Tag: Jacob Noe

Bellator 97 Videos + Results: Chandler Destroys Rickels, Askren Dominates Koreshkov in Far Less Entertaining Fashion

(Video via MMAJunkie)

Maybe one day there will be a Bellator lightweight contender who’s talented enough to defeat champion Michael Chandler — but it ain’t gonna be the dinosaur guy. (No offense.)  Season 8 lightweight tournament winner David Rickels had a good head of steam going into his title challenge against Chandler last night at Bellator 97, with four straight wins including a TKO of Saad Awad back in March. But against a truly world-class lightweight, the Caveman was in way over his head.

As you can see in the video above, Rickels didn’t even have a chance to get started. Chandler swarmed as soon as he staggered Rickels with a right straight, landing more follow-up power shots and diving after Rickels when the challenger hit the mat. In just 44 seconds, Rickels was unconscious and Michael Chandler (now 12-0 overall) had made his second title defense with another fearsome display of killer instinct.

Chandler’s next fight will likely come against Dave Jansen, the Season 7 lightweight tournament winner who hasn’t been able to face Chandler yet due to injury. Jansen is 6-0 in Bellator, and is clearly the most qualified man for the job. And yet, we can’t help but wonder how Chandler would stack up against some of the top 155’ers in the UFC — not like that would ever happen.

Speaking of dominant Bellator champions who could use a higher level of competition…


(Video via MMAJunkie)

Maybe one day there will be a Bellator lightweight contender who’s talented enough to defeat champion Michael Chandler — but it ain’t gonna be the dinosaur guy. (No offense.)  Season 8 lightweight tournament winner David Rickels had a good head of steam going into his title challenge against Chandler last night at Bellator 97, with four straight wins including a TKO of Saad Awad back in March. But against a truly world-class lightweight, the Caveman was in way over his head.

As you can see in the video above, Rickels didn’t even have a chance to get started. Chandler swarmed as soon as he staggered Rickels with a right straight, landing more follow-up power shots and diving after Rickels when the challenger hit the mat. In just 44 seconds, Rickels was unconscious and Michael Chandler (now 12-0 overall) had made his second title defense with another fearsome display of killer instinct.

Chandler’s next fight will likely come against Dave Jansen, the Season 7 lightweight tournament winner who hasn’t been able to face Chandler yet due to injury. Jansen is 6-0 in Bellator, and is clearly the most qualified man for the job. And yet, we can’t help but wonder how Chandler would stack up against some of the top 155′ers in the UFC — not like that would ever happen.

Speaking of dominant Bellator champions who could use a higher level of competition…

Before his welterweight title defense last night against Season 7 tourney winner Andrey Koreshkov, Ben Askren completely wrote off his formerly unbeaten opponent, describing Koreshkov’s ground game as “embarrassing.” It turned out to be a very apt description, although Askren should feel free to share some of that embarrassment.

If you’ve watched any of Askren’s performances before, I probably don’t need to tell you what happened, but in short, Funky Ben took Koreshkov to the mat in every single round, and threw down enough half-hearted strikes to avoid being stood up by the ref. He racked up a truly absurd striking differential, and there were moments in the fight where Askren was confident enough to do absolutely nothing without fear of reprisal. That’s undoubtedly impressive, although not particularly entertaining to watch.

But while Askren was successfully able to lead the crowd in chants of “USA!” early in the fight, the fans eventually turned on him, as they always do. After nearly 18 minutes of Askren’s safe, stifling, tedious top control, the referee called it a TKO, more out of boredom than anything else. Afterwards, Askren accused the fans of being Communists. If booing lay-and-pray makes you a Communist, then yes, I believe the workers should own the means of production. Fun fact: Ben Askren is currently without a contract. Let the bidding war begin!

Elsewhere on the card, Muhammad Lawal went back to his wrestling roots for a ground-and-pound-based victory over Jacob Noe to win the 2013 Summer Series light-heavyweight tournament final, while Patricio Freire bounced back to the W column with a savage third-round TKO against Jared Downing. (Note: Downing was an injury replacement for Rob Emerson, who reportedly pulled a muscle while banging Ian McCall’s wife.)

