For those of you who were too busy watching Jon Jones outgun Rampage Jackson to retain his light heavyweight title or Ben Rothwell fall to 0-1 at the hands of Mark Hunt this weekend, you may have overlooked the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships, which transpired in Nottingham, England of all places.
Andre Galvao easily had the best night of the bunch, taking gold in both the Under 88kg and Absolute tournaments, defeating Rousimar Palhares and Pablo Papovitch, respectively. Speaking of “Paul Harris”, he continued to prove that his mind is a fragile, ticking time bomb in his submission victory over David Avellan in their quarterfinal match. Things began to go off the rails when Palhares dove for his signature heel-hook-of-death on Avellan, and continued to crank it after the two rolled out of bounds and the referee yelled for a restart. I’ll let David’s brother Marcos, via his Facebook, explain the rest after the jump:
(As if I needed an excuse to use this photo.)
For those of you who were too busy watching Jon Jones outgun Rampage Jackson to retain his light heavyweight title or Ben Rothwell fall to 0-1 at the hands of Mark Hunt this weekend, you may have overlooked the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships, which transpired in Nottingham, England of all places.
Andre Galvao easily had the best night of the bunch, taking gold in both the Under 88kg and Absolute tournaments, defeating Rousimar Palhares and Pablo Papovitch, respectively. Speaking of “Paul Harris”, he continued to prove that his mind is a fragile, ticking time bomb in his submission victory over David Avellan in their quarterfinal match. Things began to go off the rails when Palhares dove for his signature heel-hook-of-death on Avellan, and continued to crank it after the two rolled out of bounds and the referee yelled for a restart. I’ll let David’s brother Marcos, via his Facebook, explain the rest after the jump:
It was a weird situation right after… Palharas started to celebrate, thinking the match was over, and came over to hug my brother, but as he hugged my brother, he slapped him across the head really hard. So one arm went out for a hug, the other went for a slap on the head (lol). My brother was naturally pissed by the heel hook and the slap.
Palharas seemed genuinely confused, both about his cranking after the ref said stop and by the rejection of his post fight “hug”. I think he was sincerely genuine, I just think he is crazy, like bi-polar or something.
After the restart, Palhares went on to quickly kneebar Avellan, possibly injuring him. And if you aren’t yet convinced that Palhares is a danger to sound minded people across the globe, the oddities continued in his finals match against Andre Galvao, when he was accused of trying to wrench Galvao’s thumb in order to avoid a hold. Personally, I’ve had about enough of this guy’s apparent ignorance to all things legal and holy. He’s like a T-1000 with the brain of Corky from Life Goes On, sent from some horrific future in which appendages are the last form of human resistance.
In other news, Dean Lister made an improbable run to secure the Under 99kg title, finishing Xande Ribeiro and Jaoa Assis with successive leglocks to claim gold. Lister’s age and lack of recent competition had all but killed his chances before the tournament even began, so big ups to “The Boogeyman” for his win. In the Over 99kg finals, former TUF 8 finalist Vinny Magalhaes survived a last minute armbar attempt by Fabricio Werdum to secure a victory on points, besting his two previous bronze medal efforts in the 2009 ADCC Championships.
In the women’s Under 60 kg tournament, Kyra Gracie secured her third ADCC title with a beautiful omaplota/rear naked choke hybrid finish of Michelle Nicolini. The win adds to Kyra’s incredible list of credentials, which includes four World BJJ Championships, five Pan American, Brazilian, and New York State Championships, and one Asiatic BJJ Championship. Damn, girl.
The bad luck streak continued for former Strikeforce Middleweight and 2009 ADCC Superfight Champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, who was routed in a tentative 3-0 loss on points to 2009 ADCC double gold winner Braulio Estima. Full results for the event can be found here.
“No, your breath does not smell like doodoo. Don’t say that, Quinton”. (Photo: UFC.com)
There are some folks who believe that you’re not really a champion until you successfully defend your belt. For those of you who agree, meet Jon Jones, UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.
