Tag: Brett Rogers

Bellator 75 Report: Prospects & Low Blows


(Thiago Santos has no doubt had better nights)

By Elias Cepeda

When heavyweight Ryan Martinez (8-2) hit Manny Lara (4-2) twice in the groin over the course of their three round Bellator 75 prelim bout Friday night in Hammond, IN one could only assume that he secured the low blow highlights for the night. Then Eric Prindle came along in the night’s main event and stole Martinez’ nut shot thunder.

If there was a low blow of the night bonus award…what am I saying? If there was a low blow of the decade award, Eric Prindle’s axe kick to the family jewels of a downed Thiago Santos would be the clear front runner.

After a failed jumping guillotine choke left Santos on his back with seconds left in the first round of their Heavyweight Tournament Quarterfinal bout, Prindle (7-3) began kicking him with round houses to the legs. Then the massive Prindle thought to get all GSP with it and loaded up with a stomping axe kick, likely aimed for Santos’ mid section.

Instead, the full force of a 265 pounder’s stomp came down onto the groin of a prone Santos. The Brazilian was given five minutes to recover.

He could have been given thirty. It would likely not have made a difference. Santos laid flat on his face without moving, not even able to writhe in agony, before being lifted onto a stretcher and taken out of the cage.


(Thiago Santos has no doubt had better nights)

By Elias Cepeda

When heavyweight Ryan Martinez (8-2) hit Manny Lara (4-2) twice in the groin over the course of their three round Bellator 75 prelim bout Friday night in Hammond, IN one could only assume that he secured the low blow highlights for the night. Then Eric Prindle came along in the night’s main event and stole Martinez’ nut shot thunder.

If there was a low blow of the night bonus award…what am I saying? If there was a low blow of the decade award, Eric Prindle’s axe kick to the family jewels of a downed Thiago Santos would be the clear front runner.

After a failed jumping guillotine choke left Santos on his back with seconds left in the first round of their Heavyweight Tournament Quarterfinal bout, Prindle (7-3) began kicking him with round houses to the legs. Then the massive Prindle thought to get all GSP with it and loaded up with a stomping axe kick, likely aimed for Santos’ mid section.

Instead, the full force of a 265 pounder’s stomp came down onto the groin of a prone Santos. The Brazilian was given five minutes to recover.

He could have been given thirty. It would likely not have made a difference. Santos laid flat on his face without moving, not even able to writhe in agony, before being lifted onto a stretcher and taken out of the cage.

Santos (11-1) won by DQ and advanced to the semi finals of the tournament in a month, if he’s even able to fight at that point. At the post event press conference Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney was not sure if he would be able to and said that if Santos is unable to continue, Martinez would replace him in the tournament.

The ending was disappointing for everyone and was also ironic because Prindle and Santos had fought before, a year ago, and that fight also ended with a low blow. That time Santos hit Prindle low and when Prindle was unable to continue the fight was ruled a no contest.

For some reason Prindle’s coach Erik Paulson was given a chance to ask a question of his fighter at the post presser as if he represented a media outlet. No doubt genuine, the still necessarily partisan Paulson gave his charge a softball and leading question about the supposed unfairness of him getting disqualified for the low blow when the last time he was hit low, the fight was just ruled a no contest.

For his part, Prindle was apologetic and said that it wasn’t his call to make. This writer, for one, thinks that the next Prindle/Santos fight needs to either take place with them both wearing medieval chastity belts or be fought under Junkyard Rules.

Young Bucks

During his post fight interview and while speaking at the post presser twenty three year-old Alexander Volkov (17-3) looked shy and overwhelmed by the stage and moment. In his fight with Brett Rogers (12-5), however, the young Russian looked masterful in winning a unanimous decision and advancing to the Heavyweight Tournament semis.

Volkov bullied Rogers around the ring with punches, kicks and knees from the start and by the second round had the convicted wife beater shirking from the fight and merely backing up or running away. Rogers had held his own for a round with Fedor Emelianenko and knocked out former world champion Andrei Arlovski but was completely out classed by Volkov’s sharp striking.

Volkov had already beaten a former UFC world champ himself when he beat Ricco Rodriguez earlier this year. The win over Rogers was the Russian’s first fight in the states and it was a successful coming out party.

