Tag: Daniel Straus

OK, We’ll Admit It: This Bellator Pay-Per-View Card Is Getting Pretty Stacked

Although it’s being headlined by a matchup that is equal parts garbage and ass, the rest of Bellator’s first ever pay-per-view card is really starting to come together. Not only does it feature two title-fight rematches in Eddie Alvarez vs. Michael Chandler (lightweight) and King Mo Lawal vs. Emanuel Newton (interim LHW), but Bellator officials announced earlier today that the much delayed featherweight title fight between Pat Curran and Daniel Straus will be joining the main card as well.

MMAJunkie passes along Bjorn Rebney’s statement on what is quickly becoming one of the most stacked cards of the year. Yup, I just wrote that:

Pat Curran’s one of the best mixed martial artists we have in the game today. Before breaking his hand, Straus was a fixture in the top 10 rankings with a huge amount of talent. Curran vs. Straus is a fight I’ve wanted to see since Daniel won the tournament a year ago last May. This should be an epic world title fight and our pay-per-view provides the perfect stage.

As Rebney stated, Straus was expected to face Curran a little over a year ago after capturing the season 6 featherweight tournament, but was replaced by season 7 tourney winner Shahbulat Shamhalaev following a broken hand he suffered in training. Curran would go on to defeat the Russian replacement at Bellator 95 via first round guillotine choke.

Although it’s being headlined by a matchup that is equal parts garbage and ass, the rest of Bellator’s first ever pay-per-view card is really starting to come together. Not only does it feature two title-fight rematches in Eddie Alvarez vs. Michael Chandler (lightweight) and King Mo Lawal vs. Emanuel Newton (interim LHW), but Bellator officials announced earlier today that the much delayed featherweight title fight between Pat Curran and Daniel Straus will be joining the main card as well.

MMAJunkie passes along Bjorn Rebney’s statement on what is quickly becoming one of the most stacked cards of the year. Yup, I just wrote that:

Pat Curran’s one of the best mixed martial artists we have in the game today. Before breaking his hand, Straus was a fixture in the top 10 rankings with a huge amount of talent. Curran vs. Straus is a fight I’ve wanted to see since Daniel won the tournament a year ago last May. This should be an epic world title fight and our pay-per-view provides the perfect stage.

As Rebney stated, Straus was expected to face Curran a little over a year ago after capturing the season 6 featherweight tournament, but was replaced by season 7 tourney winner Shahbulat Shamhalaev following a broken hand he suffered in training. Curran would go on to defeat the Russian replacement at Bellator 95 via first round guillotine choke.

It should be noted that Curran, who will be making his third title defense come November 2nd, previously defeated Straus via KO at an XFO event in 2009. While Straus has gone 17-1 (!) since then, a year layoff will do him no favors against a fighter of Curran’s caliber.

It’s funny, three rematches and a headlining bout between two guys with a combined record of 3-8 since 2010 is arguably a more stacked card than 2 out of the last 3 UFC events. Dana, you got some splainin’ to do.

–J. Jones

With Daniel Straus Injured, Shahbulat Shamhalaev Fast-Tracked to Shot at Pat Curran in April

(Full fight video of Shamhalaev’s tournament-winning performance against Rad Martinez at Bellator 90, courtesy of Wax6ynat Wamxanaeb-P3A MaptnHe3 Fuck You.) 

Another day, another injury.

At last week’s Bellator 90 event, stone-faced Russian “Assassin” (is there any other kind?) Shabulat Shamhalaev wrapped up the promotion’s 7th season featherweight tournament with a vicious knockout over fellow finalist Rad Martinez. In doing so, Shamhalaev earned a future shot at the winner of the Pat Curran/Daniel Straus featherweight title fight scheduled for April 4th. Fortunately for Shamhalaev (and unfortunately for Straus), a broken hand has forced the season six tournament winner out of the fight and has in turn opened the door for the Russian, who will now face Curran a bit earlier than expected. Bjorn Rebney broke the news via his Twitter account:


(Full fight video of Shamhalaev’s tournament-winning performance against Rad Martinez at Bellator 90, courtesy of Wax6ynat Wamxanaeb-P3A MaptnHe3 Fuck You.) 

Another day, another injury.

