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Bellator 119 a Success but Storm Clouds Gather for PPV Prospects

(Via Brian J. D’Souza)

Last night, Bellator 119 was held at Casino Rama in Orillia, a sleepy town about two hours north of Toronto. By some standards, the show was a success—it featured performances by a talented, well-matched card punctuated with Daniel Weichel (33-8) finishing Desmond Green (11-2) via rear naked choke in the second round of the featherweight tournament finale. It was the type of mid-level show that has proved financially sustainable in the gritty dog-eat-dog world of MMA promotions. Regardless of sweeping reports from Sherdog.com and MMAFighting.com that Eddie Alvarez is pulling out of the inaugural Bellator pay-per-view show next week (reports that Bjorn Rebney denied at the post-fight presser), the promotion’soverall prospects for expansion are limited.

On the undercard of Bellator 119, Brazilian featherweight Marlon Sandro faced London, Ontario native Chris Horodecki. Sandro controlled the pace, committing to his strikes and dominating Horodecki to earn the judge’s decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27). At the post-fight presser, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney explained reasons why the bout was intentionally hidden among the untelevised preliminary bouts:

“Ran into some difficult contract situations that came to light in the last 24-48 hours before the fight…we all felt it was a better decision to keep the [Sandro-Horodecki] fight off TV and not exacerbate a bad situation,” said Rebney. “We got a lot of claims coming in from other camps that were claiming an interest in Chris Horodecki. We didn’t want to put him in a horrible spot of receiving a big lawsuit.”

Chris Horodecki has fought in three separate promotions since his last three-fight Bellator stint. If he is still under contract to another promotion, Horodecki needs to question his management for placing him in the precarious lose-lose position of limited exposure and shortchanging Bellator’s TV product.

(Via Brian J. D’Souza)

By Brian J. D’Souza

Heavyweights Raphael Butler and Nick Rossborough started with a bang and finished with both men out of gas. Butler intentionally fouled Rossborough with a head butt in the first round when Rossborough had Butler’s back. The ref took a point and restarted them on the feet; Butler took control from there onwards, clearly winning the final two rounds. After the fight, Rossborough claimed to have no memory of what transpired after the head butt; the judges scored the fight 28-27, 28-28 and 28-28 making it a majority draw.

In the other televised bouts, Marius Zaromskis low-kicked Canadian Vaughn Anderson’s leg into hamburger en route to a decision win; Canadian John Alessio used his veteran experience to outwrestle Eric Wisely and grind out a decision win.

For all the skill on display, Bellator has a ceiling in terms of how successful the promotion can become as its homegrown talent is handicapped in terms of perception and marketability. For instance, the May 17 pay per view relies heavily on UFC veterans Quinton Jackson and Tito Ortiz. If Eddie Alvarez fulfills the final fight on his Bellator contract when he recovers from his concussion and is signed to the UFC, he may prove himself equally skilled or superior to UFC lightweights; Bellator would win a moral victory but that wouldn’t necessarily translate into higher viewership for Bellator lightweights like Michael Chandler.

To become a player in the pay per view market, Bellator needs to sign UFC stars at the zenith of their popularity like Jon Jones, Ronda Rousey or Nick Diaz. Assuming Viacom would pony up the scratch, standard contractual language like the 12-month matching clause poses a tremendous problem. When Bellator attempted to acquire Gilbert Melendez, all the UFC had to do was outbid Bellator once and Melendez became UFC property once again.

“God bless Gilbert Melendez, we made him a very rich man,” claimed Rebney. “We made him an offer. The matching clause is in place, he is now the highest paid lightweight the UFC has—[and] one of the highest paid fighters the UFC has fighting in any division.”

Strategically, the UFC will continue to sign its marquee fighters to long-term contracts and match any offers made to their most marketable fighters in order to retain the dominant market position.

Still, Rebney is optimistic about Bellator’s offerings for its first pay per view show, “I think people need to look at it in the context of a fighting event, and not think about branding.”

In fact, the strength of the UFC brand is part of why the promotion remains content to offer an increasingly watered-down product with an escalating frequency of shows. However, some fans are getting wise to the game and are becoming increasingly critical; the UFC has no reason to change unless said fans vote with their pocketbooks.

If Bellator gets its first PPV card off the ground despite Alvarez’s injury and somehow manages to land near the break-even point, future shows will have to be cobbled together using a mix of former UFC fighters and homegrown talent. Throughout this, Bellator will need to stop the UFC from poaching their brightest stars, as was the strategy when Eddie Alvarez attempted to sign with the UFC and Bellator invoked their right to match the offer.

