Two weeks after Chris Beal gave us a spectacular walk-off flying knee knockout in the UFC, Bellator middleweight Brian Rogers landed one of his own against Adrian Miles, during the prelims of last night’s Bellator 119 event in Rama, Ontario, Canada. The way Miles crumples in a Nelmark-esque heap is pretty gnarly — especially because his eyes remain open when he’s out. Yeesh.
This was actually Rogers’s third career victory via flying knee. You can see his previous two after the jump…
Two weeks after Chris Beal gave us a spectacular walk-off flying knee knockout in the UFC, Bellator middleweight Brian Rogers landed one of his own against Adrian Miles, during the prelims of last night’s Bellator 119 event in Rama, Ontario, Canada. The way Miles crumples in a Nelmark-esque heap is pretty gnarly — especially because his eyes remain open when he’s out. Yeesh.
This was actually Rogers’s third career victory via flying knee. You can see his previous two after the jump…
(Brian Rogers vs. Vitor Vianna, Bellator 61, 3/16/12)
(Brian Rogers vs. Dan Bolden, NAAFS: North Coast Showdown 4, 10/24/09)
Douglas Lima has perfected the art of finishing fights, his latest such victory earning him the Bellator welterweight championship and a spot on the short list of top 170-pound fighters in the world.
In each of his last five fights, Lima has scor…
Douglas Lima has perfected the art of finishing fights, his latest such victory earning him the Bellator welterweight championship and a spot on the short list of top 170-pound fighters in the world.
In each of his last five fights, Lima has scored wins inside the distance, including an April TKO over Rick Hawn that secured his first title in Bellator. Lima bruised and battered Hawn so badly over eight minutes of action that the corner threw in the towel to save him from any further punishment.
When you think about the welterweight division, names like Johny Hendricks, Rory MacDonald, TyronWoodley, Carlos Condit and of course Georges St-Pierre come to mind.
Lima believes he is in that same group, as he said in an interview with Fightline: “I put myself up there. I’m definitely not the best, but I’m training hard to be. I just want to fight the best and move up in the ranks. I watch all the 170 pounders. I’ll fight any of them.”
Bellator lost unbeaten fighter and former U.S. Olympic wrestler Ben Askren to ONE FC last year, as Askren left without surrendering the belt. He was the last man to defeat Lima, earning a decision over him in 2012.
Since that defeat, Lima has turned himself into a monster, training with the crew at American Top Team in Atlanta that includes Dhiego Lima, his brother and a current member of The Ultimate Fighter 19 cast. He came back almost seven months after the defeat to Askren and finished Jacob Ortiz in the third round after delivering a head kick.
In 2013, the 26-year-old started off his run in the Bellator season eight tournament by defeating Michail Tsarev with leg kicks in the second round. Less than a month later, he knocked out Bryan Baker with a first-round knockout that was only topped later that year when he dropped Ben Saunders with a head kick that landed him on the highlight reels.
His ability to stop an opponent by taking out his most vital ligaments, his legs, is on par with what we’ve seen from other Brazilians like UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and UFC bantamweight champion RenanBarao. It’s proven to be an effective weapon once fighters step inside the cage.
Other than the loss to Askren, the only things that have troubled Lima have been issues with breaking his hand and making the cut to 170 pounds. He admits that he’s eventually going to outgrow the division and will need to make the move to the middleweight ranks, but he has his focus set on becoming a legend at welterweight first.
Before settling in at his current weight class, Lima won the 2010 REDLINE Middleweight Grand Prix by besting the likes of UFC fighter Clint Hester and Cortez Coleman while stringing together a nine-fight win streak that also included a victory over former World Series of Fighting welterweight champion Steve Carl.
He has discussed a potential match with Bellator middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko, telling FightLine that “I would love this match up. Shlemenko is very tough and durable, and he’s been on top forever, finishing everybody. I respect him a lot and I do see myself again him down the road.”
Lima is right there with him in terms of stopping foes, and Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney has taken note of what he can do and where he might be headed.
Rebney told Sherdog’s “Beatdown” radio show, “The future is incredibly bright for this guy. He’s got a huge future ahead of him here. I think that future probably, at some point, sees him move up to 185, but for the time being, he’s a devastating 170-pound champ.”