“Bones” did whatever he wanted from the opening bell, starting the fight crouched in a Bloodsport-inspired fighting stance (and yes, Steven Seagal is a little butthurt over that). From that moment his unorthodoxy never waned. Spinning elbows and kicks are common weapons in his arsenal, and he seemed as comfortable throwing them as ever. Jones shows no fear of what his damage his opponent might do should he miss or leave himself open, and at this point it looks like we may never find out. According to FightMetric, Rampage failed to land a single power shot to the head. We’re all eager to laud Jones as the future of his division and the man to bring stability to 205lbs, and with good reason, but dammit I still want to see him get popped in the jaw a few times before we weld that belt around his waist.
“No, your breath does not smell like doodoo. Don’t say that, Quinton”. (Photo: UFC.com)
There are some folks who believe that you’re not really a champion until you successfully defend your belt. For those of you who agree, meet Jon Jones, UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.
“Bones” did whatever he wanted from the opening bell, starting the fight crouched in a Bloodsport-inspired fighting stance (and yes, Steven Seagal is a little butthurt over that). From that moment his unorthodoxy never waned. Spinning elbows and kicks are common weapons in his arsenal, and he seemed as comfortable throwing them as ever. Jones shows no fear of what damage his opponent might do should he miss or leave himself open, and at this point it looks like we may never find out. According to FightMetric, Rampage failed to land a single power shot to the head. We’re all eager to laud Jones as the future of his division and the man to bring stability to 205lbs, and with good reason, but dammit I still want to see him get popped in the jaw a few times before we weld that belt around his waist.
As for Rampage, I thought his defense looked exceptional. For a guy “mesmerized” by Jones’ offense, he showed us that spinning elbows and kicks look a lot less impressive when they miss, and he ducked quite a few of them in this bout. He also managed to avoid several of those fancy trips and throws as well. I bet a lot of Memphis-based facial reconstructive surgeons were grinning ear-to-ear when Jones secured the mount, but Rampage showed some skill off his back in shucking the champion off and working to his feet. As for his offense…well, it was his usual two-pronged attack of lefts and rights. Sure, he threw out a token leg kick or two, but the versatility he showed in the Hamill fight was gone. Then again, a fight against Jon Jones may not be the best time to throw away your tried and true weapons in favor of a little experimentation. I expected a slow, flat-footed Rampage to get thoroughly worked over by a well-rounded fighter last night, and though he didn’t put the champ in any danger, I think he looked as good as anyone can against Jones at this point in time.
Damn, how much does Matt Hughes love to compete? The man has nothing left to fight for other than fighting itself, and at age 37, following his second consecutive first round knock out, he still can’t bring himself to retire. In a day when many fighters fight to protect their record or simply to collect a check, it’s nice to see someone step into the cage purely for a love of the game. But at the same time, the game he loves has changed. As much as Goldy and Rogan were celebrating the performance of “K1 Hughes” last night, I just didn’t see it. His jabs and left hooks may have succeeded in making Koscheck weary of his right eye, but they won’t succeed in putting away top competition, and for an aging wrestler in a division full of great wrestlers that spells trouble. When Kos started throwing his hands, that became clear once again. Hughes isn’t retiring, but he is placing himself “on a shelf”. That shelf holds numerous UFC records, countless belts, and an incredible legacy, and I think it’s a perfect place for him at this stage in his career.
It was hard for me to watch Mark Hunt and Ben Rothwell without thinking back to Dan Severn vs. Tank Abbott, which also went down in Denver back in 1995. If you didn’t catch that fight, there’s no rush to see it. The same goes for this one. I’ll cut them a little slack because they’re big boys fighting at altitude, but that doesn’t make it any prettier to watch. Joe Silva, when scheduling their next bouts, please consider a more suitable venue.
Gomi’s offense consisted solely of swinging that wild right for a one-punch knockout, and that proved to be a poor gameplan against a guy known for unrelenting combos. Diaz mixed in some heavy hands with the trademark Diaz “Stockton Slaps”, dropping Gomi early in the first. “The Fireball Kid” popped back up, but the punches kept coming. Diaz’s hands found their home again and again until Gomi took him down, but the former Pride champion found no refuge on the mat. Diaz instantly sunk in a triangle choke before switching to an armbar to elicit the tap. It was an impressive return to lightweight for the Cesar Gracie protege. This is Gomi’s second straight loss and his third in four fights, but with the UFC heading back to Japan he’s unlikely to be cut.
