Just look at these two–like a couple of wild dogs you can’t keep apart.
With two bouts and two unsatisfying stoppages already under their belts, Waachiim Spiritwolf and Marius Zaromskis are slated to once more climb into a cage and go through the motions of fighting before a freak injury leaves the viewing audience with a massive case of blue balls.
The pair first locked horns at Strikeforce Challengers 12, where an inadvertent eyepoke just seconds into the fight left Spiritwolf unable to continue. The duo reloaded and clashed once more a few weeks back at Bellator 68, where cageside doctors would call a halt to the bout between the second and third frames due to a cut between Spiritwolf’s eyebrows.
With one ‘No Contest’ and one questionable tally in the win column for Zaromskis, Spiritwolf will have his chance to settle the score on July 20th at Bellator 72.
After the jump, season six Welterweight tournament finalists will tie up loose ends as well…
Just look at these two–like a couple of wild dogs you can’t keep apart.
With two bouts and two unsatisfying stoppages already under their belts, Waachiim Spiritwolf and Marius Zaromskis are slated to once more climb into a cage and go through the motions of fighting before a freak injury leaves the viewing audience with a massive case of blue balls.
The pair first locked horns at Strikeforce Challengers 12, where an inadvertent eyepoke just seconds into the fight left Spiritwolf unable to continue. The duo reloaded and clashed once more a few weeks back at Bellator 68, where cageside doctors would call a halt to the bout between the second and third frames due to a cut between Spiritwolf’s eyebrows.
With one ‘No Contest’ and one questionable tally in the win column for Zaromskis, Spiritwolf will have his chance to settle the score on July 20th at Bellator 72.
Oddly, Bellator’s sixth season came to an end before its Welterweight tournament did. Tourney finalists Bryan Baker and Karl Amoussou will get to settle their unfinished business alongside Spiritwolf and Zaromskis.
When we last saw Maiquel Falcao and Andreas Spang in the cage with each other, the two nearly started brawling during a post-fight interview at Bellator 66. Anticipation for their main event clash at last night’s Bellator 69 from Lake Charles, Louisiana was high, even though Falcao initially missed weight for their bout. The dust has settled, and the event produced this season’s middleweight tournament champion, a close (borderline controversial) decision and much more.
The evening’s main event saw UFC veteran Maiquel Falcao dominate Swedish prospect Andreas Spang. Save for an early right cross that appeared to have Falcao in trouble, as well as an illegal knee from “Big Rig” that cost him a one point deduction on the scorecards, Maiquel Falcao controlled this entire fight. Already known for his Muay Thai prowess, Falcao utilized an ever-improving wrestling game on his way to the unanimous decision victory.
Immediately after winning this season’s middleweight tournament, Bjorn Rebney came to the cage to announce that Maiquel Falcao will be fighting Alexander Shlemenko, who was initially set for a rematch against Hector Lombard before he signed with the UFC, for the vacant middleweight title. Falcao vs. Shlemenko should be an interesting fight, especially if Falcao is healthy for it. At the post-event press conference, Maiquel Falcao revealed that he had been battling a flu leading up to his fight against Spang.
When we last saw Maiquel Falcao and Andreas Spang in the cage with each other, the two nearly started brawling during a post-fight interview at Bellator 66. Anticipation for their main event clash at last night’s Bellator 69 from Lake Charles, Louisiana was high, even though Falcao initially missed weight for their bout. The dust has settled, and the event produced this season’s middleweight tournament champion, a close (borderline controversial) decision and much more.
The evening’s main event saw UFC veteran Maiquel Falcao dominate Swedish prospect Andreas Spang. Save for an early right cross that appeared to have Falcao in trouble, as well as an illegal knee from “Big Rig” that cost him a one point deduction on the scorecards, Maiquel Falcao controlled this entire fight. Already known for his Muay Thai prowess, Falcao utilized an ever-improving wrestling game on his way to the unanimous decision victory.
Immediately after winning this season’s middleweight tournament, Bjorn Rebney came to the cage to announce that Maiquel Falcao will be fighting Alexander Shlemenko, who was initially set for a rematch against Hector Lombard before he signed with the UFC, for the vacant middleweight title. Falcao vs. Shlemenko should be an interesting fight, especially if Falcao is healthy for it. At the post-event press conference, Maiquel Falcao revealed that he had been battling a flu leading up to his fight against Spang.
The evenings co-main event, a welterweight tournament bout between David Rickels and Karl Amoussou, was a much closer fight. With the crowd expecting fireworks, the bout was paused after a low kick from Rickels caused Amoussou’s jock strap to tear. After attempting to find Amoussou a backup jock, officials decided to just tape the cup to “Psycho” and proceed with the fight. Seriously.