And of course, this happened.

Video highlights and full results are below…

Bellator 97
July 31st, 2013
Santa Ana Star Center; Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Main Card:
– Michael Chandler def. David Rickels via KO, 0:44 of round 1 [for Bellator lightweight title]
– Ben Askren def. Andrey Koreshkov via TKO, at 2:58 of round 4 [for Bellator welterweight title]
– Muhammed Lawal def. Jacob Noe via verbal submission (punches), 2:51 of round 3 [light-heavyweight tournament final]
– Vitaly Minakov def. Ryan Martinez via TKO, 4:02 of round 3 [heavyweight tournament final]
– Patricio Freire def. Jared Downing via TKO, 0:54 of round 3

Preliminary Card:
– Bubba Jenkins def. Mike Barreras via TKO, 1:05 of round 2
– Anthony Leone def. Frank Baca via submission (rear-naked choke), 1:07 of round 3
– Rafael Silva def. Rodrigo Lima via submission (rear-naked choke), 2:03 of round 3
– Will Brooks def. Cris Leyva via TKO, 2:20 of round 3
– Jeremy Kimball def. Keith Berry via KO, 1:45 of round 2
– Shawn Bunch def. Russell Wilson via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
– Donald Sanchez def. Cliff Wright via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
– Adrian Cruz def. Felipe Chavez via TKO, 4:24 of round 2
– Javier Palacios def. Richard Jacques via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Bellator 96 Recap: King Mo and War Machine Score First-Round Wins, Babalu Sobral Announces Retirement Following Loss


(Like I said, betting money on Petruzelli would be a *terrible* idea. / Photo via Facebook.com/BellatorMMA)

Bellator’s 2013 Summer Series kicked off last night in Thackerville, Oklahoma — population: 404 — with the semifinals of the promotion’s latest light-heavyweight and heavyweight tournaments. The televised card was an overall success, featuring fast action, brutal stoppages, and much-needed wins for a pair of marquee names. But it didn’t go well for everybody. Here are the important points…

War Machine Is Back in General Population
In a non-tournament bout that opened the broadcast, charmingly outspoken welterweight War Machine returned to competition for the first time since his latest stint in jail, facing journeyman Blas Avena. Machine appeared to be in fine form, putting Avena on his back in the second half of the opening round, trapping his arm, and slugging Avena with left hands until the match was stopped at the 3:55 mark. Random thought: War really needs to be a coach on season 2 of Fight Master. You want drama? There’s your drama.

Heavyweights Gonna Heavyweight
Both of the heavyweight tournament semi-finals resulted in gnarly first-round knockouts. During the prelims, Ryan Martinez — who came in as a short-notice replacement for the injured Vinicius Queiroz — slugged out Richard Hale with punches from the top. And on the main card, undefeated Russian prospect Vitaly Minakov needed just 32 seconds to beat the crap out of Ron Sparks. Minakov is now 11-0, with six of those wins coming in the first minute of the fight. He and Martinez will now face each other at Bellator 97, July 31st in Albuquerque.

Farewell, Sweet Babalu


(Like I said, betting money on Petruzelli would be a *terrible* idea. / Photo via Facebook.com/BellatorMMA)

Bellator’s 2013 Summer Series kicked off last night in Thackerville, Oklahoma — population: 404 — with the semifinals of the promotion’s latest light-heavyweight and heavyweight tournaments. The televised card was an overall success, featuring fast action, brutal stoppages, and much-needed wins for a pair of marquee names. But it didn’t go well for everybody. Here are the important points…

War Machine Is Back in General Population
In a non-tournament bout that opened the broadcast, charmingly outspoken welterweight War Machine returned to competition for the first time since his latest stint in jail, facing journeyman Blas Avena. Machine appeared to be in fine form, putting Avena on his back in the second half of the opening round, trapping his arm, and slugging Avena with left hands until the match was stopped at the 3:55 mark. Random thought: War really needs to be a coach on season 2 of Fight Master. You want drama? There’s your drama.

