Rafael Carvalho and Melvin Manhoef will go at it once again for the Bellator middleweight title. Reigning Bellator middleweight title holder Carvalho took on Manhoef back in May 2016. “The Blessed” retained his title in a controversial split decision victory. Neither man has competed in a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) since that fight. The […]
Rafael Carvalho and Melvin Manhoef will go at it once again for the Bellator middleweight title. Reigning Bellator middleweight title holder Carvalho took on Manhoef back in May 2016. “The Blessed” retained his title in a controversial split decision victory. Neither man has competed in a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) since that fight. The […]
This Saturday, Bellator’s crowded November-December season was set to continue with a card in Florence, Italy headlined by a middleweight title fight, with Rafael Carvalho defending against Melvin Manhoef for the second time. Unfortunately, Bellator announced on Sunday that Carvalho has suffered an injury, so the fight has been postponed, with home country Hero Alessio Sakara vs. Joey Beltran upgraded to the main event slot.
The first Carvalho-Manhoef fight in May was one of the consensus worst fights of the year, with Carvalho throwing minimal offense and Manhoef not showing his usual aggression. The whole affair got even stranger when Carvalho won the decision, including taking the first round, where Bellator’s official Compustrike stats had him landing zero strikes and zero takedowns. It was a rare case where announcers Sean Grande and Jimmy Smith were audibly dismayed and talking about what an awful decision they felt it was. Smith was also vocal on Twitter after the fact:
This Saturday, Bellator’s crowded November-December season was set to continue with a card in Florence, Italy headlined by a middleweight title fight, with Rafael Carvalho defending against Melvin Manhoef for the second time. Unfortunately, Bellator announced on Sunday that Carvalho has suffered an injury, so the fight has been postponed, with home country Hero Alessio Sakara vs. Joey Beltran upgraded to the main event slot.
The first Carvalho-Manhoef fight in May was one of the consensus worst fights of the year, with Carvalho throwing minimal offense and Manhoef not showing his usual aggression. The whole affair got even stranger when Carvalho won the decision, including taking the first round, where Bellator’s official Compustrike stats had him landing zero strikes and zero takedowns. It was a rare case where announcers Sean Grande and Jimmy Smith were audibly dismayed and talking about what an awful decision they felt it was. Smith was also vocal on Twitter after the fact:
I did. Told him it was the worst decision I had ever seen. I don't trash people behind their backs and not confront them
Rafael Carvalho entered Bellator 155 carrying a 12-fight win streak and the middleweight title.
And he left Boise, Idaho with the streak still intact and the belt around his waist – but it came with controversy.
Carvalho was declared the winner v…
Rafael Carvalho entered Bellator 155 carrying a 12-fight win streak and the middleweight title.
And he left Boise, Idaho with the streak still intact and the belt around his waist – but it came with controversy.
Carvalho was declared the winner via split decision after a five-round battle inside the CenturyLink Arena Friday night over Melvin Manhoef. Many watching around the world pegged Manhoef the winner, but two of the three judges scoring it sided with the champion.
Pat Curran, a former Bellator featherweight champion, claimed a decision over Georgi Karakhanyan in the co-main event and Alexis Dufresne stunned ex-Strikeforce champion Marloes Coenen with a first round submission win.
Results can be found below:
Rafael Carvalho def. Melvin Manhoef via split decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47) to retain Bellator middleweight championship
Pat Curran def. Georgi Karakhanyan via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Dan Charles vs. Augusto Sakai declared a majority draw (30-26, 28-28, 28-28)
Alexis Dufresne def. Marloes Coenen via submission (triangle armbar) at 4:33 of Round 1
Bellator 155 announced the finalization of its main card for May 20th. Bellator will be heading to CenturyLink Arena in Boise, Idaho that weekend and will be headlined my a Middleweight title fight between current champion Rafael Carvalho (12-1) and Me…
Bellator 155 announced the finalization of its main card for May 20th. Bellator will be heading to CenturyLink Arena in Boise, Idaho that weekend and will be headlined my a Middleweight title fight between current champion Rafael Carvalho (12-1) and Melvin Manhoef (30-12-1). The current middleweight champ is on an impressive 11-fight win streak.
Other notables on the card include Pat Curran and Joey Beltran. Pat Curran will be the co-main event on the card facing Georgi Karakhanyan. Here is a list of the entire main card for the event:
Middleweight title bout: Rafael Carvalho (c) vs. Melvin Manhoef
Featherweight bout: Pat Curran vs. Georgi Karakhanyan
Bellator middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho will make his first title defense this May at Bellator 155 against Melvin Manhoef.