Jon Jones def. Quinton Jackson via Submission (rear naked choke) at 1:14, R4
Josh Koscheck def. Matt Hughes via KO (punches) at 4:59, R1
Mark Hunt def. Ben Rothwell via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-27, 30-27) at 5:00, R3
Travis Browne def. Rob Broughton via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) at 5:00, R3
Nate Diaz def. Takanori Gomi via Submission (armbar) at 4:27, R1.
Preliminary Card:
Tony Ferguson def. Aaron Riley via TKO (Corner Stoppage) at 5:00, R1
Tim Boetsch defeated Nick Ring via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) at 5:00, R3
Junior Assunção def. Eddie Yagin via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27) at 5:00, R3
Takeya Mizugaki def. Cole Escovedo via TKO (punches) at 4:30, R2
James Te Huna def. Ricardo Romero via KO (punches) at 0:47, R1
Nate Diaz (@NateDiaz209) returns to the lightweight division opposite PRIDE veteran Takanori Gomi (@GOMI_RSCL) to kick of main card action. Diaz, who won season five of The Ultimate Fighter, is looking to return to the win column after most recently be…
Nate Diaz (@NateDiaz209) returns to the lightweight division opposite PRIDE veteran Takanori Gomi (@GOMI_RSCL) to kick of main card action. Diaz, who won season five of The Ultimate Fighter, is looking to return to the win column after most recently being defeated by Rory MacDonald at welterweight. The Cesar Gracie-trained fighter is back at his natural […]
(Hmm, where have we seen that before? For more GIFs from the episode, visit IronForgesIron.)
Last night on the season premiere of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller, 16 bantamweights and 16 featherweights entered the cold confines of the Mandalay Bay Events Center, fighting for a chance to become one of the last two Ultimate Fighter winners in Spike TV history. As promised, these little bastards came to bang. Only one of them had hair that you could describe as “crazy,” and even that dude looked like he could be an early front-runner.
As you already know, two-time TUF veteran Michael Bisping is coaching alongside cable TV personality/submission specialist Jason “Mayhem” Miller. Even on day one, while they’re both watching the elimination fights at cageside, Miller is already on Bisping’s nerves, although it’s not exactly clear why that is. It’ll take a very special man to penetrate Michael’s stony heart, and only he shall be known as the true king.
Anyway, 16 fights, two hours. Let’s run through it.
(Hmm, where have we seen that before? For more GIFs from the episode, visit IronForgesIron.)
Last night on the season premiere of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller, 16 bantamweights and 16 featherweights entered the cold confines of the Mandalay Bay Events Center, fighting for a chance to become one of the last two Ultimate Fighter winners in Spike TV history. As promised, these little bastards came to bang. Only one of them had hair that you could describe as “crazy,” and even that dude looked like he could be an early front-runner.
As you already know, two-time TUF veteran Michael Bisping is coaching alongside cable TV personality/submission specialist Jason “Mayhem” Miller. Even on day one, while they’re both watching the elimination fights at cageside, Miller is already on Bisping’s nerves, although it’s not exactly clear why that is. It’ll take a very special man to penetrate Michael’s stony heart, and only he shall be known as the true king.
Anyway, 16 fights, two hours. Let’s run through it.
[Bantamweights] Josh Ferguson def. Casey Dyer via TKO, round 1. Dyer is a 21-year-old beanpole with a serious length advantage, but Ferguson boldly jabs his way inside, smashes Dyer down with a big right hand, and finishes it off with some ground-and-pound. Quick ‘n’ nasty. Josh Ferguson is the first guy officially in the house. Will his brother BJ be joining him?
[Featherweights] Diego Brandao def. Jesse Newell via KO, round 1. Brandao has a reputation as a knockout artist, but shoots for a takedown as soon as Newell starts landing on him. Brandao briefly takes his back. Newell gets out but Brandao clocks him with a looping left, following by a Hendo-style flying tomahawk punch. In just a minute of fighting, Newell’s face looks like roadkill. ”THAT’S THE FUCKING TUF!” Brandao shouts.