At last week’s Bellator 90 event, stone-faced Russian “Assassin” (is there any other kind?) Shabulat Shamhalaev wrapped up the promotion’s 7th season featherweight tournament with a vicious knockout over fellow finalist Rad Martinez. In doing so, Shamhalaev earned a future shot at the winner of the Pat Curran/Daniel Straus featherweight title fight scheduled for April 4th. Fortunately for Shamhalaev (and unfortunately for Straus), a broken hand has forced the season six tournament winner out of the fight and has in turn opened the door for the Russian, who will now face Curran a bit earlier than expected. Bjorn Rebney broke the news via his Twitter account:

As Bjorn noted, the opponent switcheroo arguably makes for a more interesting matchup for both Curran and the fans. Shamhalaev exploded onto the mainstream scene with a pair of uber-violent first round TKO’s in his first two stateside appearances at Bellator 76 and 79. The fact that he appeared to come out no worse for the wear in his destruction of Martinez makes for the perfect matchmaking opportunity. After capturing the featherweight title with an unnecessarily brutal beatdown of Joe Warren last March, Curran most recently outpointed the highly-touted Patricio Freire at Bellator 85 in January.

So Potato Nation, will the Bellator featherweight title, like the middleweight strap before it, fall into the icy hands of the Russians come April 4th?

–J. Jones

Bellator 78 Results: Good, Koreshkov Advance to Welterweight Finals

When I managed to speak to Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney after Bellator 69 in Lake Charles, Louisiana, he spoke very highly of welterweight prospect Andrey Koreshkov, who had just improved to 10-0 that evening.  The twenty-two year old Russian fighter earned a spot in this season’s welterweight tournament, where he would quietly improve to 11-0 at Bellator 74 with a unanimous decision over Jordan Smith. At last night’s Bellator 78, Koreshkov looked to make a name for himself against Marius Zaromskis in the tournament semifinals.

But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s talk about the main event of the evening. Former Bellator welterweight champion Lyman Good took the next step towards earning the title back with a second round TKO over Michail Tsarev, although he arguably could not have picked up a more unimpressive victory. This isn’t to say that Good looked bad up until that point -he didn’t – but because the stoppage was, frankly, cheap. Good accidentally poked Tsarev in the eye in the middle of the second round, causing Tsarev to turn to the referee looking for time out. It looked like the referee was about to call for a break in the action, but Lyman Good pounced on “The Lonely Wolf.” The TKO victory was awarded to Good shortly afterwards.

Video of the main event, as well as Koreshkov’s victory, is after the jump

When I managed to speak to Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney after Bellator 69 in Lake Charles, Louisiana, he spoke very highly of welterweight prospect Andrey Koreshkov, who had just improved to 10-0 that evening.  The twenty-two year old Russian fighter earned a spot in this season’s welterweight tournament, where he would quietly improve to 11-0 at Bellator 74 with a unanimous decision over Jordan Smith. At last night’s Bellator 78, Koreshkov looked to make a name for himself against Marius Zaromskis in the tournament semifinals.

But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s talk about the main event of the evening. Former Bellator welterweight champion Lyman Good took the next step towards earning the title back with a second round TKO over Michail Tsarev, although he arguably could not have picked up a more unimpressive victory. This isn’t to say that Good looked bad up until that point -he didn’t – but because the stoppage was, frankly, cheap. Good accidentally poked Tsarev in the eye in the middle of the second round, causing Tsarev to turn to the referee looking for time out. It looked like the referee was about to call for a break in the action, but Lyman Good pounced on “The Lonely Wolf.” The TKO victory was awarded to Good shortly afterwards.


Good vs. Tsarev. This fight is why they say protect yourselves at all times, guys.

In the evening’s co-main event, Andrey Koreshkov lived up to his hype with a first round TKO over Marius Zaromskis. Zaromskis couldn’t find his range against the young, aggressive Russian striker, absorbing some hard punches and knees while mounting little offense of his own. Two minutes into the fight, a left hand from Koreshkov dropped Zaromskis to the mat allowing Andrey Koreshkov to drop punches to Marius’ head until the referee waived things off.

Koreshkov and Good will fight each other in the Welterweight tournament finals.


