the Bellator welterweight champion went for an accomplishment that no fighter in the history of the Viacom-owned promotion.

The former UFC star challenged Gegard Mousasi for the middleweight strap, which meant he had the chance to become the first fighter ever in Bellator to hold two titles in two different weight classes.  

As seen in the main event of Bellator 206 that went down on Saturday night (September 29, 2018) at the SAP Center in San Jose, California on their new streaming service home, DAZN, Mousasi scored a TKO win in the second round to retain his middleweight title over MacDonald. 

It’s a tactical affair early but both men are active in the first round. Mousasi lands a nice right to the face a minute in but it’s almost all Mousasi in the first, using a great jab and low kicks. The second round was a completely different story as once MacDonald attempted to roll into a leg lock or takedown, this is when he realized his mistake and ultimate downfall as Mousasi lands several punches from on top, forcing “Red King” to pull guard. Mousasi was landing quite a bit of hard punches and MacDonald’s nose and mouth are pouring blood. After several strikes, the referee stepped in to stop this fight and end the hopes and dreams of MacDonald.

MacDonald became a big name while fighting inside of the Octagon under the UFC banner. Once he made the jump to the Viacom-owned promotion, he further showcased his skills. He won the Bellator welterweight title by scoring a unanimous decision win over Douglas Lima at Bellator 192 back in January. It has also been revealed that MacDonald will take part in the Bellator welterweight grand prix tournament as he takes on Jon Fitch. This fight is being potentially targeted for February.

Mousasi’s contract with the UFC ran out after his controversial UFC 208 win over Chris Weidman. This is when he decided to test out the free agent market and signed with the Viacom-owned promotion. A fun fact about his career is that Mousasi was Bellator MMA President Scott Coker’s light heavyweight champion for a while under the Strikeforce banner.

Heading into this fight, Mousasi was riding an impressive six fight win streak with victories of the likes of Weidman, Vitor Belfort, Uriah Hall, and Thiago Santos. He also won his promotional debut with Bellator by picking up a win over Alexander Shlemenko by decision at Bellator 185. He is coming off a win over Rafael Carvalho at Bellator 200 by scoring score a TKO victory in just 3:25 of the very first round.

Gegard Mousasi def. Rory MacDonald via TKO (punches) at 3:23 of R2

The post Gegard Mousasi Finishes Rory MacDonald To Retain Middleweight Title appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Quinton Jackson Finishes Wanderlei Silva In Fourth Fight

After fighting each other four times, Jackson and Silva are tied up with two wins apiece.

The post Quinton Jackson Finishes Wanderlei Silva In Fourth Fight appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Quinton Jackson and Wanderlei Silva wanted to battle it out once again and it was granted by Bellator MMA President Scott Coker.

As seen in the co-main event of Bellator 206 that went down on Saturday night (September 29, 2018) at the SAP Center in San Jose, California on their new streaming service home, DAZN, Jackson defeated Silva in a heavyweight bout.

In round 1, Silva was cautious as he backs away pawing with the jab and eventually, Rampage connects and staggers Silva as he presses him against the cage. Rampage lands uppercut on the break. A big overhand from Silva gets telegraphed. Silva follows it with a head kick and looping hook that staggers Rampage. Silva attacks with another head kick leading to more clinch work from Rampage. Round one ends with some theatrics from Rampage asking to engage and Silva does it back.

Round two starts with a flurry from Silva leads to a crazy trading of bombs that Silva somehow survives. Rampage continues to back Silva up as he cracks Silva with a big shot that seemingly hurts him but Rampage clinches. The finish of the fight saw Jackson land a huge right hand that dropped Silva and then landed some strikes on the ground to end the fight.

Prior to this show, Silva and Jackson had faced off three times under two different promoters. By looking at the history books, Silva won the first two in the now-defunct PRIDE, while Jackson won the third in the UFC.

Jackson was recently active in the Bellator cage as he lost in the eight-man tournament quarterfinals by falling short to former title contender Chael Sonnen at Bellator 192. The former UFC light heavyweight champion Jackson has fought as a heavyweight for his past four bouts.