[BW] John Dodson def. Brandon Merkt via TKO, round 1. John Dodson is a tiny, tiny man, but my God is he fast. He whips in kicks and punches before Merkt can even react to them. Dodson lands a great body shot that crumbles Merkt, then a knee/punches blitz that finishes him. And just for fun, he executes a celebratory backflip off the cage. Dodson might be a little small for the weight, but he’s a future contender at 125. Not that I’d count him out on the show.
[FW] Dennis Bermudez def. Jimmie Rivera via TKO, round 2. Bermudez’s wrestling career was cut short by a pregnant girlfriend. Two years later, he finds out the kid isn’t his. He uses that rage to fuel him. But things look dicey in the beginning. Bermudez might be a good wrestler, but his striking defense leaves a lot to be desired. Rivera tees off on him in round one, and at one point it looks like Bermudez is flash-KO’d. Luckily he survives to the bell, and turns it around in round 2. Bermudez stumbles Rivera with strikes, rushes in with a knee, and takes Rivera’s back. Bermudez flattens Rivera out, and pounds the side of his head until the ref steps in. Great comeback win.
[BW] Roland Delorme def. BJ Ferguson via submission (triangle choke), round 1. Ferguson lands some punches, takes a nut shot, and shoots into a guillotine. He coverts the takedown and Delorme loses his hold. Delorme gets up, and uses a standing kimura to flip Ferguson to the mat. He switches to an armbar, and Ferguson scrambles to survive it, but then Delorme switches to a triangle and he ain’t getting out of that shit.
[FW] Marcus Brimage def. Bryson Wailehua-Hansen via TKO, round 2. Brimage throws his punches with bad motherfucking intentions. Hanson has the advantage for a while in the first round, taking Brimage’s back and working for the rear-naked. Brimage throws punches behind his head the whole time, trying to knock Hansen out; you gotta credit the man’s balls. He finally escapes, gets to his feet, and starts landing brutal shots on Hansen. Hansen is stunned, but keeps upright. It seems like Brimage might gas out trying to take Hansen’s head off his shoulders, but the bell saves them both. In round two, Brimage finishes what he started, slugging Hansen’s face until the ref calls a standing TKO. Arguably an early stoppage, considering that Hansen was still throwing punches when the fight was called, but the boy just wasn’t going to go down.
[BW] Johnny Bedford def. Carson Beebe via submission (neck crank/guillotine choke), round 1. Well damn, we already know how this one is going to end, if Beebe is on the supporting card of War Machine vs. Gideon Ray. Carson wants to step out of the shadow of his former WEC-champ brother, but it won’t happen today. Bedford scores a pair of takedowns early, and abuses Beebe against the fence. Beebe escapes and fights back, landing some punches, but Bedford fires back harder, landing a nasty inside hook from a clinch, then an elbow on the exit. Bedford stuns Beebe with a punch and knee and sinks the sub on the ground.
[BW] Dustin Pague def. Tateki Matsuda via majority decision. Matsuda is the 1st Japanese fighter in TUF history. Really, it’s taken 14 seasons? (What was Andy Wang, again?) Like Dodson, Matsuda might be small for the weight. But he’s from a Muay Thai background, and it shows. He seems to outstrike Pague handily in round 1, and does pretty well in the second, although Pague may have earned it with some wrestling and top control. Unfortunately, there’s no love for an Asian boy, and Pague gets the judges’ nod after two rounds. Kinda bullshit.
We switch into abridged highlight-mode for the next few fights…
[BW] Louis Gaudinot def. Paul McVeigh via TKO, round 3. Gaudinot is the dude with the Hermes Franca hair and Diego Sanchez face. McVeigh says he’s been kicking around as the #1 bantamweight in Europe, for whatever that’s worth. Michael Bisping takes a moment to tell us that Mayhem “looks like a cross between Josh Koscheck and a toilet brush with his current hairstyle.” After an evenly matched first round, Gaudinot comes alive in the second with a takedown and strikes. They go to sudden victory. Gaudinot pulls off a upside-down back elbow in the third — something Jon Jones or Urijah Faber might come up with — and starts laying into McVeigh. Gaudinot smashes McVeigh with elbows from the top, scoring a TKO and ending a crazy fight.