Koreshkov vs. Zaromskis

In non-tournament action, Daniel Straus returned to action last night, opting to take a warm-up fight before his featherweight title shot against the winner of the upcoming Pat Curran/Patricio Pitbull fight. While there’s a lot that can go wrong in these situations – namely the challenger loses and/or gets injured – Straus dominated his opponent, UFC veteran Alvin Robinson, on his way to a second round rear-naked choke victory. Also on the main card, Brian Rogers took to the cage for the first time since walking away from his job as a special education teacher to focus on fighting full-time. Rogers looked impressive against Dominique Steele, showing the aggression he’s known for, but also showing the patience and control he usually lacked. In the end, Rogers walked away with a unanimous decision victory.

One final note: Zoila Gurgel, the current Bellator 115-pound women’s champion who has yet to defend her title, returned to action last night on the preliminary card. In the non-title bout, Gurgel fought 4-2 fighter Casey Noland. Booking the champion in a non-title bout on the preliminary card of an event is already a pretty bad sign, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Bjorn Rebney said before the fight that he’d assess Gurgel afterward. The good news for Gurgel is that she obviously won the fight. However, it’ll be interesting to see how confident Rebney feels moving forward with Zoila Gurgel after watching her lose the first round to a 4-2 no-name fighter who was essentially brought in to lose.

Full Results:

Main Card

Lyman Good def. Michail Tsarev via TKO (strikes), 3:54 of Round Two
Andrey Koreshkov def. Marius Zaromskis via TKO (strikes), 2:14 of Round One
Daniel Straus def. Alvin Robinson via submission (rear-naked choke), 4:51 of Round Two
Brian Rogers def. Dominique Steele via unanimous decision

Preliminary Card

Zoila Gurgel def. Casey Noland via unanimous decision
Jason Butcher vs. Shaun Asher via submission (guillotine choke), 1:32 of Round One
Billy Horne def. Trey Houston via submission (rear-naked choke), 3:30 of Round One
Mikkel Parlo def. Jared Combs via TKO (strikes), 3:51 of Round One
Rob Hanna def. Rocky Edwards via split decision
Justin McNally def. David Blattman via submission (triangle choke), 0:38 of Round One

@SethFalvo

Bellator 68: Fight Vids & Recap

seven by JMMANow

Spiritwolf vs Zaromskis (courtesy of IronForgesIron.com)

The fighters in Bellator may not get the same respect and acclaim as their Zuffa-based brethren, but at least they have video evidence to back up their wild fight stories. Season six of our favorite Friday night fights marched on last night, and here’s how it all went down.

The rematch between Waachiim Spiritwolf and Marius Zaromskis was far more eventful than their initial clash, though the ending was just as unsatisfying. After spending the opening minutes pressed against the cage, Zaromskis took advantage of the space created by a ‘Tan’ Dan Miragliotta break to land a backward elbow that opened a small vertical cut between Spiritwolf’s brows. The Native American responded with a slam, but Zaromskis was immediately back to his feet. The pair spent the remainder of the round tightly clinched with Spiritwolf working very hard for short-lived takedowns. Round two looked less promising for Waachiim, who had missed weight the day before. He showed signs of fatigue early on and had trouble finding the clinch at the end of his lunging punches. Zaromskis backed him up with a series of knees and kicks to the head, but a bloodied Spiritwolf responded with a torrent of heavy hands that forced the wobbled Lithuanian to retreat. Spritwolf downed him with another punch and closed out the final two minutes of the frame on top, trying to land finishing blows through Zaromskis tight defense.

Unfortunately, the battle would end on the stools and not the canvas…


Spiritwolf vs Zaromskis (courtesy of IronForgesIron.com)

The fighters in Bellator may not get the same respect and acclaim as their Zuffa-based brethren, but at least they have video evidence to back up their wild fight stories. Season six of our favorite Friday night fights marched on last night, and here’s how it all went down.

The rematch between Waachiim Spiritwolf and Marius Zaromskis was far more eventful than their initial clash, though the ending was just as unsatisfying. After spending the opening minutes pressed against the cage, Zaromskis took advantage of the space created by a ‘Tan’ Dan Miragliotta break to land a backward elbow that opened a small vertical cut between Spiritwolf’s brows. The Native American responded with a slam, but Zaromskis was immediately back to his feet. The pair spent the remainder of the round tightly clinched with Spiritwolf working very hard for short-lived takedowns. Round two looked less promising for Waachiim, who had missed weight the day before. He showed signs of fatigue early on and had trouble finding the clinch at the end of his lunging punches. Zaromskis backed him up with a series of knees and kicks to the head, but a bloodied Spiritwolf responded with a torrent of heavy hands that forced the wobbled Lithuanian to retreat. Spritwolf downed him with another punch and closed out the final two minutes of the frame on top, trying to land finishing blows through Zaromskis tight defense.