Silva returned to action from an extended layoff this past June but was defeated by Sonnen over three rounds on pay-per-view at Bellator NYC at Madison Square Garden. Before this fight against Sonnen, he had not competed since 2013, and with a long layoff like that, ring rust was no doubt a contributing factor in his mentality going into this fight.

Last year, the Viacom-owned promotion went in the direction of trying legitimate fights and no more “freak show” fights. At least for this event, the promotion went back to the more established names, which is not a bad idea as it will bring more eyeballs to their product.

Rampage Jackson def. Wanderlei Silva via TKO (punches) at 4:32 of R2

The post Quinton Jackson Finishes Wanderlei Silva In Fourth Fight appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Douglas Lima Taps Andrey Koreshkov To Advance In Welterweight Grand Prix

Lima surges past Koreshkov at #Bellator206 to advance in this tournament.

The post Douglas Lima Taps Andrey Koreshkov To Advance In Welterweight Grand Prix appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

The first fight in the Bellator welterweight tournament is in the books as the first opening-round bout was between Andrey Koreshkov vs. Douglas Lima.

As seen on the main card of Bellator 206 that went down on Saturday night (September 29, 2018) at the SAP Center in San Jose, California on their new streaming service home, DAZN, Lima defeated Koreshkov by fifth-round submission. This wasn’t a barnburner by any means, but it was the best fight out of the trilogy series between these two fighters, which wasn’t hyped much going into this bout.

In round 1, Koreshkov went for two big takedowns but Lima continued to stop them and turn it into clinching up against the cage, which led to the arena erupting in a chorus of boos as a result. Koreshkov was trying like crazy to take Lima down, but he’s unable to despite his best effort.

The second round starts with patience from each fighter with kicks still being exchanged before Koreshkov attempts a takedown that is defended. Just like the first round, the crowd was booing quite a bit for the lack of action. Not much action on the feet outside of a kick from each every now and then. Late in the round, Lima begins to open up with his punches as he goes to the body then the head. Koreshkov engages as he finds the clinch and pushes Lima to the cage.

Round three starts after Lima stumbles after a leg kick (that he threw) which leads to Koreshkov getting him tied up in the clinch. It was clear that Koreshkov was pursuing the takedown despite hearing the crowd’s annoyance. What was clear was the fact that Lima has neutralized Koreshkov’s offense with those nasty leg kicks. Koreshkov has a hematoma on his left leg. In round 4, Koreshkov nearly gets a takedown but the Brazilian stuffs him, and they go back to the clinch against the cage. Once the round hits the 10-second mark, Lima stuns Koreshkov with a right hook to the head.

The fifth and final round, Lima was the clear aggressor. Each land when they throw but Lima’s shots were more in bunches. Later in the round, A low single leg from Koreshkov leads to a sprawl, and Lima begins to land solid strikes, which would allow him to get his back and Lima locked in the rear-naked choke for the win.

Several months ago there were rumors that the Viacom-owned promotion was looking to capitalize on the depth of its welterweight division and thus, there was a ten-fighter welterweight grand prix created.

If you recall, coming into this fight, Lima suffered a unanimous-decision loss to Rory MacDonald at Bellator 192 in January to lose the welterweight title in his latest fight. This loss brought an end to his title reign.

On the flip side, the former welterweight champion was coming into this fight on a two-fight winning streak with wins over Chidi Njokuani by first-round TKO last August and by KO over Vaso Bakocevic back in July.

Bellator President Scott Coker has gone on record in the past by stating that he believes that Bellator’s welterweight division is better than the UFC’s, which is headed by its champion Tyron Woodley. Bellator MMA launched its heavyweight tournament earlier this year and has been a success for the promotion. Lorenz Larkin, Michael Page, Andrey Koreshkov, Jon Fitch, Neiman Gracie, Ed Ruth, and Yaroslav Amosov are also in this welterweight tournament.