Admit it: You’re excited about the fact that Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will throw down with Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal live on pay-per-view at Bellator 120 on May 17 in Memphis, Tennessee.
It’s OK. I don’t want to be so thrilled about a matchup bet…
Admit it: You’re excited about the fact that Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will throw down with Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal live on pay-per-view at Bellator 120 on May 17 in Memphis, Tennessee.
It’s OK. I don’t want to be so thrilled about a matchup between two over-the-hump light heavyweights, either.
But here we are…
Rampage vs. King Mo is a fight we just can’t help but love. It treads the intersection of entertainment and sport so perfectly that fans immediately perk up and tune in.
Do you feel that tickle? That’s Bellator bringing you Rampage vs. King Mo, friend. You can try to ignore it, but that will only make the sensation stronger.
Remember when Chael Sonnen went from kind-of-boring-wrestler to kind-of-boring-wrestler-who-now-talks-a-bunch-of-trash-and-makes-me-laugh?
After defeating Nate Marquardt at UFC 109, Sonnen was given a title shot against Anderson “The Spider” Silva at UFC 117.
He then went insane, hyping himself and the fight to no end. Now, this is how fans identify him: the fun trash-talker.
With Rampage vs. King Mo, we get two fun trash-talkers who are unafraid to make themselves sound ridiculous at the expense of grabbing a headline or searing in the perfect burn.
It’s amazing.
Make no mistake: Neither Rampage nor King Mo possesses the skills on the mic of Sonnen (although Rampage is a bit more clever than Mo, if we’re being fair). But they try. They say stuff. They yell at each other.
They hype the fight.
And when two fighters buy into their jobs as promoters before a bout, it adds a level of intrigue to the match whether you want to accept it or not.
With all the pre-fight banter between Rampage and King Mo, it’s easy to forget that this May 17 fight actually matters. The winner will fight for the Bellator Light Heavyweight Championship and take a step toward becoming the 205-pound king of the promotion.
This distinction has eluded King Mo throughout his stint inside the Bellator cage, and while he has entered full pro wrestling mode before the fight, don’t forget: The man is a competitor. He wants to win. He doesn’t like to lose, and winning the Bellator strap would only supply more ammo for his Mo-16.
Rampage, on the other hand, has looked phenomenal since leaving the UFC for Bellator, earning two knockouts in as many appearances. Maybe this is a product of a lower level of competition, or maybe he is legitimately refocused and reinvigorated inside the Bellator cage.
That’s why they fight.
Add in all the pre-fight smack talk, and this bout between aging light heavyweights is just impossible to ignore.
Resist as we might, the tickle is strong in this one, and giving into the sensation is easier and more rewarding in the end.
There’s no harm in accepting it. Go ahead. Coochy Coo.
Bellator 118 is Bellator season 10’s penultimate event. Joe Warren had a chance to claim the interim bantamweight title if he beat Rafael Silva. And that wording is deliberate. Silva missed weight, so if he won, Bellator wouldn’t award him the title. It was only a championship fight for Warren. Semifinal bouts for the welterweight tournament and summer series light heavyweight tournament took place as well.
What fights should you fast forward when you watch this card on your DVR and which ones should you watch intently? Read on and find out.
Bellator 118 is Bellator season 10′s penultimate event. Joe Warren had a chance to claim the interim bantamweight title if he beat Rafael Silva. And that wording is deliberate. Silva missed weight, so if he won, Bellator wouldn’t award him the title. It was only a championship fight for Warren. Semifinal bouts for the welterweight tournament and summer series light heavyweight tournament took place as well.
What fights should you fast forward when you watch this card on your DVR and which ones should you watch intently? Read on and find out.
British light heavyweight prospect Liam McGeary is on many a radar in MMA (including ours), and has been since Bellator season 9. He took on Mike Mucitelli in the first of the Summer Series tournaments.
Round 1: Mucitelli hit a double leg, but McGeary reversed it and landed in mount. Mucitelli managed to escape mount and return to his feet, but it didn’t matter. McGeary hit a hook that lawnchair’d Mucitelli. It was like turning off a light switch. All strength left Mucitelli’s body and he collapsed lifeless to the canvas like an intern who’s just been told they’re not getting hired. This one warrants posting the GIF (via Zombie Prophet).
