Bellator 111 Results: Dantas Submits Leone With Incredible Choke, Johnson, Mo, Volkov, and Ivanov All Advance


(Note: The heavyweights are never photographed below the shoulders.)

Bellator 111 being able to build off Bellator 110‘s momentum was questionable. After all, three fourths of 111’s main card was comprised of heavyweights with questionable cardiovascular conditioning. What could’ve turned into a disaster instead turned into a decent night of fights (though some were not so decent), with the Bellator bantamweight title up for grabs between champion Eduardo Dantas and challenger Anthony Leone.

On the prelims: Up-and-comers Brent Primus and Abdul Razak both looked impressive. We will watch their next fights with interest. However, we can’t say that we’ll do the same for Eric Prindle, a mainstay in Bellator’s heavyweight division. In his loss to Javy Alaya, he displayed a ground game so awful it made James Toney look like Marcelo Garcia.

Also of note on the prelims: The first heavyweight tournament quarterfinal took place. Blagoi Ivanov bested Rich Hale in a tepid decision with not a whole lot of action.


(Note: The heavyweights are never photographed below the shoulders.)

Bellator 111 being able to build off Bellator 110‘s momentum was questionable. After all, three fourths of 111′s main card was comprised of heavyweights with questionable cardiovascular conditioning. What could’ve turned into a disaster instead turned into a decent night of fights (though some were not so decent), with the Bellator bantamweight title up for grabs between champion Eduardo Dantas and challenger Anthony Leone.

On the prelims: Up-and-comers Brent Primus and Abdul Razak both looked impressive. We will watch their next fights with interest. However, we can’t say that we’ll do the same for Eric Prindle, a mainstay in Bellator’s heavyweight division. In his loss to Javy Alaya, he displayed a ground game so awful it made James Toney look like Marcelo Garcia.

Also of note on the prelims: The first heavyweight tournament quarterfinal took place. Blagoi Ivanov bested Rich Hale in a tepid decision with not a whole lot of action.

In the first fight on the televised portion of the card, former Bellator heavyweight champ Alexander Volkov defeated Mark Holata via TKO. The Russian started off shaky, getting rocked early on in the first round. After some time in the clinch, Volkov managed to floor Holata with a knee and then followed up with brutal ground and pound. It was all over in 81 seconds.

In the next match, kickboxers Peter Graham and Mighty Mo squared off. The first round of this fight wasn’t terrible, but the second and third round were less than spectacular. Mighty Mo and Graham displayed some Eric Prindle-level grappling in those rounds. Mo finally put Graham out of his misery with a half-assed head and arm choke late midway through the third. If you DVR’d the fights, watch this one on fast forward.

The night’s co-main event pitted UFC and Strikeforce vet Lavar Johnson against Ryan Martinez. Martinez wrestled Johnson to the mat early on, making the UFC vet’s chances look grim. Johnson managed to return to his feet. A few of the wildest exchanges we’ve ever seen ensued (like both guys were missing by miles but still swinging anyway). Johnson managed to connect before Martinez, and it was over before the the first round ended.

So the next round of the Bellator heavyweight tournament will look like this:

Mighty Mo vs. Alexander Volkov.

Lavar Johnson vs. Blagoi Ivanov.

Now, onto the main event. Eduardo Dantas pulled off the slickest rear naked choke off all time against Anthony Leone, submitting him in the second round. Our words don’t do the martial artistry justice. You’ll just have to check out the GIF (via @ZProphet_MMA). Trust us, it’s worth it. Dantas’ submission is immediately a candidate for submission of the year (so far). Fortunately, there were no staged scuffles afterwards.

Complete results:

Main Card

Eduardo Dantas def. Anthony Leone via submission (rear naked choke), 2:04 of round 2
Lavar Johnson def. Ryan Martinez via TKO (punches), 4:22 of round 1
Mighty Mo def. Peter Graham via submission (head and arm choke), 2:31 of round 3
Alexander Volkov def. Mark Holata (punches), 1:21 of round 1

Preliminary Card

Blagoi Ivanov def. Rich Hale via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Cortez Coleman def. Daniel Miller via verbal submission (strikes), 4:49 of round 2
Javy Ayala def. Eric Prindle via TKO (doctor stoppage), 2:05 of round 3
Abdul Razak def. Matt Jones via TKO (punches), 1:23 of round 1
Brent Primus def. Chris Jones via TKO (punches), 1:45 of round 1
Chris Gutierrez def. Justin McNally via TKO (strikes), 2:50 of round 1

Bellator 104 Recap: Hawn Decisions Weedman, War Machine Takes a Nap, Notable UFC Vets Grove and Sass Victorious


(Spoiler alert: The guys on the left beat the guys on the right.)