If he wants to continue impressing on U.S. soil, he’ll have to take out Vinicius Kappke de Queiroz (6-2), who also impressed Friday night. Queiroz was dropped fast and hard early by Mark Holata (12-4).

Somehow the Brazilian was able to recover on the ground and submitted Holata with an arm bar from the full guard, advancing to the semis. The drama of Queiroz’ come back win highlights one of the dangers of Bellator’s tournament format.

Queiroz is a warrior and should be celebrated for having the conditioning and heart to continue and pull out a win, but there is no way he should be physically cleared to fight in less than a month as he’ll have to be in order to continue in the Bellator tournament. The ‘Spartan’ didn’t just get knocked down, he went totally rigid after getting hit and slowly fell like a chopped redwood.

His head hitting the ground woke Quieroz up and, though he was able to win, he later said that he couldn’t remember how he had ended up on the ground. The man is clearly concussed and shouldn’t be jumping right into another training camp and fighting again in less than four weeks.

I love the spirit of Bellator’s tournament structure but one has to wonder if its schedule is too demanding and dangerous for fighters at times.

Richard Hale (20-4) didn’t look like he’ll have problems maintaining his strength up in the heavyweight division as he quickly took out UFC vet Mike Wessel (12-5). Former WEC bantamweight champion Chase Beebe (21-8-1) and Bo Harris (7-3) had a hard-fought and intense bout. Beebe came away with the unanimous decision on the strength of his wrestling and pressure on the feet.

Full Bellator 75 results below via MMA Junkie:

Thiago Santos def. Eric Prindle via disqualification (groin kick) – Round 1, 4:54

Alexander Volkov def. Brett Rogers via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Richard Hale def. Mike Wessel via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:19

Vinicius Queiroz def. Mark Holata via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 3:26

Jason Graves def. Rafal Skibinski via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:50

Cliff Wright def. Bobby Reardanz via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:39

Ryan Martinez def. Manny Lara via majority decision (28-28, 29-27, 29-27)

Chase Beebe def. Bo Harris via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

Joe Williams def. Rod Montoya via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:17

Anthony Gomez vs. Jose Medina via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:32

 

Bellator 75’s Brett Rogers: "This Is Brett Rogers 2.5"

In life, you don’t get many chances to make a second impression. Brett Rogers almost lost that chance last June. Rogers had a physical altercation with his wife and left her with injuries to her neck, ear, back, jaw and a missing tooth.Rogers was …

In life, you don’t get many chances to make a second impression. Brett Rogers almost lost that chance last June. Rogers had a physical altercation with his wife and left her with injuries to her neck, ear, back, jaw and a missing tooth.

Rogers was arrested and then the following day was released by Strikeforce. The worst was yet to come when he was sentenced to 60 days in jail. Things weren’t so great for Rogers when he was released from jail and went back to his profession, being an MMA fighter. He has gone 1-1-1 since his release. Rogers knew something good needed to happen. Enter Bellator Chairman, Bjorn Rebney.

Rebney was reluctant at first as he needed to be reassured Rogers had put the past behind him. After talking to Rogers, Rebney knew he was a changed man and decided to give Rogers a shot.

Rogers made his debut for Bellator at the end of June and defeated Kevin Asplund with a second-round TKO. It was his first win by KO/TKO since he defeated former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski via TKO in June of 2009. Rogers felt a sense of relief to get a win like that once again in spectacular fashion.

“It was the greatest feeling,” Rogers told Bleacher Report. “This is my sport. I love what I do. When you’re in someone’s face and you catch them with a nice hook or a straight right hand, they go down and you go down to finish them, it is the greatest feeling.”

Their was a different feeling though about the fight with Asplund. The fight took place on the preliminary portion of the card. After main-eventing cards against the likes of Fedor Emelianenko and Alistair Overeem, it was a humbling experience for Rogers.

“It was definitely a humbling experience for me because I feel in my mind a lot of people knew me, but I realized a lot of people didn’t know me,” Rogers stated. “I knew I was at the building point. I take everything into consideration. Wins and losses are important in this sport. It doesn’t do any good to go out there and get your a** kicked and expect to bounce back.