Round 1: Not much action after the first minute, but then Galvao rushed Vasquez, secured a body lock, and slammed him. Galvao wasn’t able to make much use of the takedown though. Vasquez returned to his feet midway through the round, and landed a handful of stiff jabs to boot. Vasquez bum-rushed Galvao with a flurry of inaccurate punches, then clinched him. This was a mistake as Galvao hit a gorgeous throw. Vasquez immediately got to his feet though, and then took down Galvao, who got up quickly as well. Vasquez rushed Galvao again and it looked like he almost pulled guard, which was a very questionable decision. Not much else happened in the last 30 seconds. Galvao landed some ground and pound.
Round 2: Galvao landed an overhand right to counter Vasquez’s lazy jab. Vasquez hit a decent left hook. His footwork allowed him to stay out of Galvao’s range, but he never capitalized on it. He’d either throw one punch at a time or a messy flurry. Vasquez moved in to trade but Galvao timed a double-leg perfectly and slammed him to the mat with authority. After like two minutes of stalling, Vasquez got back up…only to be taken down again and for more ineffective ground and pound and guard passing to take place. Vasquez gets up again as the round ends in a front face-lock. Vasquez keeps one hand on the ground to avoid a knee but Galvao throws two of them anyway. The ref doesn’t give a shit. Cool.
Round 3: Both dudes missed basically all their strikes for the first two minutes. Galvao grabbed a body lock and got takedown. He took Vasquez’s back and attempted a rear-nakd choke; he couldn’t clinch it. The second attempt failed too. The other 500 attempts fail too. Right as the round ends, Vasquez escapes and sits in Galvao’s guard, throwing weak punches. Galvao earned a decision victory.
This welterweight tournament semifinal was originally supposed to feature Andrey Koreshkov vs. Sam Oropeza–and it was supposed to take place at Bellator 115. Alas, Oropeza weighed in heavy at 172.4 pounds. He was unable to make weight after given an hour, and was replaced by Justin Baesman. And there were about 45 minutes of commercials before this fight. Holy shit.
Round 1: Koreshkov started off throwing an array of kicks from the outside, but didn’t land any too convincingly. His hands worked better. He hit a nice combo topped off with an uppercut. Koreshkov threw a spinning back kick that nearly landed, and then threw a wild flurry followed up by a flying knee that knocked Baesman out cold. Squash match, but what else do you expect from a late replacement jobber?
Round 1: Joe Warren clinched immediately but it was Silva that got the takedown and slam. Then he took Warren’s back, but Warren exploded out of the position and rose back to his feet…only for Silva to press him up the cage for the next few minutes. Surprisingly, Silva dominated the clinch work for the first few minutes, that was until Warren landed a giant knee to the body. Silva backed off after that, then Warren nearly locked up a guillotine. The two got back up. After a lull, Silva started spamming right hands and hurt Warren badly. Warren landed a desperation takedown that saved his consciousness with about a minute to go, and then nothing happened on the ground while the round ended.
Round 2: Warren through a shitty flying knee and almost paid for it with his consciousness a la Andrei Arlovski. Warren hit a double leg, but Silva stood up about 20 seconds after getting taken down. Both fighters look gassed, but Silva looks worse. Despite being tired, Silva hits a spinning back kick to the body, and then a stiff uppercut. Warren took Silva down again but Silva used his butterflies to sweep warren and return to his feet. Silva turned up the volume with his strikes, landing right hands at will. Silva caught Warren in the air during a flying knee and threw him to the floor. Silva attempted a spinning back kick as a follow-up but got taken down off it. Like with every other take down in this fight, Silva got up almost immediately. Then he turned the tables on warren and took him down. The round ends after a pattern of both guys taking each other down and getting up.
Round 3: Warren hit Silva with a massive right hand that wobbled him, then attempted an awful-looking flying round kick. Warren stepped into a right hand, then threw a massive overhand right of his own which missed. Warren ate a big right, but then shot a double-leg and landed it. This time Silva didn’t get up right away; he was tired. Warren landed some elbows. He’d occasionally stack Silva but would never land any great ground and pound from the position. Silva went for an arm-bar but it failed; Warren’s arm wasn’t deep enough. Warren finished the round on top in side control. This was pretty brutal in terms of entertainment value.