By Matt Saccaro

Bellator 104 was one of the promotion’s most stacked cards this season. When Bellator mainstay Karl Amoussou and three UFC vets (Paul Sass, Rob Emerson, and Paul Bradley) are relegated to the prelims, there’s some good or at least decent fights on the main card.

The prelims were exciting and had a few notable happenings.

Cliff Wright vs. Derek Loffer was a thrilling back-and-forth match that saw Wright win via armbar late in the second round.

After that, Brandon Girtz pulled a Chris Leben. No, he didn’t urinate in a bed or fail a drug test. He fought twice in two weeks and won both matches like Leben did back in 2010. Girtz submitted Poppies Martinez and Mike Estus at Bellator 102 and Bellator 104, respectively. And these weren’t Hail Mary submissions; Girtz controlled both guys before torquing their arms.

Then, Rob Emerson—wife stealer and one of a select few men to defeat the next Anderson Silva—heel hooked Jared Downing in under two minutes.

Paul Sass, too, won in short order, this time with a toe hold. His opponent Rod Montoya was seemingly ignorant of the fact that Sass has an amazing guard since he kept taking Sass down. Surprise, surprise, Montoya was submitted.

Unfortunately, Karl Amoussou vs. Paul Bradley couldn’t live up to the exciting standard set by the night’s previous bouts. Bradley won a unanimous decision that saw him lay in a gassed Amoussou’s guard for two out of three rounds.

That ended the prelims and brought us into the main card on Spike, which started with *gulps* a Bellator heavyweight fight between Eric Prindle and Peter Graham. It started out alright enough, with Graham nearly finishing Prindle, but then it quickly descended into the usual Bellator heavyweight routine: Heavy breathing, long periods of inactivity, and looping, exhausted punches. At the last second, Graham hit Prindle with a front kick to the face that floored him. Graham won via unanimous decision.

Read the recap for the Bellator 104 main card after the jump.


(Spoiler alert: The guys on the left beat the guys on the right.)

By Matt Saccaro

Bellator 104 was one of the promotion’s most stacked cards this season. When Bellator mainstay Karl Amoussou and three UFC vets (Paul Sass, Rob Emerson, and Paul Bradley) are relegated to the prelims, there’s some good or at least decent fights on the main card.

The prelims were exciting and had a few notable happenings.

Cliff Wright vs. Derek Loffer was a thrilling back-and-forth match that saw Wright win via armbar late in the second round.

After that, Brandon Girtz pulled a Chris Leben. No, he didn’t urinate in a bed or fail a drug test. He fought twice in two weeks and won both matches like Leben did back in 2010. Girtz submitted Poppies Martinez and Mike Estus at Bellator 102 and Bellator 104, respectively. And these weren’t Hail Mary submissions; Girtz controlled both guys before torquing their arms.

Then, Rob Emerson—wife stealer and one of a select few men to defeat the next Anderson Silva—heel hooked Jared Downing in under two minutes.

Paul Sass, too, won in short order, this time with a toe hold. His opponent Rod Montoya was seemingly ignorant of the fact that Sass has an amazing guard since he kept taking Sass down. Surprise, surprise, Montoya was submitted.

Unfortunately, Karl Amoussou vs. Paul Bradley couldn’t live up to the exciting standard set by the night’s previous bouts. Bradley won a unanimous decision that saw him lay in a gassed Amoussou’s guard for two out of three rounds.

That ended the prelims and brought us into the main card on Spike, which started with *gulps* a Bellator heavyweight fight between Eric Prindle and Peter Graham. It started out alright enough, with Graham nearly finishing Prindle, but then it quickly descended into the usual Bellator heavyweight routine: Heavy breathing, long periods of inactivity, and looping, exhausted punches. At the last second, Graham hit Prindle with a front kick to the face that floored him. Graham won via unanimous decision.

