Controversial MMA fighter Gilbert Yvel recently secured a nasty technical submission win over Mighty Mo at a Road FC event in China.
Yvel, who infamously knocked out a referee during a bout many years back, broke Mo’s elbow while working on a brutal armbar, but did immediately release the submission once he knew the elbow had broke.
It’s not for the squeamish, but watch the gnarly elbow snap for yourself:
Yeah… elbows are not supposed to bend like that. Mighty Mo escaped Gilbert Yvel's armbar, but the damage was already done. #ROADFC47pic.twitter.com/sGNFjsKyBD
Yvel went winless in three UFC appearances but has been on a four-fight win streak since his UFC release, with all four coming by way of a finish.
The Dutch kickboxer is also a BJJ purple belt and appears to have redeemed himself from his more dangerous and reckless reputation earlier on in his career.
Now having won four fights in a row, would you like to see Yvel in Bellator or back in the UFC?
For such a respectful, soft-spoken guy, Bellator President Scott Coker has absolutely no problem firing dudes by the dozen. In June, he slashed 19 jobs just a week after joining the organization. And now, 13 more Bellator fighters have been released, as MMAFighting confirmed yesterday evening. Here they are, in order of most surprising to least surprising…
Attila Vegh (5-1 in Bellator), who won the 2012 light heavyweight tournament, then became Bellator’s 205-pound champion with a decision win over Christian M’Pumbu in February 2013. In March of this year, he lost his title in a rematch against Emanuel Newton; Vegh and Newton now hold split-decision victories over each other. Vegh’s dismissal is kind of inexplicable. He’s one of the best light-heavyweights Bellator had under contract, and a rubber-match against Newton seemed like an obvious booking in the future. I don’t get it.
“Mighty Mo”Siliga (3-1 in Bellator), the 43-year-old kickboxing veteran who’s had an unexpected resurgence in Bellator since last year. Mo ended his first three fights in the promotion by stoppage — and proved he had some grappling skills too — but got knocked out by an Alexander Volkov head kick during the Season 10 heavyweight tournament semi-finals in April. Despite his age, Mo has always been a reliably entertaining presence and you’d think the new regime would want to keep him around.
Bryan Baker (8-4 in Bellator), a five-year veteran of the promotion who competed in four tournaments, reaching the Season 2 middleweight finals and Season 6 welterweight finals. Along the way, Baker defeated the likes of Ben Saunders, Joe Riggs, and Jeremy Horn. Baker lost his last two fights and hasn’t competed since February 2013.
For such a respectful, soft-spoken guy, Bellator President Scott Coker has absolutely no problem firing dudes by the dozen. In June, he slashed 19 jobs just a week after joining the organization. And now, 13 more Bellator fighters have been released, as MMAFighting confirmed yesterday evening. Here they are, in order of most surprising to least surprising…
Attila Vegh (5-1 in Bellator), who won the 2012 light heavyweight tournament, then became Bellator’s 205-pound champion with a decision win over Christian M’Pumbu in February 2013. In March of this year, he lost his title in a rematch against Emanuel Newton; Vegh and Newton now hold split-decision victories over each other. Vegh’s dismissal is kind of inexplicable. He’s one of the best light-heavyweights Bellator had under contract, and a rubber-match against Newton seemed like an obvious booking in the future. I don’t get it.
“Mighty Mo”Siliga (3-1 in Bellator), the 43-year-old kickboxing veteran who’s had an unexpected resurgence in Bellator since last year. Mo ended his first three fights in the promotion by stoppage — and proved he had some grappling skills too — but got knocked out by an Alexander Volkov head kick during the Season 10 heavyweight tournament semi-finals in April. Despite his age, Mo has always been a reliably entertaining presence and you’d think the new regime would want to keep him around.
Bryan Baker (8-4 in Bellator), a five-year veteran of the promotion who competed in four tournaments, reaching the Season 2 middleweight finals and Season 6 welterweight finals. Along the way, Baker defeated the likes of Ben Saunders, Joe Riggs, and Jeremy Horn. Baker lost his last two fights and hasn’t competed since February 2013.
Shahbulat Shamhalaev (3-2 in Bellator), won the Season 7 featherweight tournament with three consecutive KO/TKOs, then suffered back-to-back first-round stoppage losses to Pat Curran and Fabricio Guerreiro.
Desmond Green (3-2 in Bellator), a finalist in the Season 10 featherweight tournament who came up short against Daniel Weichel, losing by rear-naked choke at Bellator 119 in May.
Egidijus Valavicius (2-1 in Bellator), a Lithuanian journeyman who was a semi-finalist in the Season 10 light-heavyweight tournament.