Round 4: Warren pressed Silva immediately and took him down. Unlike last round, Silva got back up, then tried a takedown of his own. The two battled in the clinch for a little bit before Warren wrestled a breathing-heavy Silva to the mat. He took Silva’s back, then switched to mount, but couldn’t keep it. Cue the same pattern of get up-clinch-get taken down and repeat. Warren tried a pro wrestling pile driver but didn’t have the strength left. Warren took Silva’s back right as the round ended.
Round 5: This round was basically the same as the last one. I don’t wanna use the term “lay and pray” but ugh. About half way through the fight Warren hit an illegal knee in the clinch while Silva had his hands on the mat. The Joe Warren clinch/ground smother continues. The fight ends. Warren wins a decision and the interim bantamweight belt.
Here are the complete results:
Main Card
Joe Warren def. Rafael Silva via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
Andrey Koreshkov def. Justin Baesman via KO (flying knee), 1:41 of round 1.
Marcos Galvao def. Thomas Vasquez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Liam McGeary def. Mike Mucitelli via KO (punch), 0:20 of round 1
Preliminary Card
Dante Rivera def. Gemiyale Adkins via majority decision (29-29, 30-27, 30-27)
Jesus Martinez def. Ryan Caltaldi via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Tim Woods def. Eugene Fadiora via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Darrion Caldwell def. Joe Pingitore via submission (rear-naked choke), 1:32 of round 1
Lester Caslow def. Jay Haas via submission (guillotine choke), 2:29 of round 1
Sidney Outlaw def. Mike Bannon via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Kevin Roddy def. Amran Aliyev via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Michael Chandler and Alexander Shlemenko can grab the Bellator MMA torch and carry it into the future at Bellator 120 this month. Or they can tumble all the way back down the pyramid, bringing the promotion with them.
Bellator will host its first-ever …
Michael Chandler and Alexander Shlemenko can grab the Bellator MMA torch and carry it into the future at Bellator 120 this month. Or they can tumble all the way back down the pyramid, bringing the promotion with them.
Bellator will host its first-ever pay-per-view on May 17, with Chandler taking on Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight title and Shlemenko meeting former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz.
If the pressure of facing two well-rounded fighters wasn’t enough, they are also the building blocks and stars to what Bjorn Rebney, Bellator and Spike TV have planned going forward.
Alvarez is the champion, and the more known of the two fighters in the main event, but he has an interesting contract worked out. Most feel he will leave Bellator after this fight, as arranged by his deal, so putting that giant logo on his back makes no sense. If Chandler fails to win the belt from him, it doesn’t look good for Rebney to lose his champ.
Ortiz is on the opposite end of the spectrum from all three fighters mentioned, as he is closer to retirement than building himself back into a contender. However, he could severely cripple Shlemenko’s status by stunning the 50-win fighter.
Again, plenty of pressure on both Chandler and Shlemenko to deliver in the spotlight.
While all of that is taken into consideration, there are plenty of reasons to believe each man will come out with their respective hand raised on that May night.
Chandler has dealt with adversity his entire life, entering the University of Missouri wrestling room as a walk-on and leaving years later with four NCAA qualifier marks and 100 wins. He was a two-time runner-up in the Big 12 and a fifth-place finisher at nationals.
After preparing himself for a career in MMA at Xtreme Couture, Chandler debuted in 2009 with a second-round TKO. A year later, he made his Bellator debut and finished Scott Stapp in the first round. Two more first-round finishes led Chandler to a tournament quarterfinal with Marcin Held that he won via first-round arm triangle choke when he left Held unconscious.
Back-to-back decisions provided Chandler with a tourney title and shot at Alvarez. At 9-0, and just a few years into his career, he submitted Alvarez in the fourth round in a bout widely considered the “Fight of the Year” in 2011.
Chandler followed that up with three straight finishes over Akihiro Gono, Rick Hawn and David Rickels to defend his title before dropping a split decision to Alvarez last year.
To say he has shown why some consider him a top lightweight is easy. In 13 career bouts, he has finished 10 of his opponents, and done so equally with five knockouts and five submissions.
The second meeting with Alvarez was a back-and-forth 25-minute grind that Chandler easily could have been declared the winner in. He converted on 10 takedowns, while stuffing all three attempts by Alvarez, held a plus-15 advantage in power strikes and was more successful on his ground strikes.
