First RoundBoth fighters immediately come out swinging, with Nazare gaining the edge and forcing Barrantes to clinch with him.Barrantes is now pressed up against the cage, and Nazare lands a good uppercut upon exit.Nazare is just walking Barrantes down…
First Round
Both fighters immediately come out swinging, with Nazare gaining the edge and forcing Barrantes to clinch with him.
Barrantes is now pressed up against the cage, and Nazare lands a good uppercut upon exit.
Nazare is just walking Barrantes down and hitting him with everything and the kitchen sink, and then lands a big double leg takedown into guard.
Nazare is landing solid ground and pound, and is just not giving Barrantes an opening for anything.
Nazare spent the rest of the round on top in control
B/R scores the round 10-9 Nazare
Second Round
As the second round starts, Barrantes comes out and looks tired.
Both fighters are still swinging for the fences, and Nazare is still holding the edge.
Nazare got a takedown, and spent the entire round on top smothering Barrantes.
B/R scores the round 10-9 Nazare
Third Round
B/R has the fight at 20-18 Nazare going into the third and final round, but if the prelims have showed us anything, it’s that score means nothing if you can get the finish.
Or not..
After a bit of confusion, Nazare is announced as the winner via TKO due to a doctor stoppage.
Official Decision: Renê Nazare defeats Juan Barrantes via TKO (doctor stoppage) after the second round.
Filed under: Bellator, NewsUNCASVILLE, Conn. — Pat Curran is back for a second chance at gold.
Curran, who lost a Bellator lightweight title fight against Eddie Alvarez in April and then dropped to featherweight, won his second Bellator tournament, t…
UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Pat Curran is back for a second chance at gold.
Curran, who lost a Bellator lightweight title fight against Eddie Alvarez in April and then dropped to featherweight, won his second Bellator tournament, this time knocking the highly regarded Marlon Sandro cold with a spectacular headkick finish at Bellator 48.
With the win, Curran gets in line to face the winner of the upcoming tilt between current champ Joe Warren and challenger Patricio “Pitbull” Freire.
Curran spent most of the first two rounds getting peppered by Sandro, who utilized a speed advantage to get to him repeatedly. But during an exchange late in the second round, Sandro looked to keep away from Curran’s offense with active head movement. In the fight’s most fateful moment, he ducked under what he thought was going to be a punch. Instead it was a right high kick, and Curran connected perfectly, sending Sandro crashing to the canvas. The fight could have been over right then, but Curran was able to land a pair of finishing blows before the referee stepped in to save Sandro from further damage.
“I listened to my corners, look low and kick high,” Curran said after the fight. “I just timed it right. I saw him bobbing and weaving, but his hand wasn’t blocking. It landed right on his chin.”
Sandro, who had been so good up until that point, looked devastated after he returned to his corner. The Brazilian bomber appeared at the post-fight press conference but he spent most of it shaking his head and with a faraway look on his face, probably re-running the finish in his mind.
“Congratulations to Pat, but I will be back and better for the next fight,” he said.
It became the second unlikely tournament win for Curran, who was signed into Bellator at the recommendation of his cousin, UFC fighter Jeff Curran prior to the season two lightweight tournament. He got the eighth and final slot in the field, and worked his way through the field before losing to Alvarez in the final.
Curran said the loss lit a fire under him, and he was impressive throughout in the featherweight field, finishing two of his three fights.
He’ll have a while to wait until he cashes in his title shot, but he might not mind the layoff; he’s fought four times in four months.
“The sky’s the limit,” he said. “I’m just going to go back to the gym, work hard and keep improving.”
In the co-main event, Bellator heavyweight champion Cole Konrad returned for the first time in 10 months, and emerged victorious with a unanimous decision win over Paul Buentello in a non-title bout.
The unbeaten Konrad has taken criticism in the best for his wrestling-heavy style, but against the standup specialist Buentello, Konrad spent most of the fight competing in his opponent’s favored position.
Konrad flashed an improved striking game, particularly a strong jab, but never came close to finishing Buentello. Still, it was more than enough for an easy decision by scores of 30-27, 30-27, 29-28.
“I had fun and learned a lot,” Konrad said. “I wanted to prove I can exchange punches with a standup fighter. I’m happy. I’m progressing everyday. That’s the goal.”
Konrad moved to 8-0 with the victory.
Seth Petruzelli made his Bellator debut with a flourish, scoring a first-round TKO over former UFC champion Ricco Rodriguez in a tremendous performance.
Petruzelli flashed his varied standup game, mixing things up with leg kicks, high kicks and head shots. The end came after a pair of spin kicks led to an opening and Petruzelli threaded the needle with a right hand to the jaw that put Rodriguez down.
Petruzelli (14-6) followed with a pair of double hammerfists from the top, and Rodriguez was out for the TKO.
Afterward, Petruzelli said that he hopes to get a slot in Bellator’s next 205-pound tournament and capture a title in the division.
“That light-heavyweight belt has my name written on it, and I’m coming for it, man,” he said.
Rodriguez had a 12-fight win streak snapped with the loss. He fell to 46-12.
