Bellator continues its show under the reign of Scott Coker, as Bellator 136 airs live this weekend. Bolstered by a lightweight title tilt, the card has some big names and should pull some good ratings.
Will Brooks will defend his lightweight championsh…
Bellator continues its show under the reign of Scott Coker, as Bellator 136 airs live this weekend. Bolstered by a lightweight title tilt, the card has some big names and should pull some good ratings.
Will Brooks will defend his lightweight championship against Dave Jansen in the main event. Brooks has become one of the best lightweights in the world and a fighter who could be the future of the 155-pound division.
Also on the card are kickboxing star Joe Schilling, former Bellator heavyweight king Alexander Volkov and Russian stud Alexander Sarnavskiy.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at Bellator 136 and make some picks.
Boxing giant Tyson Fury has suggested “serious talks” are under way with Bellator president Scott Coker over the possibility of him securing an MMA fight.Fury announced as much on Twitter:MMA writer Josh Gross provided comment from Coker:He also moved …
Boxing giant Tyson Fury has suggested “serious talks” are under way with Bellator president Scott Coker over the possibility of him securing an MMA fight.
Fury announced as much on Twitter:
MMA writer Josh Gross provided comment from Coker:
He also moved to suggest this wasn’t a late April Fool’s joke:
While Fury’s boxing style could leave him exposed to the more subtle threats of MMA, a stint in the Octagon would at least make business sense. Bellator is contracted to Spike TV in the United States, which is linked to the United Kingdom’s Channel 5. Spike TV launches in the UK on April 15, per BBC News.
So a potential deal is based in financial possibility. Let’s not forget Fury originally targeted a bout with UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez in 2013. He is the type of boxer who fears nobody and looks to rile others up to secure a fight. He’s certainly confident, tweeted by Michael Morgan of WHOATV:
In 2011, Fury also tweeted he wants a shot at former UFC heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar, per ESPN: “Fury v Lesnar stand-up and fight with MMA gloves or without!” This article notes he is “unskilled in the art of wrestling or jiu-jitsu,” a potentially major hang-up if Fury is to make a successful career out of the potential discipline change.
At 6’9″ tall and weighing around 262 pounds when fighting fit, reported by HennessySports.com, Fury would pose an interesting threat for most heavyweight MMA stars. With no obvious experience of defending from his back or working through transitions on the ground, though, it’s likely he would have some obvious weaknesses.
His 24-0 boxing record highlights he is extremely dangerous in a stand-up brawl. Eighteen of these victories have arrived via knockout, per Boxrec, but there’s still the feeling Fury is yet to have his full skill set examined.
Opposition such as Dereck Chisora and Christian Hammer haven’t possessed the intelligence or agility to consistently provide Fury with an elusive target. The 26-year-old’s failed plans to battle David Haye—who combines quality movement with power and a sharp reading of his foe—would have done this.
Bellator competitors such as Alex Huddlestone, Vinicius Queiroz and Alexander Volkov would perhaps pose the fairest fight in terms of size, but Fury would most likely shoot straight for the top. Maybe Cheick Kongo—a big name who was often dropped in the UFC—would be an enticing match-up.
It remains to be seen just how serious Fury is about participating in MMA. His boxing career continues to progress, but he’s boisterous and wants to make an impact at any possible opportunity.
Beating a seasoned MMA fighter would certainly add to his global appeal and perhaps open up greater opportunities in his boxing career.
With the UFC holding events nearly every week and scooping up almost all the top talent in MMA, even larger secondary promotions like Bellator MMA have not been receiving the attention they once did.
Unless one is the hardest of hardcore MMA fans,…
With the UFC holding events nearly every week and scooping up almost all the top talent in MMA, even larger secondary promotions like Bellator MMA have not been receiving the attention they once did.
Unless one is the hardest of hardcore MMA fans, it might be difficult to name all the champions under the Bellator MMA or World Series of Fighting banners. That’s unfortunate because there are still some excellent combatants appearing with those organizations.
One reason Bellator MMA champions aren’t as widely recognized as they once were could be because the promotion no longer has any dominant titleholders. Ben Askren and Eddie Alvarez are gone now, and since they left, nobody has really stepped up to become the face of Bellator MMA.
To sort out who might emerge as a top dog in the organization, here is a look at the current Bellator MMA champions and their current status.
With the UFC holding events nearly every week and scooping up almost all the top talent in MMA, even larger secondary promotions like Bellator MMA have not been receiving the attention they once did.