Unfortunately, the battle would end on the stools and not the canvas. Cage-side physicians halted the bout between rounds due to Spiritwolf’s cut. We’ve seen some pretty messed up eyes and some real bloodbaths in our day, and this one didn’t really make the cut. Even MMA’s most respected physician, Dr. Hector Oscar Molina Dr. Johnny Benjamin questioned the stoppage, with the obvious caveat that he didn’t get to closely inspect the cut. Third time’s the charm, boys?

Those of you hoping to catch “The Silverback” back in action will have to wait just a bit longer. Seth Petruzelli’s scheduled bout with Carmelo Marrero was cancelled just hours before fight time when doctors heard wheezing in his lungs during a pre-fight exam. Petruzelli confirmed that he’s been sick all week, but hoped to fight through the illness anyway.

 


Held vs Kennington (courtesy of IronForgesIron.com)

In their stead, Marcin Held and Derrick Kennington were bumped up from the undercard to clash on the main broadcast. Sensing that things may not go his way on the ground, Kennington took charge early on, clipping Held with a crisp uppercut in the opening moments of the bout. Fighting off his back, Held kept his composure and worked for an omaplata until D.K. pulled free to resume the bout on the feet where he enjoyed a clear advantage. Eager to hit the mat once more, Held pulled guard—to the joy of BJJ practitioners around the world—and quickly sunk in a heel hook. Back in Poland, Held’s grappling coach celebrated by flipping over a Fiat.

 


Galvao vs Marx (courtesy of IronForgesIron.com)

Marcos Galvao and Travis Marx had the honors of kicking off this season’s Bantamweight semifinals. The Brazilian was largely able to keep Marx on his heels by getting off first and landing the heavier strikes in their exchanges. Marx was the aggressor in round two, forcing Galvao back against the cage. From the clinch Marx landed with knees to the thigh and scored several combinations, though he fell short of getting Galvao to the ground. “Loro” resumed his aggressive striking in the third, and save for a brief takedown, regained control of the fight. Galvao scored the unanimous decision, 29-28, on all three scorecards.

 


Straus vs Sandro (courtesy of IronForgesIron.com)

Headlining the card was the Featherweight tournament championship between Daniel Straus and Marlon Sandro. Straus opened the bout with a crippling dick-kick that sent Sandro crashing to the canvas. It was doubtful that Sandro would be able to continue fighting/reproduce, but after the five-minute break he amazingly returned to action.

Straus was in control of this bout. In the exchanges he landed single shots then disengaged, and when the two tied up he controlled the clinch and threatened to take Sandro to the mat. The Brazilian tied up a standing arm triangle in the third, but Straus defended well and prevented Sandro from dragging him to the floor. Straus rallied back with a big slam and closed the round struggling for a rear naked choke. Straus took the unanimous decision and will now await the winner of the upcoming title bout between Pat Curran and Patricio Freire.

 

Full Results: (via TheMMANews.com)

Main Card (MTV2 or Spike.com)

Featherweight tournament final: Daniel Straus def. Marlon Sandro via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Bantamweight tournament semi-final: Marcos Galvao def. Travis Marx via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Lightweight bout: Marcin Held def. Derrick Kennington via Submission (Heel hook) – R1 @ 2:08
Catchweight (230-lbs) bout: Seth Petruzelli vs. Carmelo Marrero – bout cancelled, see update
Catchweight (172-lbs) bout: Marius Zaromskis def. Waachiim Spiritwolf via TKO (Doctor Stoppage) – R2 @ 5:00 – cut above Spiritwolf’s right eye

Preliminary Card (Spike.com)

Featherweight bout: Jeff Lentz vs. Eddie Fyvie
Lightweight bout: Don Carlos-Clauss def. Jacob Kirwan via Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Catchweight (175-lbs) bout: Aung La Nsang def. Jesus Martinez via TKO (Punches) – R1 @ 36
Bantamweight bout: Anthony Leone def. Claudio Ledesma via Split Decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
Middleweight bout: Francois Ambang def. Gregory Millard via Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Bellator 65 Recap: Improvements Abound

Before I even begin to analyze this card, let’s get a few things out of the way: No, there were not as many decisions on this card as last week’s smothering performances; the main event ended by submission. No, the card overall was not comparable to a ProElite event, although there was a light sparring session thrown in with the fights that we could have done without. Simply put, the main card of Bellator 65 brought a lot of decisions, but was overall an entertaining event.