The first round was all Amoussou, who outstruck “Caveman” and displayed his impressive judo. Round two started off the same way, but Rickels managed to turn things around mid-round, and managed to nearly finish the fight with an armbar. Amoussou slammed his way out of the armbar attempt as the round came to a close. Round three saw Rickels thoroughly outclass Amoussou, taking him down and unloading some serious ground and pound for the remainder of the fight, including some two-handed “Caveman smash” by the end of the fight.
In the end, the judges saw the bout in favor of Karl Amoussou, who had to miss the post-event press conference due to a possibly broken orbital bone. Needless to say, David Rickels was not impressed with the decision (neither were the fans in attendance, for that matter). At the press conference, Rickels speculated that Pepe Le Pew must have been one of the judges, and paraphrased Chael Sonnen by asking in what parallel universe can a fighter break a guy’s orbital bone and have his opponent declared the winner. The loss marks the first in his career.
The top two women’s 115-pound fighters, Megumi Fujii and Jessica Aguilar, were also booked for the evening. Throughout the fight, Aguilar used her superior striking to keep Fujii at bay. While Fujii did not attempt a single takedown in the second round, she managed to take Aguilar down in the final round, although it was too little too late. Jessica Aguilar improves to 14-4, and emerges as the top 115 pound fighter with the victory.
Also of note, Abe Wagner and Mark Holata led off the card with a heavyweight tournament qualifier bout. The short bout ended in confusion, as Abe Wagner was caught in a seemingly ineffective foot lock. Abe Wagner attempted one of his own before saying “Tap”, ending the fight. After the bout, Wagner called his loss “fucking embarrassing” and vowed to come back with a better performance next time.
Full Results:
Main Card:
Maiquel Falcao def. Andreas Spang via unanimous decision
Karl Amoussou def. David Rickels via split decision
Jessica Aguilar def. Megumi Fujii via unanimous decision
Mark Holata def. Abe Wagner via verbal submission (ankle lock), 2:24 of Round One
Preliminary Card:
Josh Quayhagen def. Cliff Wright, Jr via unanimous decision
Shanon Slack def. Booker Arthur via unanimous decision
Andrey Koreshkov def. Derrick Krantz via TKO (strikes), 0:51 of Round Three
Richard Hale def. Josh Burns via TKO (strikes), 0:38 of Round One
E.J. Brooks def. Kalvin Hackney via unanimous decision
Bellator has already proven that they have a zero-tolerance policy for tournament competitorsmissing weight, and this afternoon, Maiquel Falcao put himself in danger of being the second finalist to be disqualified this season.
During the weigh-ins for tomorrow’s Bellator 69 event at L’Auberge du Lac Casino Resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana, Falcao punished the scales at 188 pounds, three above his middleweight limit. He has been given two hours to sweat off the excess; if he doesn’t make it happen, his opponent Andreas Spang could win the Season Six Middleweight Tournament by default, earning a title shot against a cardboard cutout of Hector Lombard. Cross your fingers for a good result, because these two really need to squash their beef. UPDATE:Falcao made weight on his second attempt.
In other Bellator weigh-in news, two undercard fighters also came in heavy on their first attempts, and welterweight semifinalist Karl Amoussou made opponent David Rickels his bitch during the staredown. You can see a GIF of that rather embarrassing moment after the jump, along with complete weigh-in results from Bellator 69, which will also feature a 115-pound women’s match between Megumi Fujii and Jessica Aguilar.
Bellator has already proven that they have a zero-tolerance policy for tournament competitorsmissing weight, and this afternoon, Maiquel Falcao put himself in danger of being the second finalist to be disqualified this season.
During the weigh-ins for tomorrow’s Bellator 69 event at L’Auberge du Lac Casino Resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana, Falcao punished the scales at 188 pounds, three above his middleweight limit. He has been given two hours to sweat off the excess; if he doesn’t make it happen, his opponent Andreas Spang could win the Season Six Middleweight Tournament by default, earning a title shot against a cardboard cutout of Hector Lombard. Cross your fingers for a good result, because these two really need to squash their beef. UPDATE:Falcao made weight on his second attempt.
In other Bellator weigh-in news, two undercard fighters also came in heavy on their first attempts, and welterweight semifinalist Karl Amoussou made opponent David Rickels his bitch during the staredown. You can see a GIF of that rather embarrassing moment after the jump, along with complete weigh-in results from Bellator 69, which will also feature a 115-pound women’s match between Megumi Fujii and Jessica Aguilar.