Unless one is the hardest of hardcore MMA fans,…
With the UFC holding events nearly every week and scooping up almost all the top talent in MMA, even larger secondary promotions like Bellator MMA have not been receiving the attention they once did.
Unless one is the hardest of hardcore MMA fans, it might be difficult to name all the champions under the Bellator MMA or World Series of Fighting banners. That’s unfortunate because there are still some excellent combatants appearing with those organizations.
One reason Bellator MMA champions aren’t as widely recognized as they once were could be because the promotion no longer has any dominant titleholders. Ben Askren and Eddie Alvarez are gone now, and since they left, nobody has really stepped up to become the face of Bellator MMA.
To sort out who might emerge as a top dog in the organization, here is a look at the current Bellator MMA champions and their current status.
Joe Warren is as separated from reality as his leg nearly was from his body on Friday night at the WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Oklahoma. Warren lost his Bellator bantamweight title via verbal submission to Marcos Galvao in the…
Joe Warren is as separated from reality as his leg nearly was from his body on Friday night at the WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Oklahoma. Warren lost his Bellator bantamweight title via verbal submission to Marcos Galvao in the main event of Bellator 135.
He cried foul, but his argument has no merit. Sherdog.com noted Galvao’s win:
After a first round that saw Warren control the action with his wrestling, Galvao turned the champion’s aggression against him. Warren took Galvao’s back from a standing position, but Galvao countered by changing levels and grabbing his opponent’s legs.
Galvao obtained a knee bar that Warren couldn’t escape. Once the Brazilian put all of his strength into the hold and the grip forced Warren to scream out in pain, referee John McCarthy immediately stepped in to call a halt to the bout.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is not the World Wrestling Federation where faux submission holds can be held while the victim dramatically screams and musters up the intestinal fortitude to break the hold.
In mixed martial arts, bones break and ligaments tear. The unified MMA rules posted by ABCBoxing.com define a verbal tapout as follows:
“When a contestant verbally announces to the referee that he or she does not wish to continue or makes audible sounds such as screams indicating pain or discomfort.”
It can’t get much more black and white than that. Instead of accepting the defeat graciously, Warren stormed around the cage and cried…literally about what he deemed an injustice.
The truth of the matter is, McCarthy saved Warren from a serious injury that would have still led to him losing his title, but it also would have put him on the shelf for an extended time. At age 38, that could have been the end of his career. Perhaps when he calms down he’ll be happy McCarthy made the right decision.
MMA Roasted and fellow fighter Angela Hill poked fun at Warren’s submission and meltdown:
This was the much-anticipated rematch after Warren controversially won the first meeting in April 2011. The loss ended Warren’s five-fight win streak. Galvao has now captured his first world title with his fourth consecutive victory. This seems like a rivalry that will almost certainly have a third chapter.
Here’s a breakdown of all the results from the evening’s card:
Armbar Beginning
Things got underway with a very neat armbar finish from George Pacurariu over J.P. Cole. The stoppage took place in the very first round as Pacurariu‘s striking led Cole to clinch.
Pacurariu took the opportunity to take his opponent to the mat. He quickly cinched in the submission to earn the win. Caposa has the tweet and GIF (above) that shows Pacurariu executing the textbook judo throw.
Another First-Round Finish
Klayton Mai didn’t mask his intentions to take this fight to the ground. He mixed in jabs to keep Xavier Siller honest, but ultimately Mai would grab the advantageous position on the mat.
With a little over a minute remaining in the first round, Mai took Siller‘s back and secured the finish via neck crank.
Omoplata!!!
This one at least made it to the second round. Brad Mitchell showed some toughness, but he was overmatched in every way by Stephen Banaszak.
In the second round, Banaszak set up his opponent with a well-placed kick to the face. Banaszak‘s attacks were daring and risky, but Mitchell was unable to make him pay for his gambles. Ultimately, Banaszak went for a flying triangle that he couldn’t finish, but he was able to transition into an omoplata…yes an omoplata for the finish.
Finally a Decision
Neal Ewing used elbows, punches and dominant ground position to dominate Logan Nail for three rounds. One judge awarded Nail a round, but this one seemed to clearly favor Ewing in lopsided fashion. Zane Simon of Bloody Elbow endorses Ewing’s journey toward bigger and better things in MMA.