Kendall Grove made his return to mainstream American MMA (looking life Rufio from Hook) versus Joe Vedepo. Grove controlled the fight from bell to bell. Vedepo spent most of the fight about to be submitted or knocked out. It was one of those fights where the winner looked good but the loser did such a great job of getting his ass beat that everyone can’t shut up about his “heart.”

In the night’s first welterweight tournament semifinal, Ron Keslar upset War Machine in decisive fashion. He took War Machine down immediately, took his back, and choked him unconscious at 3:31. We’re still debating at the CagePotato offices as to whether Christy Mack will leave War Machine for Keslar now.

In the second welterweight tournament semifinal, which was Bellator 104′s main event, Brent Weedman and Rick Hawn faced off. It wasn’t the first time these two fighters met. They fought back in May 2012, with Hawn winning. Hawn won via unanimous decision this time too, but it was a ho-hum affair. This season’s welterweight final will therefore be Rick Hawn vs. Ron Keslar.

Here are the complete Bellator 104 results:

Main Card

Rick Hawn def. Brent Weedman via Unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Ron Keslar def. War Machine via technical submission (rear naked choke), 3:31 of Round 1
Kendall Grove def. Joe Vedepo via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Peter Graham def. Eric Prindle via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Preliminary Card

Paul Bradley def. Karl Amoussou via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Paul Sass def. Rod Montoya via submission (toe hold), 2:01 of Round 1
Robert Emerson def. Jared Downing via submission (heel hook), 1:44 of Round 1
Brandon Girtz def. Mike Estus via submission (armbar), 4:25 of Round 1
Cliff Wright def. Derek Loffer via submission (armbar), 4:28 of Round 2
Andre Tieva def. Chris Lane via TKO (punches), 2:14 of Round 1

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

 

And Now He’s Retired: Bellator HW Champ Cole Konrad(?!)


(Believe it or not, Columbia Pictures saw this coming some 8 months ago, and chose Kevin James to star in a movie about Konrad’s life.) 

Maybe it’s just me, Potato Nation, but recent events have led me to believe that I have stepped into some sort of alternate reality where up is green, foot is west, and Joe Silva apparently never existed. So maybe I should just take the confounding news that current Bellator heavyweight champion and undefeated powerhouse Cole Konrad is retiring from MMA to obtain a position as a financial trader specializing in milk products as sign that my suspicions are correct. Seriously, I feel like I’m taking crazy pills.

MMAJunkie has the scoop:

The Twincities.com report said Konrad, 28, is leaving fighting to become a financial trader at a Minnesota-based firm that supplies ingredients to the feed, pet food, food processing and chemical industries. Konrad will specialize in trading milk products. 

Plans to find a new champion are unclear at the moment. The news first was reported byTwincities.com and subsequently confirmed to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) by a source close to the promotion. 

Of all the reasons for retirement we have heard MMA fighters give…this is a new one.


(Believe it or not, Columbia Pictures saw this coming some 8 months ago, and chose Kevin James to star in a movie about Konrad’s life.) 

Maybe it’s just me, Potato Nation, but recent events have led me to believe that I have stepped into some sort of alternate reality where up is green, foot is west, and Joe Silva apparently never existed. So maybe I should just take the confounding news that current Bellator heavyweight champion and undefeated powerhouse Cole Konrad is retiring from MMA to obtain a position as a financial trader specializing in milk products as sign that my suspicions are correct. Seriously, I feel like I’m taking crazy pills.

MMAJunkie has the scoop:

The Twincities.com report said Konrad, 28, is leaving fighting to become a financial trader at a Minnesota-based firm that supplies ingredients to the feed, pet food, food processing and chemical industries. Konrad will specialize in trading milk products. 

Plans to find a new champion are unclear at the moment. The news first was reported byTwincities.com and subsequently confirmed to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) by a source close to the promotion. 

Of all the reasons for retirement we have heard MMA fighters give…this is a new one.