Douglas Lima def. Andrey Koreshkov via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:04 of R5

The post Douglas Lima Taps Andrey Koreshkov To Advance In Welterweight Grand Prix appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Aaron Pico Obliterates Leandro Higo In First Round

Pico made quick work of Higo at #Bellator206.

The post Aaron Pico Obliterates Leandro Higo In First Round appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Aaron Pico continues to make progression in his pro-MMA career as in his latest fight booking, he took on the always dangerous Leandro Higo.

As seen on the main card of Bellator 206 that went down on Saturday night (September 29, 2018) at the SAP Center in San Jose, California on their new streaming service home, DAZN, Pico defeated Higo by TKO in a featherweight bout. 

This fight didn’t last long as Pico was aggressive early and looking to knock Higo’s block off. Higo with two knees to the face to test the prospect. Pico hurts Higo but then Higo defended the onslaught against the fence very well. Hard right hand floors Higo and eventually gets the late stoppage. Color commentator and former referee, John McCarthy, was very critical of Mark Smith, who was serving as the referee for this fight as it should’ve been stopped earlier than it was.

As soon as Pico signed with Bellator MMA back in 2014, there was a ton of hype behind him due to his success as an American freestyle wrestler. Pico had no easy task in his Bellator MMA debut at the Bellator NYC on pay-per-view event against Zach Freeman in a lightweight bout. This fight did not last long. In the world of Mauro Ranallo, who made his Bellator MMA debut as a commentator, this was over in a New York minute.

Most thought that this had to hurt the confidence of Pico, who was highly hyped leading into this bout despite the fact that he had no MMA experience before. Luckily for him, he signed a multi-fight contract with the promotion and got more fights under his belt to not only improve on his skills but to impress Bellator brass. Since then, he scored three straight finishes by strikes over the likes of Justin Linn, Shane Krutchen, and Lee Morrison.

On the flip side, Higo made his Bellator debut as a late replacement for Darrion Caldwell against Eduardo Dantas in a non-title bout at Bellator 177 but lost by decision. In his next two fights, he would pick up a decision win over Joe Taimanglo and lose in his latest bout to Darrion Caldwell by submission.

Aaron Pico def. Leandro Higo by TKO (strikes) at 3:19 of round 1

The post Aaron Pico Obliterates Leandro Higo In First Round appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Betting Odds For Bellator 206: Is Rory MacDonald Favored In Historic Fight?

Final betting odds are in.

The post Betting Odds For Bellator 206: Is Rory MacDonald Favored In Historic Fight? appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

The final Bellator 206 betting odds are in for as this event is quickly approaching for the Viacom-owned promotion.

Bellator 206 is here, and it goes down tonight (Saturday, September 29, 2018) from the SAP Center in San Jose, California. The preliminary card will air online at 7:00 pm EST while the main card will air on DAZN at 10:00 PM EST.

Gegard Mousasi vs. Rory MacDonald for the middleweight title will serve as the headliner. Quinton Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva in a heavyweight bout will be the co-main event, which marks the fourth time they have fought each other.

Rounding out the six bout main card is Andrey Koreshkov vs. Douglas Lima  in a welterweight tournament opening round, Leandro Higo vs. Aaron Pico in a featherweight bout, Keri Melendez vs. Dakota Zimmerman in a women’s strawweight bout, and Gaston Bolanos vs. Ysidro Gutierrez in a featherweight bout.

According to oddsmakers, Mousasi is a -250 favorite over MacDonald, who is a +195 underdog. Other odds for the main card include Silva being a +245 underdog against Jackson, who is a -315 favorite. Here are the rest of the odds for the card:

Main Card (DAZN, 10 p.m. ET)

Gegard Mousasi -250 Rory MacDonald +195

Quinton Jackson -315 Wanderlei Silva +245

Douglas Lima +110 Andrey Koreshkov -140

Aaron Pico -550 Leandro Higo +375

Ysidro Gutierrez +325 Gaston Bolanos -450

Dakota Zimmerman +475 Keri Melendez -750

The post Betting Odds For Bellator 206: Is Rory MacDonald Favored In Historic Fight? appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.