“I’m not trying to fight like that and be that fighter. I’m going to go out there and fight to the best of my abilities. I learned through the losses you can’t be whatever in the cage, you have to give your all. That’s the only way of survival.”

Now Rogers returns to the Bellator cage on Friday night, where he will be competing in the first round of the heavyweight tournament as he squares off against Alexander Volkov. The card takes place at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana. The Rogers vs Volkov fight is apart of the main card and you can watch it on MTV 2 starting at 8 PM ET.

The man known as “Da Grim” knew changes needed to be made to his career, so Rogers packed his bags, left the cold of Minnepolis to head down to Cocunut Creek, Florida to the gym of American Top Team.

“I have to credit my manager Jerry Millen. He’s opening my ears and eyes as far as the do’s and don’t’s of MMA,” Rogers stated. He said you are not going to be able to do what your have been doing (in terms of his career) in Minnepolis. All the heavyweights there, are spread out. We got great wrestling programs in Minnesota, but after those programs are done, they go home and don’t want to do nothing to step up in MMA.

“That’s when I decided to go to ATT. It’s a great feeling to be here. Ricardo Liborio (head trainer at ATT and Brazilian Ji-Jitsu black belt) is a master of his craft. He has great coaches and a great team. I can’t complain whatsoever. I’m training with Bigfoot Silva, Steve Mocco, who drilled Cole Konrad to the ground every time they rolled and wrestled in college.

“They are constantly in my face and taking down in multiple training sessions per day. It’s definitely a step up for me and being around guys who definitely want it, will definitely make me rise to the top.”

A lot of people feel Rogers doesn’t deserve this opportunity in Bellator and feel this is his last shot at glory. Rogers doesn’t feel this is the case and is ready to make the most of this second chance.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say that (in this being his last shot at glory),” Rogers stated. “I’m a hard worker and I love this sport. I’m getting older and I have a lot of wants and needs. I’m going to make it happen and not lose out on this chance on showing that a lot of stuff happened to me and have overcame a lot in my personal life. I’m going to capitalize on this chance.”

Rogers feels this is a new version of himself and he plans on showing that to the world, starting tomorrow night.

“This is Brett Rogers 2.5,” Rogers stated. “Everbody is going to see a difference. I’m going to come out cool, calm, collected and collect my money. I’m not overlooking Alexander Volkov because he is a fighter, but I believe he hasn’t fought a fighter like me.”

 

You can follow me on Twitter @fightclubchi.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Bellator Pushes the Bounds of Decency by Promoting the Repugnant Brett Rogers

Bellator heavyweight Brett Rogers likes to hit people. In the right circumstances, we cheer him for his ability to do others bodily harm, coming out of our chairs en masse to prod him into further displays of excess.The violence in the cage has a carto…

Bellator heavyweight Brett Rogers likes to hit people. In the right circumstances, we cheer him for his ability to do others bodily harm, coming out of our chairs en masse to prod him into further displays of excess.

The violence in the cage has a cartoon tint to it, a surreal quality that makes it easy to dismiss. Rogers, when he’s fighting on television, is Tom. Opponents like former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski are Jerry. When he pounds Jerry with a wild right hand, it’s our cue to smile.

Multiple punches to the face? A missing tooth? A stranglehold? A golf-ball-sized lump over the left eyebrow? Just another day at the office for a heavyweight MMA fighter like Brett Rogers.

Unfortunately, sometimes Rogers likes to take his work home with him.

It’s easy to forget that MMA fighters are scary, scary people. Most of them harness their energies and pose no threat to anyone outside the cage. Most will never strike another person in anger. They live peaceful home lives with spouses and children, kids who aren’t afraid to come home at night.

That hasn’t always been the case for the Rogers family, who unfortunately saw violence seep out of the realm of entertainment, from our living room into Rogers’ own. There weren’t thousands watching when Rogers pounded the crap out of his wife, T.R., on June 29, 2011. But his two young children, 9- and 10-year-old girls, had front-row seats.

They were forced to watch Rogers punch their mother in the face multiple times. To hear her desperate pleas as he strangled her. The 6’4″, 260-pound fighter knocked his wife out cold. When she was found wandering the streets after midnight, there were giant lumps on her face and a missing tooth that told the tale.