Another Dominant Performance
Tim Roman couldn’t prevent Sean Holden from taking him to the mat for three whole rounds. The only drama in this bout was whether Holden would be able to secure the finish as he periodically had chances to pound Roman out on the ground. He couldn’t put a period on the sentence.
Nonetheless, Holden was awarded the complete sweep from the judges.
Too Little, Too Late
After being handled through the first two rounds, Alejandro Villalobos caught a break when Emmanuel Sanchez gambled with a spinning back kick. Villalobos eluded him and took his opponent to the mat.
Villalobos saw that he wouldn’t get the stoppage on the ground, so he allowed Sanchez up. The two began a furious exchange that saw Villalobos get the better of the skirmish. He landed two shots that dropped his opponent.
With just under a minute remaining, Villalobos mounted Sanchez’s back, but he didn’t have enough time to finish. He simply waited too long to come on strong.
Somehow one judge scored the final round for Sanchez, but the other two accurately called it two rounds to one in favor of Sanchez.
Coulter Overpowers O’Neal
It took less than two minutes for the big and powerful RashadCoulter to overpower Jeremiah O’Neal. Coulter landed a hard knee and a series of punches to finish his overmatched opponent. Quite honestly, O’Neal didn’t even look as if he should have been in the cage with Coulter.
Couture Too Slick for Cochrane
The moment Dakota Cochrane engaged Ryan Couture on the fence in the first round, it was all downhill. Cochrane was the one pursuing the takedown from the outset, but that was a bad idea. Couture scrambled away from Cochrane‘s first attempt to gain the advantage on the ground, but Cochrane was persistent. He’d drop levels again, but Couture countered and took his opponent’s back.
The son of the legendary Randy Couture sunk in both hooks and turned Cochrane belly up with a tight rear-naked choke that ended the fight. Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting notes Ryan’s record:
Carmont Survives Viana
Francis Carmont is lucky GuilhermeViana‘s Brazilian jiu-jitsu looked a bit rusty on Friday night. Viana had been preparing primarily to box Carmont, but he wasn’t able to gain the advantage he expected in the stand-up game.
Carmont‘s jab and overhand right scored regularly through the first two rounds. Viana was nearly stopped in the second round as Carmont stunned him with a huge right hand. The Brazilian survived and decided to change his approach in the final round.
In the third, Viana took the fight to the ground and nearly submitted Carmont via rear-naked choke, but he couldn’t get his arm under the chin to finish. Carmont took the unanimous decision, but he had some anxious moments in the final round. FRBShow.com pointed out Carmont’s ability to “control his opponent,” thus giving him an advantage in getting the win:
What a Fight!
Bellator MMA’s Matt Marsden clearly enjoyed the L.C. Davis and Hideo Tokoro fight:
Davis won a split decision over Tokoro, but it was anything but easy. Tokoro brought the traditional and daring Japanese style into the cage, and he had his moments against Davis. As a fan, this was one of the more entertaining fights I’ve seen all year.
Tokoro attempted to catch Davis sleeping in the opening seconds, and he attempted a flying knee. Davis was able to block the attack, but it served notice as to what type of fight this one would be.
Davis controlled tempo with takedowns and by controlling the center of the cage. In the second round, Davis seemed to badly hurt Tokoro with a right hand against the cage, but the American couldn’t secure the finish. Tokoro quickly recovered and attacked Davis’ leg looking for the submission.
Davis would wiggle out, but he caught a nasty up-kick during the scramble that caved in the lower row of his teeth. It was nasty.
You couldn’t see the damage until the fight concluded, but Davis showed toughness finishing the fight in that condition.
Tokoro went hard after the submission in the third round but couldn’t finish any of the submissions he attempted.
Davis earned the win and may be in position to challenge Galvao for the Bellator bantamweight title in the near future. Tokoro was so entertaining in defeat, it would be a shame if he doesn’t get another chance to thrill the Bellator crowd.
The UFC is off this weekend, which means the rest of the MMA world will be fighting for viewers and ratings. This includes Bellator, which airs a title fight in the main event of its Bellator 135 card this weekend. Joe Warren will look to defend his title when he rematches Marcos Galvao in the […]
The UFC is off this weekend, which means the rest of the MMA world will be fighting for viewers and ratings. This includes Bellator, which airs a title fight in the main event of its Bellator 135 card this weekend. Joe Warren will look to defend his title when he rematches Marcos Galvao in the […]
Boxing giant Tyson Fury has suggested “serious talks” are under way with Bellator president Scott Coker over the possibility of him securing an 