There was no major mixed martial arts (MMA) action on the docket last night (Sat., June 2, 2018), but combat sports fans were able to get their fisticuffs fix with Bare Knuckle FC from the Cheyenne Ice and Events Center in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
UFC women’s strawweight veteran Bec Rawlings was perhaps the most well-known name on the brutal card of old-time boxing, as she defeated Alma Garcia by second-round TKO when Garcia was unable to answer the bell for the second round.
And while UFC veterans Joey Beltran and Ricco Rodriguez also scored wins, nine-fight Bellator MMA vet Eric Prindle also made an appearance on the card, although it didn’t go quite as well for him. Facing Sam Shewmaker, Prindle was brutally knocked out with one punch.
Beltran got into a bloody, insane, five-round war with Tony Lopez, with both men having their moments in a brutal back-and-forth affair that Beltran ultimately won by unanimous decision:
(The referee isn’t mad at Eric Prindle. He’s just disappointed. / Photo via Sherdog.)
Hey everybody, thanks for joining me on such short notice. The reason I called you all to the conference room today is because, well, you know with every change in leadership there’s going to be some growing pains. I don’t want to use the word “redundancies,” because I don’t see a single person in this room who I’d call “redundant.” You’re all unique, valuable — we hired you for a reason. And we appreciate what you’ve done to help Bellator grow. By the way, the bagels and cream cheese are for everybody, feel free to dig in. I think there are some plastic knives in that bag over there.
The reality of the situation, however, is this: The current budgetary climate has forced us to get lean and mean. Maybe it’s just temporary, maybe it’s the new normal. But the fact is that we’re trying to stay competitive in the post-Bjorn era, and that means trimming some fat. Well, again, “fat” is a word I don’t like to use because it implies something unwanted that has grown on the body due to excess consumption, or a general lack of movement. So yes, maybe “trimming some fat” is actually the perfect metaphor to use here.
At any rate, the partners have gotten together and pored over every contract, and — look, I’m just going to say it — 19 of you have been fired. The following people will no longer be working here, effective immediately…
(The referee isn’t mad at Eric Prindle. He’s just disappointed. / Photo via Sherdog.)
Hey everybody, thanks for joining me on such short notice. The reason I called you all to the conference room today is because, well, you know with every change in leadership there’s going to be some growing pains. I don’t want to use the word “redundancies,” because I don’t see a single person in this room who I’d call “redundant.” You’re all unique, valuable — we hired you for a reason. And we appreciate what you’ve done to help Bellator grow. By the way, the bagels and cream cheese are for everybody, feel free to dig in. I think there are some plastic knives in that bag over there.
The reality of the situation, however, is this: The current budgetary climate has forced us to get lean and mean. Maybe it’s just temporary, maybe it’s the new normal. But the fact is that we’re trying to stay competitive in the post-Bjorn era, and that means trimming some fat. Well, again, “fat” is a word I don’t like to use because it implies something unwanted that has grown on the body due to excess consumption, or a general lack of movement. So yes, maybe “trimming some fat” is actually the perfect metaphor to use here.
At any rate, the partners have gotten together and pored over every contract, and — look, I’m just going to say it — 19 of you have been fired. The following people will no longer be working here, effective immediately…
Eric Prindle. Anthony Leone. Frank Baca, Nick Kirk. Travis Marx. Hiroshi Nakamura. Rodrigo Lima. Sergej Grecicho…good to finally meet you, Sergej. Jared Downing. Jason Fischer. Tim Welch. Nathan Coy. Anthony Lemon. Trey Houston. Vaughn Anderson. Keith Berry. Jeremy Kimball. Carlos Eduardo. Eric Smith.
If I’ve called your name, please report to HR where your severance benefits will be explained to you, and then go back to your desk where a security guard will be present to watch you gather your things in a cardboard box. Yes, it’s the kind of cardboard box with the handles on the sides, so we expect this transition to be as smooth as possible.
For the rest of you, wow, quite a day, am I right? You can breathe easy now. We see all of you as the fighters who are going to help get Bellator to the next level. All of you are crucial supporting talent that will give an air of legitimacy to the circus freak show bullshit that we will need to promote in order to keep our heads above water. That rumored fight between Tito Ortiz and Kimbo Slice? I can neither confirm or deny that at this moment. All I can say is: Watch out for that metal thing.
I said, watch out for that metal thing. Huh. I was expecting a bigger laugh there.
The UFC said “Hey, did you hear there’s UFC FIGHTS™ on tonight? The finest athletes in the world are facing off and it’ll be action packed. Watch it!”
So we took their word for it, and watched. The athletes faced off, but they weren’t the finest in the world, and it wasn’t action packed. The athletes were green, regional-caliber competitors and there was more labored breathing and bouts of stalling than action.