Justin Torrey (2-1 in Bellator), who was knocked out of the Season 9 middleweight tournament quarterfinals by Brennan Ward last September.
Rodney “Sho Nuff the Master” Wallace (1-1 in Bellator), the light-heavyweight UFC vet who lost a decision to Kelly Anundson in the 2014 Summer Series Light Heavyweight Tournament quarterfinals in June.
Luis Sergio Melo Jr., aka Sergio Junior (1-1 in Bellator), who lost a decision to Ron Keslar at the Season 9 welterweight tournament quarterfinals last September.
Ron Sparks (3-3 Bellator), a heavyweight slugger who kicked off his Bellator stint with three straight first-round stoppages, then lost three straight fights in the first round — enough to earn his release fair and square.
Patrick Cenoble (0-1-1 Bellator), a lightweight who fought to a draw against Tony Fryklund before being outpointed by Terry Etim last November. Cenoble handled himself well against solid competition, but his lack of victories made him expendable.
Austen “Corndog” Heidlage (0-1 Bellator). Never heard of him, and I have to assume that his presence on the Bellator roster was the result of some clerical error.
There were no title fights at Bellator 116, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t worth watching. The heavyweight tournament semifinals took place on the card, as well as a single welterweight tournament semifinal.
Mighty Mo shot for a single leg right out of the gate. Mo couldn’t get Volkov down, but managed to keep him pressed against the cage for the first half of the round. Volkov landed a knee to the body in the clinch, which caused Mo to back off. Then, Volkov hit a tremendous round kick to Mo’s face and knocked him out cold. He hit Mo so hard that the shockwaves made Mo’s belly fat jiggle. Easily one of the best head kick knockouts of the year so far, if not ever. Holy crap. Here’s a GIF (via @ZProphet_MMA)
Volkov, Bellator’s former heavyweight champ, will now be going to the season 10 tournament finals.
Read on to see a GIF of the most amazing, pro-wrestling inspired guillotine choke escape we’ve ever seen.
There were no title fights at Bellator 116, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t worth watching. The heavyweight tournament semifinals took place on the card, as well as a single welterweight tournament semifinal.
Mighty Mo shot for a single leg right out of the gate. Mo couldn’t get Volkov down, but managed to keep him pressed against the cage for the first half of the round. Volkov landed a knee to the body in the clinch, which caused Mo to back off. Then, Volkov hit a tremendous round kick to Mo’s face and knocked him out cold. He hit Mo so hard that the shockwaves made Mo’s belly fat jiggle. Easily one of the best head kick knockouts of the year so far, if not ever. Holy crap. Here’s a GIF (via @ZProphet_MMA)
Volkov, Bellator’s former heavyweight champ, will now be going to the season 10 tournament finals.
Coy controlled almost the entire first round via lay and pray. Eventually, McDonough managed to escape Coy’s clutches. With about a minute left, he managed to hurt Coy with an uppercut–badly. Coy was faceplanted on the mat and taking loads of punches, but the ref let it go on. Coy managed to recover and take McDonough down again by the round’s end.
The second round didn’t last long. Perhaps Coy wasn’t so composed after all. McDonough landed a hook that sent Coy to the floor. After that one punch, the fight was stopped.
Adam McDonough will be meeting the winner of Andrey Koreshkov vs. Sam Oropeza (which will take place later in the season) in the welterweight tournament finals.
After an eternity, Matyushenko vs. Beltran started (seriously it felt like an hour of shitty commercials). The first round lacked action. Both men snapped jabs. Both reached with looping hooks and, for the most part, missed by miles. Eventually (and thankfully), the feeling out process sorted itself out, and the fighters engaged with a little more zest. Neither landed anything significant, but it was more fun to watch. The rest of the first round played out like this. Each guy threw big punches but didn’t land too many.
Matyushenko hit Beltran with a stiff jab and an uppercut to start the round. The two started to get more aggressive in round two. There was close to zero technique, but at least it wasn’t a staring contest. Matyushenko backed up Beltran with a flurry and landed a few punches. Beltran countered with his own. Eventually, they started just swinging at random. They might as well have had their eyes closed, to be honest. Matyushenko shot for a takedown from 30 light years away and Beltran stuffed it with zero effort. Beltran and Matyushenko both started breathing heavy as the round ended, making their punches super-labored and slow. The fight got less fun to watch as the seconds passed.