The evening kicked off with the opening bouts of the season six bantamweight tournament. The first bout saw Marcos Galvao outwork Ed West on his way to a unanimous decision victory. West attempted to keep Galvao outside with kicks throughout the fight, but Galvao was able to consistently take West down and avoid submission attempts. When the fight would find its way back to the feet, Marcos Galvao threw flying knees and hard rights to win over the judges, 30-27 on all scorecards.

As for the other opening bout of the bantamweight tournament- it happened. That’s about all there is to say about Luis Nogueira vs. Alexis Vila. In a fight that saw very little action, Nogueira managed to avoid Vila’s wild strikes throughout the first round and take Vila’s back. And that’s about it; neither fighter landed anything of significance for the rest of the bout, although Vila was more active than Nogueira for the rest of the fight. Controversial decision? If there was more action, maybe. But since Vila’s offensive output was equally non-existent, it’s hard to say that either fighter deserved a victory.

Before I even begin to analyze this card, let’s get a few things out of the way: No, there were not as many decisions on this card as last week’s smothering performances; the main event ended by submission. No, the card overall was not comparable to a ProElite event, although there was a light sparring session thrown in with the fights that we could have done without. Simply put, the main card of Bellator 65 brought a lot of decisions, but was overall an entertaining event.

The evening kicked off with the opening bouts of the season six bantamweight tournament. The first bout saw Marcos Galvao outwork Ed West on his way to a unanimous decision victory. West attempted to keep Galvao outside with kicks throughout the fight, but Galvao was able to consistently take West down and avoid submission attempts. When the fight would find its way back to the feet, Marcos Galvao threw flying knees and hard rights to win over the judges, 30-27 on all scorecards.

As for the other opening bout of the bantamweight tournament- it happened. That’s about all there is to say about Luis Nogueira vs. Alexis Vila. In a fight that saw very little action, Nogueira managed to avoid Vila’s wild strikes throughout the first round and take Vila’s back. And that’s about it; neither fighter landed anything of significance for the rest of the bout, although Vila was more active than Nogueira for the rest of the fight. Controversial decision? If there was more action, maybe. But since Vila’s offensive output was equally non-existent, it’s hard to say that either fighter deserved a victory.

In the featherweight tournament semifinals, Daniel Straus picked up a unanimous decision over Mike Corey, despite having Corey in danger early and often throughout the fight. Mike Corey fought zombie-style against Straus, walking through Straus’ offense in an attempt to bring the fight to the ground. Straus was clearly tired and frustrated by the end of the fight, spitting out his mouthpiece in an effort to buy time.

This isn’t to say that Straus didn’t impress; as hard as Corey worked for the takedown, he was only successful with one takedown attempt. Straus improves to 5-1 in Bellator and 19-4 overall with the victory.

In the evening’s main event, Eduardo Dantas proved his legitimacy in the bantamweight division with a dominant victory over bantamweight champion Zach Makovsky. Makovsky found early success with his takedowns, yet was unable to do much of anything in Dantas’ guard. Meanwhile, Dantas had Makovsky looking timid on his feet, catching the champion with hard kicks throughout the opening frame.

Dantas continued to press the action in the second round, capitalizing on a Makovsky takedown with a reversal and eventually mounting the champion. Once Dantas earned full mount, the fight was all but over. Dantas set up an arm-triangle choke that put Makovsky to sleep, winning the bantamweight title. Dantas improves to 14-2 overall, including a 4-0 run in Bellator.


All videos props to IronForgesIron.com

One final note: Lyman Good has qualified for next season’s welterweight tournament. Rather than attempt to describe his fight, let’s just show you the video. It won’t take long.