[FW] Bryan Caraway def. Eric Marriot via unanimous decision. Miesha Tate’s boyfriend wins the first round on the basis of submission attempts, then lay-and-prays through the second. Okay, so they’re not all great fights. Of all the guys who advance into the house, Dana seems least impressed with Bryan — but he points out that if you can’t defend wrestling, you don’t belong here anyway.
[FW] Dustin Neace def. Josh Clopton via unanimous decision. Another questionable call from the judges. Bisping and DW thought Clopton win it. Clopton has himself a good cry afterwards.
[BW] TJ Dillashaw def. Matt Jaggers via TKO, round 1. Team Alpha Male product Dillashaw is aggressive, and a little wild with his striking. Dillashaw gets it to the ground and works some savage GnP. He scores mount, but Jaggers uses the fence to kick out. Dillashaw with a right hand, Jaggers with a body shot. Dillashaw shoots again and moves to side control, then mount again and more ground-and-pound. In the final seconds of the round, Dillashaw pours down some killer elbows. Jaggers loses consciousness just as the horn sounds.
[FW] Steven Siler def. Micah Miller via submission (guillotine choke), round 3. Cole Miller’s brother is the most experienced guy in the pack, and he’s confident about his chances. (“I may not know who he is, but he knows who I am, and he knows he’s screwed,” Micah says.) Siler looks nervous, and Dana crosses off his name before the fight even starts. But it’s just a bad day for fighters with more-famous brothers. Despite his shook-ass demeanor, Siler came to fight, and in the third round, Miller shoots for a takedown and gets guillotined.
[BW] John Albert def. Orville Smith via submission (rear-naked choke), round 1. Albert spends the whole round looking for a finish on the ground, despite his corner’s pleas to keep it standing. He gets the finish, and everybody else looks like assholes.
[FW] Stephen Bass def. Karsten Lenjoint via submission (triangle choke), round 2. That’s pretty much all you need to know.
[FW] Akira Corassani def. Brian Pearman via TKO, round 1. Pearman starts out as the aggressor. He nails a takedown and looks for a d’arce choke on the ground. Corassani escapes and goes for the ten-finger guillotine, but loses it. After some dirty boxing, Corassani lands a spinning backfist and starts to gain momentum. Corassani uses Pearman’s head for target practice, but Pearman has a strong damn chin on him. Finally, Corassani finds his button and Pearman drops like a sack of pears, man. Akira celebrates by spraying water on Jason Miller.
All in all, the 16 fights resulted in eight knockouts, five submissions, and three decisions — and those three decisions all came after two rounds, so who knows what could have happened if they went to a third. Good show, all around. Dana tells the boys that he’s “overly impressed” with what he saw, and gives them props for producing some of the best fights on TUF, ever.
Coming up on this season of The Ultimate Fighter: Donkeys, mariachis, bug-eating, silly-string, naked men — and hopefully some fights, too!
Coming into last night’s UFC Fight Night 25, Jake Shields was in a lose-lose situation. He was presented with an opponent, Jake Ellenberger, who was facing his first real step up in competition. A victory over him wouldn’t necessarily propel Shields back to the top of the welterweight division. If Jake Shields lost, well, Jake Shields isn’t going to lose this one so let’s not worry about it. Last night was going to be Jake Shield’s first step towards living up to the hype that surrounded him when he entered the UFC and getting back in the mix for a shot at the welterweight title. There was only one problem: That didn’t happen. In just under one minute, Jake Ellenberger practically ended the Jake Shields era.
This isn’t to say that it’s over for Jake Shields, or that he still can’t work his way back to relevance in the welterweight division. But it’s certainly over for the myth that Jake Shields is still one of the top fighters out there. Last night, Jake Shields couldn’t implement his game plan because Jake Ellenberger was able to stuff his takedown attempts. It wasn’t “What did Shields do wrong”; it was what Ellenberger did right. He was the better fighter, plain and simple. And let’s not entertain the thought of “early stoppage” any more than we had to after hearing Jake Shields imply it last night. When you take a knee directly to the chin, immediately turtle up, and then try to grapple with the referee who pulls your opponent off of you, you have no business saying that the fight was stopped early. If you didn’t think Shields was out when you first watched that fight, watch it again while you still can.