Heavyweights Gonna Heavyweight
Both of the heavyweight tournament semi-finals resulted in gnarly first-round knockouts. During the prelims, Ryan Martinez — who came in as a short-notice replacement for the injured Vinicius Queiroz — slugged out Richard Hale with punches from the top. And on the main card, undefeated Russian prospect Vitaly Minakov needed just 32 seconds to beat the crap out of Ron Sparks. Minakov is now 11-0, with six of those wins coming in the first minute of the fight. He and Martinez will now face each other at Bellator 97, July 31st in Albuquerque.

Farewell, Sweet Babalu
Renato “Babalu” Sobral vs. Jacob Noe was certainly the most competitive fight on the main card, with both light-heavyweights landing well through the first two rounds. The third round could have been the deciding frame, but Noe didn’t let it go to the judges. After stunning Sobral with punches and opening up a cut near his left eye, Noe threw the kitchen sink at Babalu, who stumbled around and ate punches until the ref called a standing TKO at the 3:32 mark of the final round. Despite his wooziness, Sobral didn’t appear too pleased with the call.

If you’re a well-traveled MMA veteran who has fought for the biggest organizations in the world, but you’re now being stopped by a virtual unknown in the opening round of a Bellator tournament, it might be a good sign to hang up the gloves — and that’s exactly what Babalu did after the fight, announcing his retirement in the cage. It’s hard to say if Sobral’s retirement will be permanent, or one of those temporary retirements that fighters seem to love so much. But for now, the BJJ black-belt leaves behind a 37-11 career record, and can claim victories over Chael Sonnen, Mauricio Rua, Robbie Lawler, Jeremy Horn, and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou.

King Mo Smashes — and I Mean Smashes — Seth Petruzelli


(Skip to the 1:11 mark for the brain-damage.)

Look, I still think making Muhammad Lawal a 15-1 favorite in this fight was ludicrous. This wasn’t exactly Cro Cop vs. Dos Caras Jr. — it was a halfway legitimate matchup. But King Mo won, and he made it look easy. As soon as Lawal completed his first takedown, it was the beginning of the end. With Petruzelli on his back, Lawal grabbed his feet, swung them out of the way, and dived in with one of the most savage haymakers-from-above in MMA history. Nobody could have survived that shot, and Petruzelli was no exception. And so, Lawal bounces back from his surprise upset against Emanuel Newton at Bellator 90, and will now face Jacob Noe in the finals of the light-heavyweight summer tourney at Bellator 97. Meanwhile, Petruzelli’s Bellator record drops to 1-2.

And now, full results from Bellator 96…

MAIN CARD
Muhammed Lawal def. Seth Petruzelli via KO, 1:35 of round 1
Jacob Noe def. Renato Sobral via TKO, 3:32 of round 3
Vitaly Minakov def. Ron Sparks via TKO, 0:32 of round 1
War Machine def. Blas Avena via TKO, 3:55 of round 1

PRELIMINARY CARD
Damon Jackson def. Keith Miner via TKO, 2:00 of round 1
Raphael Butler def. Jeremiah O’Neal via TKO, 2:57 of round 1
Ryan Martinez def. Richard Hale via KO, 2:19 of round 1
Brandon Halsey def. Joe Yager via split decision (30-28 x 2, 28-30)*
Derek Campos def. Brandon Girtz via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
Justin McNally def. Steven Artoff via verbal submission (triangle choke), 2:44 of round 1

UNAIRED MATCHES (FOLLOWING THE MAIN CARD BROADCAST)
Chas Skelly def. Jarrod Card via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
Keith Berry def. Cortez Coleman via split decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
Mike Maldonado def. Chavous Smith via submission (rear-naked choke), 2:27 of round 1

* That 28-30 has to be a scoring error by the judge. Yager had a point deducted for groin-strikes, so even if he won every round, the highest score he could have received would be 29.