Then the next event came. “It’s FIGHT WEEEEEEK! UFC FIGHTS™ are on again. The finest athletes in the world are doing battle in the Octagon™. Be sure to watch!”
We were skeptical, but being loyal MMA fans, we watched again. We were let down again. We voiced our concerns, only to be told we weren’t Real Fans if we didn’t appreciate the fights the UFC gave us. Not wanting to lose our MMA streed cred, we watched the next event that promised the top 1% of fighters battling in the Superbowl of MMA only to be disappointed.
This is what being an MMA fan has been like for the past year or two–especially since the UFC went full “World Fucking Domination” on us.
Fight cards are tougher to sit through because the talent levels are lower. Sometimes there’s two of these regional-level, star-sparse cards on the same day! And I’m not ragging on UFC Fight Night 42 specifically; on paper the card was pretty decent for a free Fight Night Card. I’m referring to the general lowering of the bar in terms of card quality that’s become undeniable as of late. The most insulting part is all these events are, for the most part, marketed the same way: Here’s awesome UFC Fights. They’ll be good. Watch them or you’re not an MMA fan.
And judging by the decline in interest (and PPV buys), lots of viewers decided they weren’t fans. And I’m not going to go on for much longer because I’ve written about the issue of over-saturation extensivelyon CagePotato, but the UFC can learn an important lesson from Bellator regarding how it promotes less-than-stellar fights: Be honest.
The UFC said “Hey, did you hear there’s UFC FIGHTS™ on tonight? The finest athletes in the world are facing off and it’ll be action packed. Watch it!”
So we took their word for it, and watched. The athletes faced off, but they weren’t the finest in the world, and it wasn’t action packed. The athletes were green, regional-caliber competitors and there was more labored breathing and bouts of stalling than action.
Then the next event came. “It’s FIGHT WEEEEEEK! UFC FIGHTS™ are on again. The finest athletes in the world are doing battle in the Octagon™. Be sure to watch!”
We were skeptical, but being loyal MMA fans, we watched again. We were let down again. We voiced our concerns, only to be told we weren’t Real Fans if we didn’t appreciate the fights the UFC gave us. Not wanting to lose our MMA streed cred, we watched the next event that promised the top 1% of fighters battling in the Superbowl of MMA only to be disappointed.
This is what being an MMA fan has been like for the past year or two–especially since the UFC went full “World Fucking Domination” on us.
Fight cards are tougher to sit through because the talent levels are lower. Sometimes there’s two of these regional-level, star-sparse cards on the same day! And I’m not ragging on UFC Fight Night 42 specifically; on paper the card was pretty decent for a free Fight Night Card. I’m referring to the general lowering of the bar in terms of card quality that’s become undeniable as of late. The most insulting part is all these events are, for the most part, marketed the same way: Here’s awesome UFC Fights. They’ll be good. Watch them or you’re not an MMA fan.
And judging by the decline in interest (and PPV buys), lots of viewers decided they weren’t fans. And I’m not going to go on for much longer because I’ve written about the issue of over-saturation extensivelyon CagePotato, but the UFC can learn an important lesson from Bellator regarding how it promotes less-than-stellar fights: Be honest.
Bellator 121 was easily the worst card (on paper) the Viacom-owned promotion had put together in a while. The best fight it offered was a match between James Thompson and Eric freakin’ Prindle. Fans and media didn’t care about Bellator 121 unless they were mocking it. “Oh, James Thompson is in the so-called #2 promotion in 2014. LOL.”
But then this trailer came out:
Yes, it’s a little cheesy at times but in some ways it’s unabashedly honest. There’s never been a better trailer for a worse fight.
Am I saying the UFC should promote all their Fight Night cards as “OMG BACON AND PIZZA FIGHTS AMAZEBALLS”? No. What I’m saying is that the UFC’s current method of promoting low-level fights is factually bankrupt and without substance.
Remember the Strikeforce: Challengers series? It was Strikeforce’s low-level show devoted to their lesser-known fighters and prospects. Perhaps the UFC should start promoting their Fight Night cards as something similar rather than a generic night of UFC action. Saying a barista is a world-beater when he clearly isn’t makes your word meaningless. Saying the pound-for-pound best fighter alive is whoever’s headlining the next card makes your word meaningless. Strikeforce never tried to pass off a Challengers as one of it’s A-level events. The UFC does the opposite. All of its shows are presented as equal in quality because they all have the UFC brand attached. This is a mistake because it teaches the viewer to associate the brand with an inferior product (poor fighters and poor fights). Sometimes a jobber is just a jobber. The UFC would do well to remember that.
Bellator held it’s first extremely lackluster summer series fight card tonight with Bellator 121. We take a lot of heat for being negative, but this card warrants the hate. It was easily the worst card (on-paper) Bellator has put on in ages.