Like many victims of domestic abuse, T.R. pled with police not to arrest her husband. It would, she feared, cause him “trouble with his job.“

It did. Dana White announced immediately that Rogers had been cut from his Strikeforce contract. The despicable nature of the crime seemed certain to guarantee Rogers would never set foot on mainstream television again. His days in the spotlight appeared to be over.

Enter Bellator and President Bjorn Rebney.

Rebney, seemingly, is untroubled by reports that Rogers struck and choked his own children. That he beat his wife into a stupor. That he is as repugnant as human beings come.

Bjorn Rebney needs fighters for his promotion, men and women who might strike a chord with fight fans. Brett Rogers has a name, of sorts. So, on Friday night, Brett Rogers will enter the cage for Bellator on MTV 2.

Viacom, Rebney and any fan who tunes in ought to be ashamed of themselves.

There is a long history of sports fans embracing athletes who have done remarkably awful things. Mike Tyson and Mike Vick come immediately to mind. But those were athletes at the top of their respective sports. Winning solves many problems, for better or worse, and those men had the kind of athletic prowess that commands attention.

What makes the Rogers situation so grim is that he isn’t even a top fighter. He’s only won two of his last seven bouts. If he’s sold a single ticket to Bellator‘s event this week, it will be his first.

There was no reason for Rebney to force Rogers on the public. He doesn’t deserve it, morally or athletically.

I won’t be watching. I hope you send Bellator a message, too. Together, with the power of our remote controls, we can force Brett Rogers back to the margins—where he belongs.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Bellator 71 Recap: Summer Series Kicks off in Devastating Fashion


So close, yet so far away.

If you were at least sort-of interested in last night’s Bellator 71, then you walked away last night satisfied. If you had no interest in the event prior, and just happened to catch the fights that weren’t on FX, you undoubtedly walked away impressed by the action. Not to spoil the recap, but only one fight on the entire card, an undercard bout between Kevin Zalac and Chris Goldbaugh, went the distance. The main card of Bellator 71 more than made up for the anti-climactic finish to Guida vs. Maynard, providing fight fans with quick knockouts and submissions throughout the evening.

If you were expecting Travis Wiuff to steamroll Chris Davis on his way to claiming what is rightfully his, you weren’t surprised – but you also weren’t impressed. Wiuff managed to get the first round knockout, yet he didn’t necessarily excite fans with his performance. The fight was a wall-and-stall heavy performance, with Wiuff overpowering Davis, earning a takedown and then punching out Davis with just under one minute left in the round.

Wiuff’s bullying style isn’t always the most exciting thing to watch, but it’s hard to question its effectiveness. Add on the size advantage that Wiuff has over most opponents – “Diesel” has fought at heavyweight for most of his career – and it’s hard not to imagine him earning a rematch with Christian M’Pumbu by the end of the summer. Wiuff is now 67-14 (1 NC) in his career.


So close, yet so far away.

If you were at least sort-of interested in last night’s Bellator 71, then you walked away last night satisfied. If you had no interest in the event prior, and just happened to catch the fights that weren’t on FX, you undoubtedly walked away impressed by the action. Not to spoil the recap, but only one fight on the entire card, an undercard bout between Kevin Zalac and Chris Goldbaugh, went the distance. The main card of Bellator 71 more than made up for the anti-climactic finish to Guida vs. Maynard, providing fight fans with quick knockouts and submissions throughout the evening.

If you were expecting Travis Wiuff to steamroll Chris Davis on his way to claiming what is rightfully his, you weren’t surprised – but you also weren’t impressed. Wiuff managed to get the first round knockout, yet he didn’t necessarily excite fans with his performance. The fight was a wall-and-stall heavy performance, with Wiuff overpowering Davis, earning a takedown and then punching out Davis with just under one minute left in the round.

Wiuff’s bullying style isn’t always the most exciting thing to watch, but it’s hard to question its effectiveness. Add on the size advantage that Wiuff has over most opponents – ”Diesel” has fought at heavyweight for most of his career – and it’s hard not to imagine him earning a rematch with Christian M’Pumbu by the end of the summer. Wiuff is now 67-14 (1 NC) in his career.