MAIN CARD (MTV2)
Maiquel Falcao (188) vs. Andreas Spang (185.8) – middleweight-tournament final
Karl Amoussou (170) vs. David Rickels (170.6) – welterweight-tournament semifinal
Jessica Aguilar (115.6) vs. Megumi Fujii (116)
Kevin Asplund (239) vs. Ron Sparks (264.6)
PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike.com)
Josh Quayhagen (158.2) vs. Cliff Wright (155.6)
Emanuel “E.J.” Brooks (156.6) vs. Kalvin Hackney (156)
Booker Arthur (145.4) vs. Shanon Slack (146)
Andrey Koreshkov (170.8) vs. Derrick Krantz (170.8)
Josh Burns (206) vs. Richard Hale (205.5)
Mark Holata (250.6) vs. Abe Wagner (248.8)
As dangerous as Cleveland can be as a city, it has struggled to field decent sports teams and produce champions (not to mention keeping them). Last night at Bellator 63, which gave viewers the Quarterfinal round of this season’s welterweight tournament, “The Cleveland Assassin” Chris Lozano looked to break the cycle and make a run at Bellator’s welterweight title. Ifyou’vebeenpayinganyattention, you already know what to expect.
Perhaps no one in MMA other than Chael Sonnen embraces his alter-ego more than Lozano’s opponent, “Psycho” Karl Amoussou, who had Lozano uncharacteristically angered with his psycho routine before the fight. While that didn’t translate to either man swinging for the fences at the bell, it did lead to an early finish for the French judoka. After Amoussou cut Lozano with a head kick, “The Cleveland Assassin” took Amoussou down and landed in his guard, which would be Lozano’s only offense for the fight. From there, Amoussou swept Lozano, mounted him and took his back to sink in the rear-naked choke. Karl Amoussou improves to 14-4-2 in his welterweight debut.
As dangerous as Cleveland can be as a city, it has struggled to field decent sports teams and produce champions (not to mention keeping them). Last night at Bellator 63, which gave viewers the Quarterfinal round of this season’s welterweight tournament, “The Cleveland Assassin” Chris Lozano looked to break the cycle and make a run at Bellator’s welterweight title. Ifyou’vebeenpayinganyattention, you already know what to expect.
Perhaps no one in MMA other than Chael Sonnen embraces his alter-ego more than Lozano’s opponent, “Psycho” Karl Amoussou, who had Lozano uncharacteristically angered with his psycho routine before the fight. While that didn’t translate to either man swinging for the fences at the bell, it did lead to an early finish for the French judoka. After Amoussou cut Lozano with a head kick, ”The Cleveland Assassin” took Amoussou down and landed in his guard, which would be Lozano’s only offense for the fight. From there, Amoussou swept Lozano, mounted him and took his back to sink in the rear-naked choke. Karl Amoussou improves to 14-4-2 in his welterweight debut.
In a rare miss for the promotion, the evening’s co-main event saw Bryan Baker take home a split decision over Carlos Alexandre Pereira. Perhaps due to this fight being Baker’s first at welterweight, perhaps due to both fighters respecting each other’s striking, or more than likely due to some combination of the two, neither fighter seemed eager to exchange. Despite the lack of overall action in the fight, Baker landed more takedowns and successfully used his kicks to keep Pereira outside, which was enough to earn him the victory. Hopefully Baker works out his cut to welterweight, as his performance from last night won’t be enough for the next round of the tournament.
It’s likely that it will take you longer to read our description of Jordan Smith vs. David Rickels than it will to actually watch the fight. Both men came out swinging, with David Rickels landing pretty much everything he threw. The stoppage came only twenty two seconds into the fight, putting ”The Caveman” at a perfect 10-0 in his MMA career.
One final note, UFC veteran Ben Saunders put in a dominant performance against Raul Amaya. Save for a brief period in the third round when Amaya managed to take Saunders’ back, Raul Amaya had zero answers for anything “Killa B” attempted. Saunders was clearly the better striker, and constantly attempted submissions once the fight hit the mats. Saunders is now 5-1 since being released from the UFC, and is an early favorite to win this season’s welterweight tournament.
Full Results:
Main Card:
Karl Amoussou def. Chris Lozano via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 2:05 of Round 1 Bryan Baker def. Carlos Alexandre Pereira via Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
David Rickels def. Jordan Smith via TKO (Punches) at 0:22 of Round 1
Ben Saunders def. Raul Amaya via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Preliminary Card
Ryan Quinn def. Marc Stevens via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Saul Almeida vs. Matt Bessette def. Saul Almeida via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Brandon Fleming def. Pete Rogers via Submission (Peruvian Necktie) at 3:39 of Round 1
Dan Cramer def. Jeff Nader via Split Decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
Andrey Koreshkov def. Tiawan Howard via Knockout (Uppercut and Punches) at 1:26 of Round 1
Munah Holland def. Marianna Kheyfets via Knockout (Punch) at 4:45 of Round 2
— After signing to the promotion in December, War Machine has secured his quarterfinal opponent for Bellator’s upcoming welterweight tournament. As he wrote on Twitter yesterday, “Fuck ya its on! My first fight in @BellatorMMA tournament will be March 30th vs. Karl Amoussou!! Gonna send him back to France in peices!!” It will be Machine’s first appearance since his impressive post-prison win against Roger Huerta in November.