Granted, it’s not exactly like Cole has been fighting enough lately to reel in a ton of money — he’s fought just twice since the start of 2011 — but considering how far he has managed to come in the sport despite being a professional for less than two years, you can’t help but feel that he is blowing a huge opportunity here.

Apparently there is a lot of money to be made in milk these days, especially in the line of work Konrad has chosen, but I just get creeped out by the kind of crowd it draws. Best of luck to Konrad, though.

Konrad now joins Jorgen Kruth as the second flabbergasting retirement in as many weeks to happen in the world of MMA, and will end his career (for now, at least) with a perfect record of 9-0.

Although Bellator officials have declined to comment on Konrad’s decision, you have to imagine that the finals of this season’s heavyweight tournament — which is set to kick off on October 5th at Bellator LXXV and features a rematch between Eric Prindle and Thiago Santos that will totally happen this time, for reals — will now determine the new champion of the division.

Then again, we’ll probably hear word that three of the four quarterfinalists have been forced to withdraw from the event due to injury any minute now…

J. Jones

Bellator 70 Recap: Hawn Victorious, Konrad Quickly Submits Prindle

Let’s get a few things straight before we even start to analyze this one: Yes, Cole Konrad picked up the quickest stoppage of the evening at last night’s Bellator 70 from New Orleans. No, that isn’t our way of saying that the entire card was full of decisions. And no, we aren’t lying to you.

But before we get to that, let’s talk about the evening’s main event. Despite having a heavyweight title fight on the card, the main event of the evening was the lightweight tournament finals between former welterweight standouts Rick Hawn and Brent Weedman. While the first two rounds were razor thin, the third round was all Rick Hawn. Hawn took Weedman down numerous times throughout the round and utilized elbows from inside Weedman’s guard. Weedman put together some late offense, but it was too little, too late. Rick Hawn will meet Michael Chandler next season for a shot at the lightweight title.

Let’s get a few things straight before we even start to analyze this one: Yes, Cole Konrad picked up the quickest stoppage of the evening at last night’s Bellator 70 from New Orleans. No, that isn’t our way of saying that the entire card was full of decisions. And no, we aren’t lying to you.

But before we get to that, let’s talk about the evening’s main event. Despite having a heavyweight title fight on the card, the main event of the evening was the lightweight tournament finals between former welterweight standouts Rick Hawn and Brent Weedman. While the first two rounds were razor thin, the third round was all Rick Hawn. Hawn took Weedman down numerous times throughout the round and utilized elbows from inside Weedman’s guard. Weedman put together some late offense, but it was too little, too late. Rick Hawn will meet Michael Chandler next season for a shot at the lightweight title.

When a champion who goes out and earns the quickest stoppage of his career in his first heavyweight title defense, that speaks volumes on how quickly that fighter is developing. Cole Konrad immediately put the dangerous boxer Eric Prindle on his back and locked in a kimura, earning the tap exactly one minute into the fight. If you were interested in seeing how the Team Deathclutch prospect’s standup has improved, you’ll have to wait for his next fight. Obviously, his submissions seem to be coming along. If Konrad continues to develop into a balanced, complete fighter, he’ll be a tough matchup for anyone in the heavyweight division.

And likewise, it’s hard to be too critical of Eric Prindle. For starters, stepping up to fight a teammate in the first place deserves respect from the fans. As for his performance, preventing a takedown from such a huge, yet technically solid wrestler like Konrad is no easy task. He was taken down and overpowered on his way to the early stoppage. There’s no doubt that Prindle will be back, as Bjorn Rebney already confirmed in last night’s post-event press conference that Prindle will be fighting in the next heavyweight tournament. Hopefully he’ll be back with better takedown defense next time around.

In the bantamweight tournament semifinals, Luis Alberto Nogueira was simply on a different level than Hiroshi Nakamura. Save for an early low blow to Nakamura, Nogueira’s performance was flawless. Nakamura simply had no answers for the Brazilian’s crisp standup, getting outpointed on his way to a third round TKO defeat. Props to Nakamura for almost making it the entire fight, but Nogueira was simply too much for him last night. Luis Nogueira will meet Marcos Galvao for the Season Six Tournament Championship and a shot at Bantamweight Champion Eduardo Dantas.