Round 3 was much of the same, but Beltran decided to work the body instead of constantly throwing at (and missing) Matyushenko’s head. Matyushenko shot in, but Beltran reversed him. In the scramble, Beltran wound up on top in side control. He transitioned to north-south and sunk in a north-south choke, earning the submission win. Vladimir Matyushenko’s last fight ends in defeat. And Beltran will meet Alexander Volkov in the heavyweight tournament finals.
Ivanov attempted to rush Johnson and ate an uppercut. Still, he managed to successfully clinch Johnson and keep him against the cage. It didn’t take long for him to hit a single leg and drag Johnson to the floor. Ivanov dropped for a leg lock but botched it. He wound up with Johnson on top of him, hitting him. However, Johnson’s lack of grappling enabled Ivanov to rise to his feet without harm, and then even put Johnson in a guillotine. To escape, Johnson body slammed Ivanov in what was the most awesome guillotine escape I’ve ever seen (it was the closest thing to a pro wrestling body slam you’ll see in MMA–here’s the GIF, again via Zombie Prophet). But Ivanov’s superior grappling skills allowed him to turn the tide. He got back to his feet after the slam, clinched Johnson, and landed a judo throw. A few moments later, he submitted Johnson with an effortless keylock.
Here are the complete results:
Main Card
Blagoi Ivanov def. Lavar Johnson via Submission (keylock), 4:08 of round 1
Joey Beltran def. Vladimir Matyushenko via Submission (north-south choke), 3:06 of round 3
Adam Mcdonough def. Nathan Coy via KO (punches), 0:30 of round 2
Alexander Volkov def. Mighty Mo via KO (head kick), 2:44 of round 1
Preliminary Card
Brandon Halsey def. Joe Pacheco via Unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Karo Parisyan def. Ron Keslar via KO (punches), 4:05 of round 2
Rob Emerson def. Joe Taimanglo via Unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Ricky Rainey def. Andy Murad via TKO (head kick and punches), 1:11 of round 1
Phelipe Lins def. Travis Clark via Submission (rear naked choke), 0:40 of round 1
Rodney Wallace def. Carlos Eduardo via Unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Not Aired
Featherweight Brandon Bender vs. Mario Navarro
Middleweight Dave Vitkay vs. Keith Berry
(Note: The heavyweights are never photographed below the shoulders.)
Bellator 111 being able to build off Bellator 110‘s momentum was questionable. After all, three fourths of 111’s main card was comprised of heavyweights with questionable cardiovascular conditioning. What could’ve turned into a disaster instead turned into a decent night of fights (though some were not so decent), with the Bellator bantamweight title up for grabs between champion Eduardo Dantas and challenger Anthony Leone.
On the prelims: Up-and-comers Brent Primus and Abdul Razak both looked impressive. We will watch their next fights with interest. However, we can’t say that we’ll do the same for Eric Prindle, a mainstay in Bellator’s heavyweight division. In his loss to Javy Alaya, he displayed a ground game so awful it made James Toney look like Marcelo Garcia.
Also of note on the prelims: The first heavyweight tournament quarterfinal took place. Blagoi Ivanov bested Rich Hale in a tepid decision with not a whole lot of action.
(Note: The heavyweights are never photographed below the shoulders.)
Bellator 111 being able to build off Bellator 110‘s momentum was questionable. After all, three fourths of 111′s main card was comprised of heavyweights with questionable cardiovascular conditioning. What could’ve turned into a disaster instead turned into a decent night of fights (though some were not so decent), with the Bellator bantamweight title up for grabs between champion Eduardo Dantas and challenger Anthony Leone.
On the prelims: Up-and-comers Brent Primus and Abdul Razak both looked impressive. We will watch their next fights with interest. However, we can’t say that we’ll do the same for Eric Prindle, a mainstay in Bellator’s heavyweight division. In his loss to Javy Alaya, he displayed a ground game so awful it made James Toney look like Marcelo Garcia.
Also of note on the prelims: The first heavyweight tournament quarterfinal took place. Blagoi Ivanov bested Rich Hale in a tepid decision with not a whole lot of action.
In the first fight on the televised portion of the card, former Bellator heavyweight champ Alexander Volkov defeated Mark Holata via TKO. The Russian started off shaky, getting rocked early on in the first round. After some time in the clinch, Volkov managed to floor Holata with a knee and then followed up with brutal ground and pound. It was all over in 81 seconds.
In the next match, kickboxers Peter Graham and Mighty Mo squared off. The first round of this fight wasn’t terrible, but the second and third round were less than spectacular. Mighty Mo and Graham displayed some Eric Prindle-level grappling in those rounds. Mo finally put Graham out of his misery with a half-assed head and arm choke late midway through the third. If you DVR’d the fights, watch this one on fast forward.