Karl “Psycho” Amoussou (13-4-2, 1-1 in Bellator) is indeed French, and has also competed for M-1, Strikeforce, DREAM, and Pancrase. The Haute Tension product most recently scored a first-round TKO over Jesus Martinez in a 175-pound catchweight bout at Bellator 59 in November. Bellator’s Season 6 welterweight bracket will include Bryan Baker, Brian Foster, undefeated triangle-choke specialist David Rickels, and Season 5 tournament finalist Ben Saunders. War Machine is already looking forward to an emotional reunion with his TUF 6 castmate.
In other news…
(War Machine poses with the kids’ MMA class that he is somehow allowed to teach. Props: @WarMachine170)
— After signing to the promotion in December, War Machine has secured his quarterfinal opponent for Bellator’s upcoming welterweight tournament. As he wrote on Twitter yesterday, “Fuck ya its on! My first fight in @BellatorMMA tournament will be March 30th vs. Karl Amoussou!! Gonna send him back to France in peices!!” It will be Machine’s first appearance since his impressive post-prison win against Roger Huerta in November.
Karl “Psycho” Amoussou (13-4-2, 1-1 in Bellator) is indeed French, and has also competed for M-1, Strikeforce, DREAM, and Pancrase. The Haute Tension product most recently scored a first-round TKO over Jesus Martinez in a 175-pound catchweight bout at Bellator 59 in November. Bellator’s Season 6 welterweight bracket will include Bryan Baker, Brian Foster, undefeated triangle-choke specialist David Rickels, and Season 5 tournament finalist Ben Saunders. War Machine is already looking forward to an emotional reunion with his TUF 6 castmate.
In other news…
— Sherdog has confirmed that one-time UFC competitor Maiquel Falcao (28-4) will make his promotional debut as part of the Bellator Season 6 middleweight tournament; his debut date and first opponent haven’t been announced yet. Since being released from the UFC last May due to legal drama, the Chute Boxe-bred knockout artist has gone 2-1 in Brazilian leagues. Though he reportedly suffered a heart-attack in November, Falcao downplayed the story on his Facebook account, writing: “I’ve had some health problems caused by excessive training. This generated several rumors, but none of them is true. What actually happened was too much training, not enough rest.”
Filed under: BellatorThe fourth season of Bellator Fighting Championships came to an end on Saturday night, with the promotion’s first light heavyweight champion being crowned and a featherweight title rematch getting booked.
The fourth season of Bellator Fighting Championships came to an end on Saturday night, with the promotion’s first light heavyweight champion being crowned and a featherweight title rematch getting booked.
In the main event at Bellator 45, Christian M’Pumbu won the light heavyweight championship by defeating Richard Hale by third-round TKO. M’Pumbu landed a huge right hand to knock Hale down, then landed several more punches on the ground as Hale tried to recover. Although Hale did a nice job of protecting himself at first, eventually M’Pumbu managed to get through Hale’s defense, land more punches, and force the referee to step in to stop the fight.
It was an impressive finish for M’Pumbu, improving his record to 18-3-1 and giving him his third consecutive TKO victory inside the Bellator cage.
Patricio “Pitbull” Freire took a unanimous decision victory over Daniel Straus to win the Season 4 featherweight tournament, effectively controlling the fight and winning 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 on the judges’ scorecards. The victory earns Pitbull a rematch with the only man who has defeated him Bellator featherweight champion Joe Warren, in what promises to be a great fight.
“I’m happy to give him a rematch and the second loss on his record,” Warren said immediately after the fight.
In the other televised fight, Sam Alvey came back from a brutal beating in the first round of his bout with Karl Amoussou to win a split decision. Early on Amoussou turned Alvey’s head into a bloody mess with a series of vicious elbows, and it looked like the fight might need to be stopped. But Alvey fought just well enough in the second and third rounds to eke out a victory, with two judges giving it to Alvey 29-28 and one judge giving it to Amoussou 29-28.
The fight card was the last of Bellator’s fourth season, and the promotion will now take a five-week hiatus before returning for its “Summer Series” on June 25. Whether Bellator can build on what it’s done this year and build up some more fan interest over the summer remains to be seen, but Bellator is wrapping up an impressive fourth season.