Bellator 90 Recap: ‘King Mo’ Dethroned Via Spinning Backfist, Ben Saunders Adds Head Kick KO to Highlight Reel

(The Emanuel Newton vs. King Mo spinning-backfist falling-tree knockout, via RockOwnsPunk.)

When you’re watching a Bellator event, you can only hope that a memorable finish or two will make up for the general lack of star power compared to those other guys. And oh man, did last night’s Bellator 90 event in West Valley City, Utah, deliver the goods, with all four fights on the Spike TV main card ending within the first two rounds, and three more stoppages featured on the prelims.

But the card’s generous helping of violence was a mixed blessing, since the list of victims included Bellator’s light-heavyweight marquee attraction, and their marketable featherweight inspirational figure. If you didn’t tune in last night, here’s what you missed:

Season 8 Welterweight Semi-Finals: Ben Saunders faced Raul Amaya for the second time in his Bellator stint, and while Killa B completely dominated their first meeting en route to a unanimous decision win, he didn’t even let Amaya out of the first round this time. Amaya was aggressive from the opening bell, but wasn’t able to find his range against the lanky Saunders, who landed counter-punches and body-kicks at will, before putting Amaya’s lights out with a left high kick. (GIF here, via ZombieProphet/BloodyElbow)

The fight on the other side of the 170-bracket was just as quick and one-sided. Douglas Lima didn’t give Bryan Baker a chance to get in the fight, abusing Baker’s legs with low kicks for a couple minutes, then firing a devastating right hand that crumpled “The Beast” to the mat. Lima will now face Saunders in the Season 8 Welterweight Tournament Final at Bellator 93, in a rematch of their Season 5 Welterweight Tournament Final in November 2011, which Lima won by knockout.


(The Emanuel Newton vs. King Mo spinning-backfist falling-tree knockout, via RockOwnsPunk.)

When you’re watching a Bellator event, you can only hope that a memorable finish or two will make up for the general lack of star power compared to those other guys. And oh man, did last night’s Bellator 90 event in West Valley City, Utah, deliver the goods, with all four fights on the Spike TV main card ending within the first two rounds, and three more stoppages featured on the prelims.

But the card’s generous helping of violence was a mixed blessing, since the list of victims included Bellator’s light-heavyweight marquee attraction, and their marketable featherweight inspirational figure. If you didn’t tune in last night, here’s what you missed:

Season 8 Welterweight Semi-Finals: Ben Saunders faced Raul Amaya for the second time in his Bellator stint, and while Killa B completely dominated their first meeting en route to a unanimous decision win, he didn’t even let Amaya out of the first round this time. Amaya was aggressive from the opening bell, but wasn’t able to find his range against the lanky Saunders, who landed counter-punches and body-kicks at will, before putting Amaya’s lights out with a left high kick. (GIF here, via ZombieProphet/BloodyElbow)

The fight on the other side of the 170-bracket was just as quick and one-sided. Douglas Lima didn’t give Bryan Baker a chance to get in the fight, abusing Baker’s legs with low kicks for a couple minutes, then firing a devastating right hand that crumpled “The Beast” to the mat. Lima will now face Saunders in the Season 8 Welterweight Tournament Final at Bellator 93, in a rematch of their Season 5 Welterweight Tournament Final in November 2011, which Lima won by knockout.

Season 8 Light-Heavyweight Semi-Finals: The Spike card led off with a 205-pound match between Mikhail Zayats and Jacob Noe, who you may remember as the guys who beat Renato Sobral and Seth Petruzelli at Bellator 85. Zayats took control from the very beginning, flooring Noe with a right hand and establishing top position on the mat. After some ground-and-pound, Zayats established mount and methodically set up an armbar, cranking it for the tap.