“I have to go back to the drawing board,” he said. “I’m not done.”
In the final main card fight, unbeaten Rene Nazare kept his perfect record intact, stopping Juan Barrantes after the second round when the cageside doctor called a halt to the action. Barrantes’ right eye was swollen shut after a pounding over the first 10 minutes.
Nazare controlled the action both standing and on the ground during the duration, but simply couldn’t get the finish as Barrantes withstood his barrages and defended on the ground. But after the second round, his face was bloodied and a quick look by the doctor sealed his fate.
First Round The final preliminary bout of the night featured middleweight Dan Cramer taking on Jeff Nader.Both fighters wasted no time clinching up, with Cramer able to land the first takedown of the fight. Staying in Nader’s guard, Nader la…
First Round
The final preliminary bout of the night featured middleweight Dan Cramer taking on Jeff Nader.
Both fighters wasted no time clinching up, with Cramer able to land the first takedown of the fight. Staying in Nader’s guard, Nader landed huge elbows from the top, forcing Cramer to civer up.
Mixing in some hammerfists and punches, Cramer mauled Nader on the ground against the cage in open guard. Unable to finish Nader from guard, Cramer looked to advance his position,easily transition to half guard with little over a minute left in the round.
Cramer finished the round, peppering his opponent with more ground and pound strikes before the bell rang.
Second Round
The second round started off in a flurry with Cramer landing a round house kick to the head. Nader quickly shot in and landed a huge double leg takedown, but was reversed just as fast, with Cramer gaining the top guard position.
Two minutes into the round, Cramer advanced to half guard while continuing his barrage from the top. WIth a minute left on the clock, Cramer mounted Nader but could not hold the position, with Nader escaping back to half guard.
Cramer finished the second round throwing elbows from side control.
Third Round
In the third round, Nader battled back, barraging Cramer with strikes. Against the cage, Nader landed a huge uppercut that buckled Cramer, forcing referee Kevin Mullhall to call a stop to the action barely a minute into the round.
Official Decision: Jeff Nader defeats Dan Cramer via TKO in the third round.
In a light-heavyweight bout, Nik Fekete showed fans why he is called “the Machete” in a dominating performance over Mark Griffin.Fekete controlled every aspect of the bout, using his size and strength advantage to power over his opponent.It was the sec…
In a light-heavyweight bout, Nik Fekete showed fans why he is called “the Machete” in a dominating performance over Mark Griffin.
Fekete controlled every aspect of the bout, using his size and strength advantage to power over his opponent.
It was the second round, however, that was the highlight of Fekete’s evening. After taking Griffin down, “the Machete” quickly gained the crucifix position that was the beginning of the end of Griffin’s night.
After a myriad of elbows and strikes, the bout was called, with Fekete earning his first win in Bellator.
His first bout was a less than stellar performance against Richard Hale who dulled “the Machete’s” record, giving him his first ever loss via inverted triangle.
Now back to his winning ways, Fekete will look to keep the ball rolling going forward.
Improving his record to 5-1, Fekete may be a force to be reckoned with in the 205 lb. weight class.
Round 1Ryan Quinn quickly comes out and scores the takedown against Brett Oteri. Quinn moves to the mount, and as Oteri attempts to hip escape out, Quinn takes the back of Oteri and sinks in a rear naked choke and after a few moments of struggle, …
Round 1
Ryan Quinn quickly comes out and scores the takedown against Brett Oteri.
Quinn moves to the mount, and as Oteri attempts to hip escape out, Quinn takes the back of Oteri and sinks in a rear naked choke and after a few moments of struggle, Oteri goes to sleep and Dan Miragliotta calls a stop to the match.
First round rear naked victory technical submission victory for Ryan Quinn
Filed under: BellatorPat Curran used a spectacular head kick to knock out Marlon Sandro Saturday night and win the Bellator Fighting Championships Summer Series featherweight tournament.
Four minutes into the second round of what had been a good, back…
Pat Curran used a spectacular head kick to knock out Marlon Sandro Saturday night and win the Bellator Fighting Championships Summer Series featherweight tournament.
Four minutes into the second round of what had been a good, back-and-forth fight, Curran exploded with his right leg directly across Sandro’s face, knocking him flat on his back and out cold. Curran pounced and landed three punches on the ground, but those were unnecessary: The head kick was what did it.
“I’m speechless,” Curran said after the fight. “I feel great. I can’t explain it — I feel great.”
The victory establishes the 23-year-old Curran as one of the most exciting fighters in the featherweight division, not just in Bellator but in all of mixed martial arts. Sandro was widely regarded as the best featherweight outside the UFC, and now Curran has stopped Sandro in sensational fashion.
Curran previously won a Bellator lightweight tournament before dropping down to featherweight, and overall he’s 6-1 in Bellator, with the only loss coming to the promotion’s lightweight champion, Eddie Alvarez. Curran’s overall MMA record is 15-4, and he has to be considered one of the real rising stars of the sport. His finishing kick on Saturday night was spectacular.
UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Pat Curran is back for a second chance at gold.