Also of note, Louisiana’s own Rich Clementi picked up a quick submission victory over Derek Campos. Campos managed to catch Clementi early on, using his superior standup to control the fight. However, the fight quickly changed once Clementi earned a takedown. Once “No Love” got the fight to the ground, the fight was essentially over, as Clementi’s jiu jitsu was simply too much for Derek Campos. Clementi improves to 43-21-1 with the victory.

Full Results:

Main Card:

Lightweight Tournament Final: Rick  Hawn def. Brent Weedman via unanimous decision
Heavyweight Title Fight: Cole Konrad def. Eric Prindle via submission (kimura), 1:00 of Round One
Bantamweight Tournament Semifinal: Luis Nogueira def. Hiroshi Nakamura via KO (punches), 1:58 of Round Three
Rich Clementi def. Derek Campos via submission (guillotine choke), 4:18 of Round One

Preliminary Card:

A.J. Matthews def. Charlie Rader via KO (kick), 3:34 of Round Two
Kelvin Tiller def. Jeremiah Riggs via verbal submission (kimura), 3:38 of Round Three
Jonas Billstein def. Mike Seal via submission (rear-naked choke), 2:55 of Round One
Derek Arcement def. Blake Dufour via unanimous decision

Eric Prindle is Officially the James Irvin of Bellator, Title Fight Against Cole Konrad Postponed


(Who knew that this moment would become a metaphor for Eric Prindle’s Bellator career?) 

At this rate, Bellator’s season five heavyweight tournament is going to take longer to come to a close than Strikeforce’s heavyweight tournament, a notion this writer didn’t think was possible until earlier today. Because believe it or not, season five winner Eric Prindle has been forced to withdraw from a scheduled match on less than a week’s notice yet again, this time from his title fight with heavyweight champion Cole Konrad.

The fight, which was supposed to go down at this weekend’s Bellator 65 card, has now been pushed back to May 25th as a result of a hand injury Prindle suffered in training, an injury that he described as “all my own fault.”


(Who knew that this moment would become a metaphor for Eric Prindle’s Bellator career?) 

At this rate, Bellator’s season five heavyweight tournament is going to take longer to come to a close than Strikeforce’s heavyweight tournament, a notion this writer didn’t think was possible until earlier today. Because believe it or not, season five winner Eric Prindle has been forced to withdraw from a scheduled match on less than a week’s notice yet again, this time from his title fight with heavyweight champion Cole Konrad.

The fight, which was supposed to go down at this weekend’s Bellator 65 card, has now been pushed back to May 25th as a result of a hand injury Prindle suffered in training, an injury that he described as “all my own fault.”

For those of you who have not followed the story of Eric Prindle’s Bellator run, it is not unlike that of the television show Lost. Every time closure seemed within sight, the rug was abruptly pulled out from beneath the viewing audience at the last moment, leaving them feeling cheated and pissed off, yet somehow more pretentious as well. This first happened in the original finals of the heavyweight tournament, which took place back in November of 2011. Prindle’s opponent at the time, fellow tourney finalist Thiago Santos, nearly punted Prindle’s testicles halfway across this building, leaving the fight to be declared a no-contest when Prindle could not continue.

The rematch was scheduled for Bellator 61, but the former U.S soldier was forced to withdraw from the fight just one day beforehand due to an alleged case of the flu. The rematch was then rescheduled for Bellator 62, and wouldn’t you know it, both fighters actually managed to make it to the weigh-ins. This was where things would go awry once again, as Santos would weigh in at a scale shattering 12.8 pounds over the heavyweight limit. Prindle was awarded a title shot against Conrad, and the fight was scheduled for Bellator 65.

Conrad has not fought since out gunning UFC veteran Paul Buentello in one of Bellator’s infamous non-title bouts at Bellator 48 in 2011 and has yet to defend the belt since submitting Neil Grove at Bellator 32 in October of 2010 to earn it.

Like we said, Prindle’s match against Konrad is scheduled for May 25th, but we wouldn’t recommend buying those tickets just yet.

Bellator 65, on the other hand, goes down this weekend from the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey and features a headlining bantamweight title fight between champion Zach “Fun Size” Makovsky and challenger Eduardo Dantas.

-J. Jones