You’d think that Zayats would now be set up for high-profile meeting with Muhammad Lawal in the tournament finals, but Emanuel Newton went and screwed those plans up later in the evening. Unlike Przemyslaw “The Inanimate Object” Mysiala, Newton wasn’t afraid to stand toe-to-toe with Mo; Lawal’s shots might have been cleaner during their striking exchanges, but Newton was getting his licks in and making it a battle. But that battle didn’t last long. Halfway through the opening round, Newton whiffed so hard on an overhand right that he found himself with his back turned to Mo. So he figured, hey, why not throw a completely-blind spinning backfist? And because the MMA Gods have a sadistic sense of humor when it comes to fight promotions putting all their eggs into a single fighter’s basket, that spinning backfist landed across Lawal’s jaw, sending the King into a slow-motion tailspin. And so, it’ll be Newton vs. Zayats for all the marbles. How do you like that.

Season 7 Featherweight Tournament Final: The fight between Rad Martinez and Shahbulat Shamhalaev was originally supposed to go down in December, but Shamhalaev had to bow out at the last minute due to food poisoning. Shamhalaev was in fine form last night, punching Martinez to the mat in the first round, and nailing him with leg kicks. Martinez’s best moment came as he scored a takedown to stifle Shamhalaev’s momentum near the end of the round. Once the fighters were re-started for round two, it was all Shamhalaev, who dinged Martinez with unanswered power punches that staggered the Utah native, then smashed him with an overhand right that effectively ended the match — GIF here, via ZombieProphet/BloodyElbow — punching his ticket to a future title shot against Pat Curran.

Full Bellator 90 results are below.

Main Card
– Shahbulat Shamhalaev def. Rad Martinez via KO, 2:12 of round 2 *
– Emanuel Newton def. Muhammed Lawal via KO (spinning backfist), 2:35 of round 1 **
– Douglas Lima def. Bryan Baker via KO, 2:34 of round 1 ***
– Mikhail Zayats def. Jacob Noe via submission (armbar), 3:38 of round 1 **

Preliminary Card
– Ben Saunders def. Raul Amaya via KO (head kick), 2:56 of round 1 ***
– Travis Marx def. Chase Beebe via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
– Jesse Juarez def. Jordan Smith via split-decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
– Sean Powers def. David Allred via submission (rear-naked choke), 2:10 of round 3
– Lionel Lanham def. Joe Rodriguez via KO, 0:49 of round 1

* Season 7 Featherweight Tournament Final
** Season 8 Light-Heavyweight Tournament Semi-Final
*** Season 8 Welterweight Tournament Semi-Final

Bellator 85 Results: Chandler Dominates Hawn, Curran Sneaks by Pitbull, Babalu and Petruzelli Wash Out of LHW Tournament


(Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting.com)

If we needed any more proof that Michael Chandler deserves to be mentioned among the world’s best 155’ers, we got it last night at Bellator 85 in Irvine, California, when the reigning Bellator lightweight champion made decorated judoka Rick Hawn look like it was his first time on the mats. Chandler completed his takedowns with impressive ease, and when he saw an opportunity to take Hawn’s neck during a scramble in round two, he seized on it, sinking a rear-naked choke and showcasing the killer instinct that has now become a hallmark of Chandler’s game. To be honest, it wasn’t much of a fight, and this season’s lightweight tournament field doesn’t suggest that his next challenger will make things any harder for him. On the bright side, Chandler may have just established himself as Bellator’s greatest home-grown fighter — a budding superstar for the promotion’s new Spike TV era.

While Michael Chandler made his title defense with little resistance, reigning featherweight champion Pat Curran faced a much trickier test in Patricio “Pitbull” Freire. Their title fight (which led off the Spike TV broadcast) played out as a 25-minute kickboxing match, which started slow but built into an entertaining and evenly-pitched battle. Curran’s striking was just a little more active and accurate, however, and if you were judging on facial damage through the fight, Pitbull’s swollen-shut right eye and bloodied mouth didn’t exactly scream “winner.” When the scores were announced, “Judo” Gene LeBell saw it for the challenger, but the other two judges made the right call in awarding the win to the defending champ.