Full Results:

Main Card
Eduardo Dantas def. Zach Makovsky via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 3:26
Daniel Straus def. Mike Corey via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) featherweight-tournament semifinal
Luis Nogueira def. Alexis Vila via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) – bantamweight-tournament opening round
Marcos Galvao def. Ed West via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) – bantamweight-tournament opening round

Preliminary Card
Duane Bastress def. Plinio Cruz via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 2:52
Will Martinez def. Terrell Hobbs via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:13
Scott Heckman def. Lester Caslow via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:40
Kris McCray def. Ailton Barbosa via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Lyman Good def. LeVon Maynard via KO (punch) – Round 1, 0:13 – welterweight-tournament qualifier
E.J. Brooks def. Mikhail Malyutin via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

Bellator 60 Recap: Curran Smashes Warren, Obtains Featherweight Title

Say what you want about how bitter SPIKE is acting towards the UFC ever since acquiring rights to Bellator. But after watching Bellator 60 last night in Hammond, Indiana on MTV2, it’s not hard to understand what SPIKE sees in the promotion. Season Six kicked off with a bang, with a new featherweight champion and four men advancing in the season’s featherweight tournament.

Even without considering Joe Warren’s Greco-Roman background, it’s no surprise that Warren’s gameplan would consist of attempting takedowns early and often after the brutal knockout loss to Alexis Vila he suffered in his last fight at Bellator 51. And while Warren found success with his takedowns, he was completely unable to keep Pat Curran on the mat. Curran landed some hard shots throughout the fight, but a hard right knee in the third round put Warren out on his feet. But since the referee didn’t stop the fight, Curran then landed a flurry of punches and knees that caused Joe Warren to turn his back to the challenger. And when the referee still didn’t stop the fight, Pat Curran landed two huge uppercuts that floored Warren, finally ending the fight one minute and twenty five seconds into the third round. With the victory, Curran improves to 17-4 in his MMA career, including a 7-1 run in Bellator.

Video After the jump.

Say what you want about how bitter SPIKE is acting towards the UFC ever since acquiring rights to Bellator. But after watching Bellator 60 last night in Hammond, Indiana on MTV2, it’s not hard to understand what SPIKE sees in the promotion. Season Six kicked off with a bang, with a new featherweight champion and four men advancing in the season’s featherweight tournament. 

Even without considering Joe Warren‘s Greco-Roman background, it’s no surprise that Warren’s gameplan would consist of attempting takedowns early and often after the brutal knockout loss to Alexis Vila he suffered in his last fight at Bellator 51. And while Warren found success with his takedowns, he was completely unable to keep Pat Curran on the mat. Curran landed some hard shots throughout the fight, but a hard right knee in the third round put Warren out on his feet. But since the referee didn’t stop the fight, Curran then landed a flurry of punches and knees that caused Joe Warren to turn his back to the challenger. And when the referee still didn’t stop the fight, Pat Curran landed two huge uppercuts that floored Warren, finally ending the fight one minute and twenty five seconds into the third round. With the victory, Curran improves to 17-4 in his MMA career, including a 7-1 run in Bellator.

 
Curran vs. Warren. Props: IronforgesIron.com

In featherweight tournament action, Daniel Straus used his size advantage to outpoint Jeremy Spoon on his way to a unanimous decision victory. After opening the fight looking for the rare standing arm-triangle, Straus opted for a more traditional attack consisting of takedowns and leg kicks for the remainder of the bout. The loss marks the first one in Jeremy Spoon’s career.

In other tournament action, Mike Corey managed to survive an early salvo from Ronnie Mann en route to a unanimous decision victory. Corey utilized his superior wrestling to put Mann on his back and rain down punches. The victory is Mike Corey’s first under Bellator. Also of note, both Marlon Sandro and Alexandre Bezerra advance in the tournament with victories by rear-naked choke. Marlon Sandro was particularly dominant against Roberto Vargas, absolutely crushing Vargas on the feet before earning the submission.

 
Sandro vs. Vargas. Props to IronforgesIron.com

Full results:

MAIN CARD

Pat Curran def. Joe Warren via KO (punches) – Round 3, 1:25
Daniel Straus def. Jeremy Spoon via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Mike Corey def. Ronnie Mann via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Marlon Sandro def. Roberto Vargas via submission (rear-naked choke)- Round 1, 3:35

PRELIMINARY CARD

Alexandre Bezerra def. Kenny Foster via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:57
Jake Nauracy def. Cory Galloway via submission (rear naked choke) – Round 2, 4:22
Travis Wiuff def. Anthony Gomez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Sean McCorkle defeats Richard White via submission (neck crank) – Round 1, 1:02
Josh Shockley def. Shamar Bailey via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27
Genair da Silva def. Bobby Reardanz via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 0:51