The night’s co-main event pitted UFC and Strikeforce vet Lavar Johnson against Ryan Martinez. Martinez wrestled Johnson to the mat early on, making the UFC vet’s chances look grim. Johnson managed to return to his feet. A few of the wildest exchanges we’ve ever seen ensued (like both guys were missing by miles but still swinging anyway). Johnson managed to connect before Martinez, and it was over before the the first round ended.
So the next round of the Bellator heavyweight tournament will look like this:
Mighty Mo vs. Alexander Volkov.
Lavar Johnson vs. Blagoi Ivanov.
Now, onto the main event. Eduardo Dantas pulled off the slickest rear naked choke off all time against Anthony Leone, submitting him in the second round. Our words don’t do the martial artistry justice. You’ll just have to check out the GIF (via @ZProphet_MMA). Trust us, it’s worth it. Dantas’ submission is immediately a candidate for submission of the year (so far). Fortunately, there were no staged scuffles afterwards.
Complete results:
Main Card
Eduardo Dantas def. Anthony Leone via submission (rear naked choke), 2:04 of round 2
Lavar Johnson def. Ryan Martinez via TKO (punches), 4:22 of round 1
Mighty Mo def. Peter Graham via submission (head and arm choke), 2:31 of round 3
Alexander Volkov def. Mark Holata (punches), 1:21 of round 1
Preliminary Card
Blagoi Ivanov def. Rich Hale via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Cortez Coleman def. Daniel Miller via verbal submission (strikes), 4:49 of round 2
Javy Ayala def. Eric Prindle via TKO (doctor stoppage), 2:05 of round 3
Abdul Razak def. Matt Jones via TKO (punches), 1:23 of round 1
Brent Primus def. Chris Jones via TKO (punches), 1:45 of round 1
Chris Gutierrez def. Justin McNally via TKO (strikes), 2:50 of round 1
During the summer, Bellator signed a number of new fighters that will make their promotional debuts during season nine, and we wanted to highlight a few of these hungry young prospects that fans should keep an eye on starting with tonight’s event in Temecula, California.
So, without further ado, here are nine Bellator prospects to watch out for during this coming season of fights.
The first fighter to keep an eye on this season is veteran John Alessio, who has been fighting professionally since 1998. After making his name as a top prospect fighting for SuperBrawl in Hawaii, the UFC fed Alessio to the sharks when, at just 20 years of age, he fought Pat Miletich for the UFC welterweight title. And while Alessio would get tapped out in just 1:43 and leave the UFC immediately afterwards, he returned in 2006 and fought both Diego Sanchez and Thiago Alves, losing to both and losing his spot on the roster again. Never perturbed, Alessio then carved out a solid run in the WEC, MFC, Dream, and a few other promotions to get yet another crack in the Octagon in 2012, but after losing to Mark Bocek and Shane Roller — becoming the only fighter in UFC history to go 0-5 — he was cut for good. Bellator then picked him up and he’s been installed as a participant in the season nine lightweight tournament. Winning it, he says, is his destiny.
During the summer, Bellator signed a number of new fighters that will make their promotional debuts during season nine, and we wanted to highlight a few of these hungry young prospects that fans should keep an eye on starting with tonight’s event in Temecula, California.
So, without further ado, here are nine Bellator prospects to watch out for during this coming season of fights.
The first fighter to keep an eye on this season is veteran John Alessio, who has been fighting professionally since 1998. After making his name as a top prospect fighting for SuperBrawl in Hawaii, the UFC fed Alessio to the sharks when, at just 20 years of age, he fought Pat Miletich for the UFC welterweight title. And while Alessio would get tapped out in just 1:43 and leave the UFC immediately afterwards, he returned in 2006 and fought both Diego Sanchez and Thiago Alves, losing to both and losing his spot on the roster again. Never perturbed, Alessio then carved out a solid run in the WEC, MFC, Dream, and a few other promotions to get yet another crack in the Octagon in 2012, but after losing to Mark Bocek and Shane Roller — becoming the only fighter in UFC history to go 0-5 — he was cut for good. Bellator then picked him up and he’s been installed as a participant in the season nine lightweight tournament. Winning it, he says, is his destiny.
Another UFC veteran to look out for this season is Paul Sass, the British submission wizard who was picked up by Bellator after two-straight losses in the Octagon, although his 3-2 overall UFC record wasn’t too bad. Sass, in my opinion, was cut far too early by the UFC as he was one of the best submission guys in the entire 155-pound division and seemed to be coming along a bit with his striking. Although Bellator’s lightweight division is very good, I do believe that Sass had it rougher in the UFC’s 155-pound shark tank and so I expect him to pick up some nice undercard wins in Bellator and then maybe get a shot in a future lightweight tournament.