In addition to the two title fights, Bellator 85’s main card also featured a pair of light-heavyweight tournament quarterfinals. Unfortunately, those UFC castoffs we mentioned yesterday are well on their way to becoming Bellator castoffs as well, as Renato “Babalu” Sobral and Seth Petruzelli were steamrolled by their lesser-known competitors. Russian M-1 Challenge vet Mikhail Zayats stunned Sobral with a spinning-backfist near the end of the first round of their fight, then swarmed him to the canvas and fired down punches until the fight was stopped. (Eddie Alvarez’s wife called that shit, you guys.)


(Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting.com)

If we needed any more proof that Michael Chandler deserves to be mentioned among the world’s best 155′ers, we got it last night at Bellator 85 in Irvine, California, when the reigning Bellator lightweight champion made decorated judoka Rick Hawn look like it was his first time on the mats. Chandler completed his takedowns with impressive ease, and when he saw an opportunity to take Hawn’s neck during a scramble in round two, he seized on it, sinking a rear-naked choke and showcasing the killer instinct that has now become a hallmark of Chandler’s game. To be honest, it wasn’t much of a fight, and this season’s lightweight tournament field doesn’t suggest that his next challenger will make things any harder for him. On the bright side, Chandler may have just established himself as Bellator’s greatest home-grown fighter — a budding superstar for the promotion’s new Spike TV era.

While Michael Chandler made his title defense with little resistance, reigning featherweight champion Pat Curran faced a much trickier test in Patricio “Pitbull” Freire. Their title fight (which led off the Spike TV broadcast) played out as a 25-minute kickboxing match, which started slow but built into an entertaining and evenly-pitched battle. Curran’s striking was just a little more active and accurate, however, and if you were judging on facial damage through the fight, Pitbull’s swollen-shut right eye and bloodied mouth didn’t exactly scream “winner.” When the scores were announced, “Judo” Gene LeBell saw it for the challenger, but the other two judges made the right call in awarding the win to the defending champ.

In addition to the two title fights, Bellator 85′s main card also featured a pair of light-heavyweight tournament quarterfinals. Unfortunately, those UFC castoffs we mentioned yesterday are well on their way to becoming Bellator castoffs as well, as Renato “Babalu” Sobral and Seth Petruzelli were steamrolled by their lesser-known competitors. Russian M-1 Challenge vet Mikhail Zayats stunned Sobral with a spinning-backfist near the end of the first round of their fight, then swarmed him to the canvas and fired down punches until the fight was stopped. (Eddie Alvarez’s wife called that shit, you guys.)

It was an unexpected finish, but not nearly as strange as Petruzelli’s anti-climactic showing against Jacob Noe, in which the Silverback blew out his knee during a takedown attempt midway through the first round, and immediately turtled up as Noe ground-and-pounded the crap out of him. Ah well. We still have King Mo, right?

In prelim action, Emanuel Newton advanced in the LHW tournament bracket by choking out Atanas Djambazov, and UFC vet Jason Lambert pulled off a slick first-round armbar against Hector Ramirez in a non-tourney bout. Plus, Savant Young ended Mike Guymon’s brief lightweight comeback in violent fashion, and Jamie Yager indeed got his ass kicked. Hooray! Full results from Bellator 85 are below…

Main Card
– Michael Chandler def. Rick Hawn via submission (rear-naked choke), 3:07 of round 2
– Jacob Noe def. Seth Petruzelli via TKO, 2:51 of round 1
– Mikhail Zayats def. Renato Sobral via TKO, 4:49 of round 1
– Pat Curran def. Patricio Freire via split-decision (48-47 x 2, 47-48)

Preliminary Card
– Aaron Miller def. Joe Camacho via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
– Jason Lambert def. Hector Ramirez via submission (inverted straight armbar), 3:59 of round 1
– J.J. Ambrose def. Brian Warren via submission (guillotine), 0:50 of round 2
– Emanuel Newton def. Atanas Djambazov via submission (rear-naked choke), 2:21 of round 2
– Savant Young def. Mike Guymon via KO, 0:48 of round 2
– Joe Williams def. Jamie Yager via TKO, 4:02 of round 1
– Cleber Luciano def. Mario Navarro via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)