The event, which airs live on Spike TV, takes place May 20 from the CenturyLink Arena in Boise, Idaho. The fight announ…
Bellator middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho will make his first title defense this May at Bellator 155 against Melvin Manhoef.
The event, which airs live on Spike TV, takes place May 20 from the CenturyLink Arena in Boise, Idaho. The fight announcement was made recently by officials.
Carvalho (12-1) won the belt when he finished Brandon Halsey last year in one of the biggest upsets in MMA history. The 29-year-old connected with a body kick, earning his 12th straight win and improving to 4-0 with Bellator.
In Manhoef, he’ll face a veteran of the sport. “No Mercy” is 30-12-1 overall and coming off a knockout of Hisaki Kato.
The card will also feature Pat Curran, a former Bellator featherweight champion, taking on Georgi Karakhanyan in the co-main event.
Knockout artists Hisaki Kato and Melvin Manhoef will go toe-to-toe in the main event of Bellator 146 on Friday at the Global Event Center at WinStar World Resorts in Thackerville, Oklahoma. The two men have proven to be sources for spectacular finishes…
Knockout artists HisakiKato and Melvin Manhoef will go toe-to-toe in the main event of Bellator 146 on Friday at the Global Event Center at WinStar World Resorts in Thackerville, Oklahoma. The two men have proven to be sources for spectacular finishes in the past.
MMA fans should have their fingers crossed as they hope for another memorable scrap.
Manhoef epitomizes the concept of feast or famine. He’s coming to KO his opponent, and he’s willing to meet the same fate in the process. In fact, the 39-year-old from the Netherlands has been knocked out five times in his career, though only four have stood as official results.
His most recent bout with Alexander Shlemenko was initially a KO loss via spinning backfist, but the Russian failed a pre-fight drug test and caused the decision to be overturned.
Kato scored his own amazing and devastating KO win in his last fight. Facing former Manhoef conqueror Joe Schilling, Kato torched the world-class kicboxer with a left-hand superman punch that knocked him out cold. Here’s a look at the shot via Sherdog’s YouTube channel:
Expect a similar result on Friday night. Manhoef‘s mandible has been softened more than a jabroni who has been consistently served up to the WWE’s Mick Foley. Having been knocked out so much in his career—without an adjustment to his style—Manhoef is ripe for Kato to pluck with another signature shot.
This one won’t make it out of the first round. Here’s a look at the viewing information, main card, per Bellator.com, and predictions.
Parsons Will Vanquish Jenkins
After two straight stoppage wins in Bellator, “Pretty Boy” Jordan Parsons is taking a major step up against Bubba “The Highlight Kid” Jenkins. The latter is a decorated wrestler, hard hitter and excellent overall athlete.
He is coming off a second-round KO over Joe Wilk in his last fight. In this bout, Parson will enjoy a two-inch height advantage. That will be key as Jenkins will struggle to close the distance. Jenkins is an aggressive fighter by nature, and it will frustrate him to continue to whiff on takedown attempts and strikes from the outside.
His frustration will produce reckless moments, and that will lead to Jenkins getting caught with a head kick or swift punch that drops him. Parson will know what to do from there to secure the win.
Jenkins’ career is beginning to favor Melvin Guillard’s. Both are physically impressive and dynamic talent with questionable defense that leads to losses against good competition.
Campos Will Beat Girtz Again
Brandon Girth and Derek Campos met back in 2013. Campos prevailed via unanimous decision, but the fight was a competitive one. Campos was able to dictate the identity of the first two rounds with his striking. He had Girtz hurt in the first and second rounds, but he couldn’t finish him.
Per an interview with MMA Latest News’ Corey Williams, Campos wants to do what he couldn’t do in the first fight. Campos said:
Every fight is do or die for me. I’m not too happy with my last fight performance against Chandler but I don’t dwell on it and I know what I want to do going into this next fight against Girtz. We have what I call unfinished business. I want to take it to him and finish him this time.
Girtz came back strong in the third with his wrestling. He opened a cut on Campos’ head but couldn’t maintain the position. It looked as if he had won the final round, but it still wasn’t enough to take the fight.
Usually, these rematches favor the striker over the wrestler. Campos is very aware that Girtz will need to take him down, thus his training has probably been focused on takedown and submission defense. Girtz has a larger gap to cover as he tries to circumvent Campos’ edge in striking.
He won’t be able to do it. Instead, a confident Campos will earn a second-round TKO en route to victory in the rematch.
Knockout artists 