In falling, though, he set up this important and critical third meeting with Alvarez, and that only helps his stock. By coming back and scoring the win, he’ll have avenged the loss and proven to the world that he is elite.
Shlemenko will turn 30 just days after the event, but he already has 57 fights on his resume; he’s won 50 of them. Twenty-nine of those 50 victories have come via knockout, with another eight from various forms of submissions.
In Ortiz, the Russian will be giving up several pounds, maybe 30-plus come fight night, but he’ll have an incredible advantage in speed, strength and skill. At 39 years old and coming off of another neck surgery, the Ortiz of old isn’t going to show up inside the Bellator cage.
Bellator’s tournament-style ways of pairing fights has led some people to shy away from watching, but Chandler and Shlemenko are two reasons to make sure you catch the pay-per-view offering.
Showcasing the semifinals of their very first lightweight tournament as well as the promotional debuts of future UFC fighters Joey Beltran, Waylon Lowe, Dave Herman, and inaugural Invicta FC flyweight champion Jessica Penne, Bellator’s fifth event was truly stacked for it’s time and featured just one decision on its 9-fight card. But none of the finishes held a candle to the moment when Toby Imada choked out Jorge Masvidal with an inverted triangle choke in the evening’s headlining fight on May 1st, 2009 — five years ago today.
A little background: After securing tournament quarterfinal victories over Alonzo Martinez and Nick Agallar, respectively, at Bellator 1, veteran journeyman Toby Imada was set to face off against rising up-and-comer Jorge Masvidal, who in addition to being a rather prolific street fighter had already scored stoppage victories over Joe Lauzon and Yves Edwards in his young MMA career. After two rounds of fighting, Masvidal looked every bit the dynamic striker (and gambling favorite) he had been billed as, having punished Imada with hard shots and vicious ground-n-pound for the majority of the contest.
But for every ten Jones vs. Teixeiras, there is one Russow vs. Duffy, so to speak.
Showcasing the semifinals of their very first lightweight tournament as well as the promotional debuts of future UFC fighters Joey Beltran, Waylon Lowe, Dave Herman, and inaugural Invicta FC flyweight champion Jessica Penne, Bellator’s fifth event was truly stacked for it’s time and featured just one decision on its 9-fight card. But none of the finishes held a candle to the moment when Toby Imada choked out Jorge Masvidal with an inverted triangle choke in the evening’s headlining fight on May 1st, 2009 — five years ago today.
A little background: After securing tournament quarterfinal victories over Alonzo Martinez and Nick Agallar, respectively, at Bellator 1, veteran journeyman Toby Imada was set to face off against rising up-and-comer Jorge Masvidal, who in addition to being a rather prolific street fighter had already scored stoppage victories over Joe Lauzon and Yves Edwards in his young MMA career. After two rounds of fighting, Masvidal looked every bit the dynamic striker (and gambling favorite) he had been billed as, having punished Imada with hard shots and vicious ground-n-pound for the majority of the contest.
But for every ten Jones vs. Teixeiras, there is one Russow vs. Duffy, so to speak. As such, when Masvidal dove on a single leg midway through the third round, Imada found the only window of opportunity he would need to pull a rabbit out of his ass in the form of a mid-air inverted triangle choke. Before Masvidal knew what was happening, he was flopping lifelessly to the canvas with Imada’s legs around his throat. It was as incredible a victory as it was disturbing, hence referee Greg Franklin’s Herb Dean-esque exclamation of “Oh shit!” upon seeing Masvidal’s sheet-white face.
The submission earned Imada “Submission of the Year” honors at the 2009 World MMA Awards (Journalist of the Year that year: Somehow not Ariel Helwani!) and a fight with Eddie Alvarez for the promotion’s inaugural lightweight title at Bellator 12. Although Imada would lose that fight via second round submission and would more or less spend the rest of his career toiling in mediocrity/ending up on Patricky Freire’s highlight reel, there’s no discrediting the thing of beauty that was his come-from-behind submission that night.
In fact, I’d go as far as to say that Imada’s inverted triangle, along with Yahir Reyes’ spinning backfist that took place the following week at Bellator 6, pretty much put Bellator on the map. And for setting into motion a series of events that would eventually culminate in Tito Ortiz vs. Alexander Shlemenko, we thank you, Mr. Imada.
Douglas Lima has perfected the art of finishing fights, his latest such victory earning him the 