Bellator held it’s first extremely lackluster summer series fight card tonight with Bellator 121. We take a lot of heat for being negative, but this card warrants the hate. It was easily the weakest card (on-paper) Bellator has put on in ages.
Sokoudjou controlled the fight against the doughy Davinney. He was taken down at one point, but managed to sweep Davinney after a minute or two and then finish him with a rear-naked choke (GIF via Zombie Prophet). Not a ton to say about this. It was a textbook squash match but it lacked highlight reel splendor.
Now, Eric Prindle vs. James Thompson. That fight was marketed as King Kong vs. Godzilla and bacon vs. chocolate. It wasn’t. Thompson took Prindle down with comical ease. A few soft ground-and-pound punches (GIF via Zombie Prophet) later and it was over. Nothing special or exciting–save for Thompson’s incomprehensible (but incredible) post fight interview. He talked about a guy having only one testicle. No joke. Watch it for yourself, it was without a doubt the highlight of the night.
In case you’re interested, here are the complete results for the card:
Main Card
Philipe Lins def. Austen Heidlage via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:45
James Thompson def. Eric Prindle via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:55
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou def. Terry Davinney via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:16
Egidijus Valavicius def. Carlos Eduardo via split-decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) – Round 3, 5:00
Preliminary Card
Joe Vedepo def. Cortez Coleman via majority decision (28-28, 29-27, 29-27) – Round 3, 5:00
Kelly Anundson def. Rodney Wallace via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) – Round 3, 5:00
Ray Sloan def. Jamelle Jones via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 0:48
Robert McDaniel def. Matt Jones via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27) – Round 3, 5:00
Steve Garcia def. Cody Walker via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 0:39
William Florentino def. Guillermo Martinez Ayme via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28) – Round 3, 5:00
– A list of “things that are awesome,” including “dynamite” and “hot chicks.”
– A celebration of the time that Eric Prindle got stomped in the crotch by Thiago Santos, then axe-kicked Thiago Santos in his crotch during their rematch. It is described as “poetic justice” by commentator Jimmy Smith.
– James Thompson going full WWE at 1:38-1:56. (“I’ve come hea’ to face Eric Prindle, Pringle, wotevva ‘is name is, it doosint matteh…”)
– A list of “things that are awesome,” including “dynamite” and “hot chicks.”
– A celebration of the time that Eric Prindle got stomped in the crotch by Thiago Santos, then axe-kicked Thiago Santos in his crotch during their rematch. It is described as “poetic justice” by commentator Jimmy Smith.
– James Thompson going full WWE at 1:38-1:56. (“I’ve come hea’ to face Eric Prindle, Pringle, wotevva ‘is name is, it doosint matteh…”)
– A voice-over describing Prindle vs. Thompson as “a high-concept fight that is MMA’s version of Godzilla vs. King Kong, a tiger fighting a shark, or a side of bacon in a chocolate milkshake.” What. The. Fuck.
– A subtle suggestion that the audience should be drinking beer during the broadcast.
Basically, your manhood is in question if you don’t tune in to Spike TV tonight. Got it, pansies? [*rides T-Rex off to Hooters*]
(I love the serious, half-bored expressions on the Japanese fans’ faces, as if Giant Silva vs. James Thompson is something totally normal that happens all the time. / Photo via Sherdog)
To put it another way — Bellator isn’t the best MMA league in the world, but it has the potential to be the craziest, and that makes it undeniably compelling. The promotion surely recognizes this, which could help explain the new signings of MMA freak-show veterans Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and James Thompson. Both fighters have been added to the main card of Bellator 121, June 6th at the Winstar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma (aka, the event that just lost its legitimate headliner).
After the jump: Videos of Sokoudjou and Thompson beating the crap out of Bob Sapp.
(I love the serious, half-bored expressions on the Japanese fans’ faces, as if Giant Silva vs. James Thompson is something totally normal that happens all the time. / Photo via Sherdog)
To put it another way — Bellator isn’t the best MMA league in the world, but it has the potential to be the craziest, and that makes it undeniably compelling. The promotion surely recognizes this, which could help explain the new signings of MMA freak-show veterans Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and James Thompson. Both fighters have been added to the main card of Bellator 121, June 6th at the Winstar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma (aka, the event that just lost its legitimate headliner).
After the jump: Videos of Sokoudjou and Thompson beating the crap out of Bob Sapp.
(Sokoudjou vs. Bob Sapp, DREAM.11, 10/6/09. Listen to Lenne Hardt’s introduction of Sapp from 1:15-1:30. Damn, I’m getting kind of emotional over here.)
(James Thompson vs. Bob Sapp, Super Fight League 1, 3/11/12)
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