Vladimir Matyushenko, who at 42 years and eight months old is almost the oldest fighter on the Bellator roster, was cut by the UFC earlier this year after a 4-3 second run in the Octagon that culminated with back-to-back stoppage losses to Ryan Bader and Alexander Gustafsson. Not too long after, Bellator reached out to the former IFL light-heavyweight champion and he signed a deal with the promotion. According to Matyushenko, he still has something left in the tank and wants to prove it to both himself and to the fans in the circled Bellator cage tonight at Bellator 99. The Janitor will be making his promotional debut against Houston Alexander, with the winner of the fight getting an immediate shot against Keith Jardine (just kidding about the Jardine part).
As stated above, Alexander recently signed with Bellator after two-straight wins on the regional circuit and the 41-year-old will take on Matyushenko in a battle of two hard hitters who have been knocked out a combined nine times. Something tells me that one of these two men is going to wake up to a doctor’s flashlight – or maybe even both will, for the rare double KO – and, in a fight between two fighters with a combined age of 83, it wouldn’t be surprising if this match marks the end of one or both of these fighters’ careers. Or, maybe they’ll just keep dragging along. Isn’t 40 supposed to be the new 25?
I had no idea until I was looking through the official Bellator roster (forgive me, I don’t do it often) that they recently signed Mighty Mo, who is currently on an eight-fight losing streak in kickboxing, turns 43 next month, and is most fondly remembered in MMA for getting kicked in the groin by Josh Barnett and then getting to return the favor after the fight back in DREAM. Mo, who is just 3-2 in mixed martial arts competition, hasn’t fought in MMA in over three years, and I’m puzzled why Bellator signed him. I guess they were impressed by his knockout of Ruben “Warpath” Villareal back at Dynamite!!! USA in 2007 – his last win in MMA – and think he has the power to cause problems in the Bellator heavyweight division. Truth be told, he can still probably compete with guys like Ron Sparks and Rich Hale, and he could definitely be involved in some sloppy, groin-shot-filled Bellator heavyweight bouts in the near future.
On the next page:A legit featherweight contender, and some big names you love to hate.
Just a friendly reminder that Golden Glory is hosting the last round of its 2010/2011 United Glory tournament Saturday afternoon in Moscow, so if you’re looking for something to do to kill some time before UFC 130, you can check out the pay-per-view on YouTube for $7.95 USD.
(Video courtesy of YouTube/FightGameTV)
Just a friendly reminder that Golden Glory is hosting the last round of its 2010/2011 United Glory tournament Saturday afternoon in Moscow, so if you’re looking for something to do to kill some time before UFC 130, you can check out the pay-per-view on YouTube for $7.95 USD.
The stream for the last event didn’t work due to technical difficulties, so United Glory’s partners at Fight Game TV decided to make this event event a pay-per-view to ensure they had the resources available to make sure the stream goes off without a hitch. This will be the first MMA event streamed on YouTube. Hopefully a precedent is set by the video sharing site with this show that will see fans have better access to live streams moving forward.
Worth the price of the stream will be the welterweight clash between Golden Glory teammates Tommy Depret and Siyar Bahadurzada. Take note AKA and Team Jackson; that’s how fighters are supposed to roll.
Also on the card will be a heavyweight kickboxing superfight between Mighty Mo and Sergei Kharitonov and a kickboxing tournament final between Brice Guidon and Gökhan Saki. UG shows never disappoint, and this one will be no exception.
UNITED GLORY 2010/2011 TOURNAMENT FINAL
SATURDAY, MAY 28 at 2:00 pm ET
Moscow, Russia
MMA BOUTS
Heavyweight Bout
Dion Staring vs. Roman Savochka
Heavyweight Bout
Denis Stojni? vs Mladen Kujundži?
Light-Heavyweight Bout
Chalid Arrab vs. Zabit Samedov
Light-Heavyweight Bout
Houston Alexander vs Jason Jones
Welterweight Tournament Final
Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Tommy Depret
———-
KICKBOXING BOUTS
Heavyweight Bout
Igor Jurkovic vs. Pavel Zhuravlev
Heavyweight Bout
Mark Miller vs. Nikolaj Falin
Welterweight Bout
Nieky Holzken vs. Artur Kyshenko
Heavyweight Bout
Mourad Bouzidi vs. Errol Zimmerman
Heavyweight Bout
Sergei Kharitonov vs. Mighty Mo
Heavyweight Tournament Final
Brice Guidon vs. Gökhan Saki
