Tag: Martin Stapleton

Bellator 125 Live Blog – Main Card Results and Commentary

Bellator 125 can be summed up in two words: MELVIN. MANHOEF.

The feared Dutch striker/laughable Dutch grappler makes his return to the American MMA scene tonight in the main event of Bellator 125. He’ll face off against Bellator mainstay and respected striker Doug Marshall.

Other cool things about Bellator 125: Brian Rogers will be fighting Rafael Carvalho. Touted (though slightly derailed) prospect Goiti Yamauchi is up against Martin Stapleton. There’s also Javy Ayala fighting Raphael Butler in a heavyweight bout–which means it’ll either be awesome or terrible.

Keep hitting refresh once the card starts at 9:00 pm EST for updates!

Bellator 125 can be summed up in two words: MELVIN. MANHOEF.

The feared Dutch striker/laughable Dutch grappler makes his return to the American MMA scene tonight in the main event of Bellator 125. He’ll face off against Bellator mainstay and respected striker Doug Marshall.

Other cool things about Bellator 125: Brian Rogers will be fighting Rafael Carvalho. Touted (though slightly derailed) prospect Goiti Yamauchi is up against Martin Stapleton. There’s also Javy Ayala fighting Raphael Butler in a heavyweight bout–which means it’ll either be awesome or terrible.

Keep hitting refresh once the card starts at 9:00 pm EST for updates!

Martin Stapleton vs. Goiti Yamauchi

Round 1: Yamauchi paws with some jabs then throws a knee. Stapleton catches the knee and takes him down. Yamauchi is going for an omoplata right now and he might actually get it. Stapleton is defending it well so far. The omoplata is still going on, and then Yamauchi uses this to sweep Stapleton and now he has his back with a body triangle locked in. Yamauchi is trying for the rear naked choke but it seems to be too much on the chin. Stapleton slips out of the choke but Yamauchi still has his back. Yamauchi goes for another choke but this one is on the chin as well and Stapleton gets out. Stapleton gets his back to the mat and manages to get back to half guard. Yamauchi passes very quickly. As Stapleton tries to scramble away, he gets his back taken again. Yamauchi tries another rear naked choke and gets it this time! The fight is over.

Javy Ayala vs. Raphael Butler

Round 1: Butler gets rocked with a left hand immediately and then gets pressed up against the cage. I have a feeling we’ll be here for a while. Ayala lands some knees to the thighs. Ayala is cut bad, not sure what cut him because he didn’t really take many shots. Ayala literally picks up Butler, throws him to the ground, takes his back, and chokes him out with a rear naked choke. Imagine the least technical way for that sequence to happen and that’s what it looked like.

Brian Rogers vs. Rafael Carvalho

Doug Marshall vs. Melvin Manhoef.

Here are the results so far:

Main Card

Javy Ayala def. Raphael Butler via submission (rear naked choke), 1:03 of round 1.
Goiti Yamauchi def. Martin Stapleton via submission (rear naked choke), 4:37 of round 2.

Preliminary Card

Matt Ramirez def. Oscar Ramirez via submission (armbar), 0:42 of round 1. Chris Honeycutt def. Aaron Wilkinson via TKO (punches), 4:45 of round 2.
Julio Cesar Neves def. Poppies Martinez via TKO (strikes), 2:16 of round 1.
Jonny Bonilla-Bowman def. Art Becerra via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28).
Jesse Juarez def. Ron Keslar via unanimous decision(29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
George Zuniga def. Granson Clark via TKO (punches), 0:34 of round 1.

Bellator 107 Recap: Cheick Kongo Wins in Typical Cheick Kongo Fashion, Joe Warren Scores TKO Over Travis Marx


(Photo via Bellator MMA)

Bellator 107 was a crucial show for Bellator. Over one million people were exposed to their product last week. Did they wow anyone who decided to tune in for a second week in a row?

Yes and no.

They made a poor decision in starting the card with a fight between virtually unknown fighter Derek Campos and disappointing British prospect Martin Stapleton. Any converts from the previous event likely switched channels after this fight started; it was that bad. The only notable part of this contest was when Stapleton’s knee almost went out (or at least that’s what it looked like) during a spinning backfist attempt, resulting in a crazy jig. Campos won via unanimous decision.

Fortunately, the second fight of the night picked up the pace a little bit. After a lackluster first round, the middleweight tournament final between Mikkel Parlo and Brennan Ward ended in fireworks. In what can only be described as “beast mode,” Ward battered Parlo’s body with sledgehammer-like punches (GIF via @ZProphet_MMA), and then started teeing off on Parlo’s head. Ward battered Parlo so badly that the fight was stopped while Parlo was still standing. It was one of the best displays of the pure violence inherent in MMA in recent memory.

Get the run down of the co-main and main event after the jump.


(Photo via Bellator MMA)

Bellator 107 was a crucial show for Bellator. Over one million people were exposed to their product last week. Did they wow anyone who decided to tune in for a second week in a row?

Yes and no.

They made a poor decision in starting the card with a fight between virtually unknown fighter Derek Campos and disappointing British prospect Martin Stapleton. Any converts from the previous event likely switched channels after this fight started; it was that bad. The only notable part of this contest was when Stapleton’s knee almost went out (or at least that’s what it looked like) during a spinning backfist attempt, resulting in a crazy jig. Campos won via unanimous decision.