In the co-main event of the evening, Slovakia’s Attila Vegh wasted no time putting away Bellator middleweight tournament veteran Zelg Galesic. Despite earning an early takedown, the Croatian kickboxer wanted to keep this fight standing, aggressively stalking Vegh with hard strikes. However, Vegh dropped Galesic with a brutal counter punch and sunk in a fight ending choke one minute into the opening frame. “Pumukli” improves to 26-4 with the quick, dramatic finish.

Despite being a last-second replacement for Richard Hale, Tim Carpenter managed to defeat Beau Tribolet in convincing fashion. After spending the first round getting the better of Tribolet on the feet, Carpenter locked in an armbar with roughly ten seconds left in the second round. Tim Carpenter looked impressive, as Tribolet rarely seemed comfortable in the cage with him, yet alone in control of the fight. Carpenter improves to 9-1 in his career, with his only loss coming to Christian M’Pumbu.

If you’re looking for a dark horse to win this tournament, “The Hardcore Kid” Emanuel Newton emerged as a legitimate threat. Although he has struggled with consistency, Newton looked great while choking out Cesar Gracie’s own Roy Boughton. Boughton had no answer for Newton’s takedowns, as “The Hardcore Kid” was able to drag Boughton to the canvas seemingly at will. Early in the second round, Newton was able to earn a takedown, take Boughton’s back and sink in the fight ending choke.

One final note, former Strikeforce heavyweight Brett Rogers scored his first victory since 2010 with a doctor’s stoppage over his former teammate Kevin Asplund on the undercard. Yes, the heavyweight who was once considered one of the most dangerous strikers in the division and a measuring stick for Fedor was fighting on the undercard of a Bellator show.

I hate to keep being such a Debbie Downer, but “Da Grim” didn’t exactly look impressive in the victory, either. Kevin Asplund arguably took the first round, save for a powerful uppercut from Rogers that cut him. The second round was also close until the end, where Rogers managed to land a few good punches to a grounded Asplund, which made his eye nearly swell shut, leading to the doctor’s stoppage. Don’t expect Da Grim to dethrone Cole Konrad, is what I’m saying.

Full Results:

Main Card:

Travis Wiuff def. Chris Davis via KO (strikes), 4:12 of Round One
Attila Vegh def. Zelg Galesic via submission (rear-naked choke), 1:00 of Round One
Tim Carpenter def. Beau Tribolet via submission (armbar), 4:51 of Round Two
Emanuel Newton def. Roy Boughton via submission (rear-naked choke), 0:49 of Round Two

Preliminary Card:

Brett Rogers def. Kevin Asplund via TKO (doctor’s stoppage), 5:00 of Round Two
Josh Stansbury def. Dan Spohn via submission (guillotine), 2:30 of Round One
Jason Butcher def. Duane Bastress via submission (triangle), 1:03 of Round One
Neil Johnson def. Brylan Van Artsdalen via submission (rear naked choke), 4:29 of Round Two
Kevin Zalac def Chris Goldbaugh via unanimous decision

Friday Link Dump: Brett Rogers Opens Up About Domestic Abuse, Fedor’s Complicated Legacy + More

(Well, this is the funniest MMA video I’ve ever seen. All hail the genius of prebek.)

– Inside the Octagon With Clay Guida [VIDEO] (SI.com)

– Brett Rogers Talks to Us About Bellator, TRT and That Whole Domestic Abuse Thing (MiddleEasy)

– Fedor Emelianenko, and the Complicated Legacy of a Simple Man (MMAFighting)

– UFC Axes Typical Tryout Format for ‘The Ultimate Fighter 16’ (MMAJunkie)

– The 20 Biggest MMA Stories Thus Far in 2012 (BleacherReport/MMA)

– UFC Heading Back To Brazil For UFC 153 (Fightline)

– 5 MMA Moves That Get You Ripped (MadeMan)

– Exclusive Titan Fighting Championship 23 Photo Gallery (HeavyMMA)

– How Do Children Learn Persistence? From Their Fathers (MensFitness)

– The 50 Funniest Bikini Photos Of All Time (WorldWideInterweb)

– Kate Upton Cat Daddy’ing With Jimmy Fallon (TurdFergusonBlog)

– Lessons From a Self Made Millionaire: Meet Adam Carolla (DoubleViking)

– Billy Beane and the Oakland A’s: Life After Moneyball (Grantland)


(Well, this is the funniest MMA video I’ve ever seen. All hail the genius of prebek.)

