While we were all busy watching Eddie Alvarezhead kick his way into the UFC at last weekend’s Bellator 76 event, it turns out that another just as devastating first round head kick knockout had taken place less than an hour beforehand, and in about 4 minutes less fight time. The matchup, which paired fellow featherweight prospects Mike Richman and Jeremy Spoon against one another, barely got under way before Big John had to step in and save Spoon’s ass from certain death. No, it was not because he suffered a gruesome in-ring injury, but rather because Richman decided to play Major Payne to Spoon’s Bam Bam Bigelow roughly twenty seconds into the fight.
Video after the jump. Catch it before it’s gone.
(Seen here: The one strike that didn’t land.)
While we were all busy watching Eddie Alvarezhead kick his way into the UFC at last weekend’s Bellator 76 event, it turns out that another just as devastating first round head kick knockout had taken place less than an hour beforehand, and in about 4 minutes less fight time. The matchup, which paired fellow featherweight prospects Mike Richman and Jeremy Spoon against one another, barely got under way before Big John had to step in and save Spoon’s ass from certain death. No, it was not because he suffered a gruesome in-ring injury, but rather because Richman decided to play Major Payne to Spoon’s Bam Bam Bigelow roughly twenty seconds into the fight.
Video after the jump. Catch it before it’s gone.
Unless you’re a big fan of fighter walkouts, skip to the 5:30 mark for the action. Then prepare for your sphincter to involuntarily contract as Richman stares a hole into your soul at the 6:08 mark. Seriously, that might be the creepiest/rapiest post fight celebration face this side of Gabriel Gonzaga that I’ve ever witnessed. Shang Tsung would approve.
With the victory, Richman earned himself a spot in Bellator’s featherweight semifinals against Shahbulat Shamhalaev, who defeated American Cody Bollinger by first round TKO just one fight earlier. The winner of the season will get an inevitable shot at champion Pat Curran, who is no stranger to the art of the head kick KO himself, if he is able to get past Patricio Freire whenever the hell those two are set to meet.
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.
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.
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