Coming into last night’s UFC Fight Night 25, Jake Shields was in a lose-lose situation. He was presented with an opponent, Jake Ellenberger, who was facing his first real step up in competition. A victory over him wouldn’t necessarily propel Shields back to the top of the welterweight division. If Jake Shields lost, well, Jake Shields isn’t going to lose this one so let’s not worry about it. Last night was going to be Jake Shield’s first step towards living up to the hype that surrounded him when he entered the UFC and getting back in the mix for a shot at the welterweight title. There was only one problem: That didn’t happen. In just under one minute, Jake Ellenberger practically ended the Jake Shields era.
This isn’t to say that it’s over for Jake Shields, or that he still can’t work his way back to relevance in the welterweight division. But it’s certainly over for the myth that Jake Shields is still one of the top fighters out there. Last night, Jake Shields couldn’t implement his game plan because Jake Ellenberger was able to stuff his takedown attempts. It wasn’t “What did Shields do wrong”; it was what Ellenberger did right. He was the better fighter, plain and simple. And let’s not entertain the thought of “early stoppage” any more than we had to after hearing Jake Shields imply it last night. When you take a knee directly to the chin, immediately turtle up, and then try to grapple with the referee who pulls your opponent off of you, you have no business saying that the fight was stopped early. If you didn’t think Shields was out when you first watched that fight, watch it again while you still can.
I’m really not sure what to call Court McGee’s performance last night. But I will say that the TUF 11 winner handled his eleven months away from the sport as well as possible. He stuck to his game plan against a game Dongi Yang, and managed to grind out a decision victory. McGee may not be ready for the deep end of the middleweight division yet, but he’s certainly appearing promising so far. Ed Herman is being suggested as a future opponent, and I can’t say I disagree with that. As for the other TUF winner on the card, Jonathan Brookins didn’t win, but he managed to not get knocked out against Erik Koch. Admit it: that was far more than you were expecting from him. Brookins did what he had to do to remain conscious against Koch by implementing a wall-and-stall “offense”, and secured a few takedowns in the process. An ugly way to lose, but when you’re a TUF winner, you can get away with it. Likewise, the ugly victory more than likely stalls Koch for the time being, despite the improved wrestling that he displayed by managing to avoid most of Brookins’ takedowns.
One final thing to take away from last night was Alan Belcher’s effortless return to action. Despite a sixteen month layoff that nearly ended his career, Belcher made quick work of Jason MacDonald, punching him out in the first round. Given the almost embarrassing lack of depth in the middleweight division, Belcher may find himself back in the mix with that victory. Not bad for a guy who was considering retirement before last night’s fight. As for Jason MacDonald, well, there’s always Strikeforce (for the next few months, at least).
Jake Ellenberger def. Jake Shields via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 0:53
Court McGee def. Dongi Yang via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-28)
Erik Koch def. Jonathan Brookins via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
Alan Belcher def. Jason MacDonald via verbal submission (punches) – Round 1, 3:48
PRELIMINARY CARD
Vagner Rocha def. Cody McKenzie via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:49
Evan Dunham def. Shamar Bailey via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Lance Benoist def. Matt Riddle via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Ken Stone def. Donny Walker via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:40
Seth Baczynski def. Clay Harvison via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:12
T.J. Waldburger def. Mike Stumpf via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 3:52
Robert Peralta def. Mike Lullo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Justin Edwards def. Jorge Lopez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
“Man, I just can’t tell you how much stronger I feel since I got my leukocyte count under control, you know? I feel like I could do this all day!” PicProps: Keith Mills for Sherdog
Since we all know that you didn’t watch Bellator last night, how about a recap? Come on inside for accounts of the event, plus videos of the middleweight tournament bouts, courtesy of Zee2TehPee and ArnForgesArn.com — massive props to those guys. Boo boo on the crowd in Hollywood, Florida, which seemed just a little too quick to rain down boos on a good night of fights. Come on inside and I’ll tell you all about it.
“Man, I just can’t tell you how much stronger I feel since I got my leukocyte count under control, you know? I feel like I could do this all day!” PicProps: Keith Mills for Sherdog
Since we all know that you didn’t watch Bellator last night, how about a recap? Come on inside for accounts of the event, plus videos of the middleweight tournament bouts, courtesy of Zee2TehPee and ArnForgesArn.com – massive props to those guys. Boo boo on the crowd in Hollywood, Florida, which seemed just a little too quick to rain down boos on a good night of fights. Come on inside and I’ll tell you all about it.