– Inside the Octagon With Clay Guida [VIDEO] (SI.com)

– Brett Rogers Talks to Us About Bellator, TRT and That Whole Domestic Abuse Thing (MiddleEasy)

– Fedor Emelianenko, and the Complicated Legacy of a Simple Man (MMAFighting)

– UFC Axes Typical Tryout Format for ‘The Ultimate Fighter 16′ (MMAJunkie)

– The 20 Biggest MMA Stories Thus Far in 2012 (BleacherReport/MMA)

– UFC Heading Back To Brazil For UFC 153 (Fightline)

– 5 MMA Moves That Get You Ripped (MadeMan)

– Exclusive Titan Fighting Championship 23 Photo Gallery (HeavyMMA)

– How Do Children Learn Persistence? From Their Fathers (MensFitness)

– The 50 Funniest Bikini Photos Of All Time (WorldWideInterweb)

– Kate Upton Cat Daddy’ing With Jimmy Fallon (TurdFergusonBlog)

– Lessons From a Self Made Millionaire: Meet Adam Carolla (DoubleViking)

– Billy Beane and the Oakland A’s: Life After Moneyball (Grantland)

Friday Link Dump: A Tribute to the Godfathers of Ass-Kickin’, Shogun Explains His Glover-Ducking + More

(Mike Tyson, Urijah Faber, and Snoop Dogg discuss the influence of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Props: RootsofFight. From now until Sunday, you can get 15% off their new Helio Gracie shirt — or anything else in their store — by entering Coupon code FD2012JB when you check out.)

–  Knockout of the Half-Year: Edson Barboza Banishes Terry Etim to a Lifetime Highlight Reel (MMAFighting)

– Scoring Error Corrected for UFC on FX 3; Mike Pierce Now Unanimous Decision Victor (MMAWeekly)

– ‘Shogun’ Rua Says He Would ‘Gain Nothing’ Fighting Glover Teixeira (Fightline)

– Brett Rogers Says House Fire Sparked Rift With Bellator 71 Opponent Kevin Asplund (MMAJunkie)

– Between Choices and Chance, the UFC Has Spread Itself Too Thin (BleacherReport/MMA)

– Three Exercises to Build ‘Dad Strength’ (MensFitness)

– The Ultimate Runway Model Fails Compilation (WorldWideInterweb)

– Kevin Durant’s Top 10 Plays For The 2012 Season (TurdFergusonBlog)

– How to Spend Your Lottery Winnings (HolyTaco)

– Girl on Girls: Sex Advice From a Woman (MadeMan)


(Mike Tyson, Urijah Faber, and Snoop Dogg discuss the influence of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Props: RootsofFight. From now until Sunday, you can get 15% off their new Helio Gracie shirt — or anything else in their store — by entering Coupon code FD2012JB when you check out.)

–  Knockout of the Half-Year: Edson Barboza Banishes Terry Etim to a Lifetime Highlight Reel (MMAFighting)

– Scoring Error Corrected for UFC on FX 3; Mike Pierce Now Unanimous Decision Victor (MMAWeekly)

– ‘Shogun’ Rua Says He Would ‘Gain Nothing’ Fighting Glover Teixeira (Fightline)

– Brett Rogers Says House Fire Sparked Rift With Bellator 71 Opponent Kevin Asplund (MMAJunkie)

– Between Choices and Chance, the UFC Has Spread Itself Too Thin (BleacherReport/MMA)

– Three Exercises to Build ‘Dad Strength’ (MensFitness)

– The Ultimate Runway Model Fails Compilation (WorldWideInterweb)

– Kevin Durant’s Top 10 Plays For The 2012 Season (TurdFergusonBlog)

– How to Spend Your Lottery Winnings (HolyTaco)

– Girl on Girls: Sex Advice From a Woman (MadeMan)