Fortunately, the second fight of the night picked up the pace a little bit. After a lackluster first round, the middleweight tournament final between Mikkel Parlo and Brennan Ward ended in fireworks. In what can only be described as “beast mode,” Ward battered Parlo’s body with sledgehammer-like punches (GIF via @ZProphet_MMA), and then started teeing off on Parlo’s head. Ward battered Parlo so badly that the fight was stopped while Parlo was still standing. It was one of the best displays of the pure violence inherent in MMA in recent memory.

The bantamweight tournament final was the night’s co-main event. Joe Warren faced off against Travis Marx. After a first round that saw more grinding than a senior prom, Warren dropped Marx with a perfectly-timed knee and finished him off with punches.

Bellator 107′s main event and heavyweight tournament final pitted Cheick Kongo against Vinicius “Spartan” Queiroz’s replacement, Peter Graham. Kongo added a smattering of aggression into his usual “clinch against the cage indefinitely” strategy, but the fight still left a lot to be desired. Kongo won a unanimous decision victory.

Overall, the event was barely okay. The two poor fights bookended the two good fights. This meant viewers started off with a bad taste in their figurative mouths, and then left the card with the same taste. A card that left viewers feeling unsatisfied was the last thing Bellator needed the week after the biggest event in their history, and the week before their biggest star—Rampage Jackson—is fighting.

Here are the complete results for Bellator 107:

Main Card

Cheick Kongo def. Peter Graham via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Joe Warren def. Travis Marx via TKO (knee and punches), 1:54 of Round 2
Brennan Ward def. Mikkel Parlo via TKO (punches), 1:39 of Round 2
Derek Campos def. Martin Stapleton via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Preliminary Card

Patricky Freire def. Edson Berto via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
Jonas Billstein def. Cortez Coleman via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Mike Mucitelli def. Ryan McCurdy via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Raphael Butler def. Josh Burns via verbal submission (punches), 2:14 of Round 1
Linton Vassell def. Matt Jones via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)

 

Bellator Signs Top British Talents Paul Sass, Rob Sinclair, and Martin Stapleton; Promotion Gunning for U.K. TV Deal


(Danny Castillo comes dangerously close to being Sass’d at UFC on FUEL 7 in February. / Photo via Getty Images)

Ladies and gentlemen, the Sassangle is back in business. After recently losing his UFC contract following back-to-back losses, British lightweight submission specialist Paul Sass (13-2) has been picked up by Bellator; his debut date and opponent are TBA. The promotion announced the signing yesterday, in addition to pickups of two other top British 155-pounders:

– Martin Stapleton (12-1), who you may remember from his stint on TUF 9. After picking up two more wins in his home country following the reality show, Stapleton took nearly three years off due to a commitment with the Royal Marines. He returned in 2012 and went 5-0 that year, including three wins in one night at an eight-man Cage Contender tournament last December, where he out-pointed Tommy Maguire in the finals.

– Rob Sinclair (12-2), the reigning BAMMA lightweight champion who is riding a five-fight win streak, with four of those wins by KO/TKO. Fun fact: Sinclair lost a split decision to Paul Sass in October 2009, becoming the first man to go three rounds against Sass without tapping.

So, will Bellator throw all these guys at each other in an upcoming Bellator: U.K. lightweight tournament? We can’t say for sure, but the latest crop of Brit-signings is no coincidence. As CEO Bjorn Rebney explains:


(Danny Castillo comes dangerously close to being Sass’d at UFC on FUEL 7 in February. / Photo via Getty Images)

Ladies and gentlemen, the Sassangle is back in business. After recently losing his UFC contract following back-to-back losses, British lightweight submission specialist Paul Sass (13-2) has been picked up by Bellator; his debut date and opponent are TBA. The promotion announced the signing yesterday, in addition to pickups of two other top British 155-pounders:

– Martin Stapleton (12-1), who you may remember from his stint on TUF 9. After picking up two more wins in his home country following the reality show, Stapleton took nearly three years off due to a commitment with the Royal Marines. He returned in 2012 and went 5-0 that year, including three wins in one night at an eight-man Cage Contender tournament last December, where he out-pointed Tommy Maguire in the finals.

– Rob Sinclair (12-2), the reigning BAMMA lightweight champion who is riding a five-fight win streak, with four of those wins by KO/TKO. Fun fact: Sinclair lost a split decision to Paul Sass in October 2009, becoming the first man to go three rounds against Sass without tapping.

So, will Bellator throw all these guys at each other in an upcoming Bellator: U.K. lightweight tournament? We can’t say for sure, but the latest crop of Brit-signings is no coincidence. As CEO Bjorn Rebney explains:

“Our talent development team does the best job in MMA by bringing hugely talented fighters to Bellator from around the globe. The No. 1 question I get from fans is, ‘When will a U.K. television deal be completed with Bellator?’ With these three signings, along with a roster already featuring the likes of Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley, Ronnie Mann and Michael Page, we are setting the table for making Bellator an every week televised occurrence in the U.K.”

International expansion would be a great next step for America’s #2 MMA promotion. We just have one question: Do they even have Indian casinos in England?