Victor O’Donnell vs Brian Rogers
Man, Victor O’Donnell looks like the little brother of Bronan the Barbarian. Ok, there was a bit of a stoppage controversy on this one, kids, but it’s the kind where you kind of feel bad for everyone involved. Brian Rogers has a streak going of putting a quick smashing on his opponents, so when he wobbles O’Donnell with a headkick and a flurry of hooks, then follows him to the canvas with hammerfists, you can’t really blame referee Troy Waugh for diving it to stop it. Unfortunately, O’Donnell still has plenty of fight left in him, since he was busy establishing guard and wrist control when Waugh waves it off. Brian “The Predator” Rogers scores another TKO victory (referee stoppage due to strikes) at 1:56 in the first, but the crowd turns on him, booing the stoppage. Rogers, who comes off as an extremely nice guy, goes full-on heel with them in the interview. Very strange fight.
Sam Alvey vs Vitor Vianna
Speaking of strange fights, there’s this. Sam Alvey has his model girlfriend in his corner, gloves on and everything. Vitor Vianna has BJJ championships like Joe Johnson has shoes, but he doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to take Alvey down and introduce us all to the Portuguese Pretzel Choke. So they stay standing, but neither fighter shows much in the way of killer instinct, and 90% of the action is in the last two minutes of the fight. Alvey moves forward most of the fight, defends takedowns well, and scores some damage on Vianna, but Alvey winds up losing a split decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29). The crowd turns on Vianna as well, who seems to have learned English from Wanderlei, if nothing else. Poor fella. Vianna promises better next time, and I hope so.
Bryan Baker vs Jared Hess
The Battle of Dudes Fresh Off of Expensive Surgeries was going to be a lose-lose for me, because I like both of them. Both Baker and Hess had tune-up fights for the tournament, but this would be their first real competition, and it turned out to be a fantastic fight: a really technical grappling exchange with a good tempo. Hess did not look like his pre-surgery self — the limitless gas tank that helped him grind through opponents started to run out by the end of the first, he made quite a few technical errors on the ground, and he did look wobbly and awkward on his feet through the second and third. True to form, though, Hess never quit. The referee stopped the fight because Baker had him back mounted, hooks in, fully extended and dropping big hooks to his cranium region. (Oh, and Baker’s wife still wails like a banshee in the crowd the entire damn fight, and this time she had back-up.) Bryan Baker defeats Jared Hess by TKO (referee stoppage due to ground and pound) at 2:52 of round 3.
Zelg Galesic vs Alexander Shlemenko
Alexander Shlemenko lied to our faces … and I have new respect for him. The Russian whirlwind has expressed open disdain for submission grappling on the ground pretty much anytime someone comes near him with a camera and a translator, and he chases knockouts . Then he comes out to fight Croatian kickboxer Zelg Galesic and goes for a clinch like he’s a heat seeking judo missile. It took less than two minutes for Shlemenko to secure a nasty standing guillotine/neck crank that was right up there with Dan Miller’s. Props to Shlemenko for actually working to improve and roundout his skill set, plus more props for playing it close to the vest. More props on top of that for that monster submission. The big knock against The Storm has been that he was one-dimensional and anyone with some high school wrestling could take him down. If Shlemenko can bring his wrestling and submission defense up to par, suddenly that crazy striking style of his becomes a whole lot scarier. Alexander Shlemenko defeats Zelg Galesic via Submission (Standing Guillotine/Neck Crank) at 1:55 of round 1.
Spike.com Card
Brett Cooper defeats Valdir Araujo via TKO (punches) at 0:35 of round 3.
Radley Martinez defeats Brian van Hoven via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3).
Ailton Barbosa defeats Ryan Keenan via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:55 of round 1.
Christian Souza defeats John Kelly via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3).
J.P. Reese defeats Martin Brown via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3).
Marcelo Goncalves defeats Dietter Navarro via submission (armbar) at 2:01 of round 1.
Shah Babonis defeats Marcos de Matta via KO (punch) at 2:04 of round 3.