All in all, there’s a lot to be considered for the long-term health of the sport. Having a second major promotion would benefit the industry in every way imaginable, but whether Bellator can survive business forces long enough to be a contender remains a topic for debate.

***
Brian J. D’Souza is the author of the critically acclaimed book Pound for Pound: The Modern Gladiators of Mixed Martial Arts. You can check out an excerpt right here.

On This Day in MMA History: Paul Daley Sucker Punches Josh Koscheck, Earns Lifetime Ban From the UFC

By Ben Goldstein

Banning a cage-fighter for punching his opponent in the face is kind of like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500. Of course, context is everything in MMA. Between the first horn and the final horn, you’re allowed to inflict massive head trauma and wrench limbs until they break apart, as long as you avoid the relatively small list of no-nos set forth in the Unified Rules. But if you hit a guy directly after the fight is over? You’re garbage, and nobody wants you.

I’m not trying to call that hypocritical in any way. In fact, it’s these small distinctions — these subtle nods to context and polite behavior — that prevent mixed martial arts from devolving into pure barbarism. Otherwise, MMA would eventually become Thunderdome, and nobody wants that. Well, I’m sure some people want that. But we’re not sociopaths, are we? We’re sports fans. At the end of the day, having fights end with mentally handicapped man-children literally dying in the cage does us no good as a society.

(By the way, how many times have I referenced Master Blaster while running this site? Dozens of times? Thousands? Indeed, it has been a long journey.)

Four years ago today — May 8th, 2010 — at UFC 113 in Montreal, Paul Daley spent three rounds being smothered by the superior wrestling of Josh Koscheck. The fight was as dull as it was predictable. Clearly, Koscheck wasn’t interested in a standup battle against Paul Daley, one of the most dangerous welterweight strikers in MMA history. So, Kos scored a few takedowns and hung out in top position for fifteen minutes. And when it was all over, Paul Daley got to his feet and popped him one.

By Ben Goldstein

(By the way, how many times have I referenced Master Blaster while running this site? Dozens of times? Thousands? Indeed, it has been a long journey.)

It was a desperate move born out of frustration and a total lack of impulse control. Apparently, Koscheck was talking shit to Daley during the entire fight, which doesn’t excuse Daley’s actions, but helps to illustrate what an unpleasant experience that fight must have been for the British slugger. As soon as the sucker-punch landed, referee Dan Miragliotta jumped in to restrain Daley, barking “ARE YOU KIDDIN’ ME?” in his burly East Coast accent, reflecting the utter disbelief of everybody who was watching this unfold live. The infamous Strikeforce Nashville brawl had happened less than a month earlier, and now the sport had another public embarrassment to deal with. Suddenly, Paul Daley was the biggest heel in MMA. Then, Josh Koscheck grabbed the mic and immediately reclaimed that title…

Whatever sympathy Koscheck briefly gained from being cheap-shotted was immediately snuffed out when he started insulting Montreal’s sports heroes, unprovoked, in a classic example of his cartoonish assholism. Seven months later, Koscheck returned to Montreal to get torn apart by Georges St-Pierre, in a beatdown so satisfying that we named a Potato Award after it.

But back to the night in question: Immediately after the sucker-punch incident, UFC president Dana White buried Paul Daley in the post-fight press conference, promising that “Semtex” would never fight in the UFC again:

“He’s done. I don’t give a shit if he’s the best 170-pounder in the world. He’ll never come back here again…I’m probably the most lenient guy in sports. And this is probably one of the most lenient organizations. We’re all human, we all make mistakes, things happen. [But] there’s no excuse for that. These guys are professional athletes. You don’t ever hit a guy blatantly after the bell like that whether you’re frustrated or not. It was probably one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen…I don’t care if he fights in every show all over the world and becomes the best and everybody thinks he’s the pound-for-pound best in the world. He will never fight in the UFC ever again.”

So far, White has stuck to his word, and Daley has spent the past four years roaming the Earth. He missed weight for a September 2010 Shark Fights appearance against Jorge Masvidal (which Daley won), and missed weight for two separate BAMMA fights in 2011 (which he also won). He went 1-3 in Strikeforce. He showed up in Bellator in 2012 to knock out Rudy Bears, before being released from the promotion due to visa issues stemming from a bar fight arrest. He’s done some kickboxing, and scored violent KO’s in minor promotions east of the Atlantic. He has pleaded for another chance.

And if he hadn’t punched Josh Koscheck after the bell, that one fateful night in Montreal, then what? Maybe he’d stick around for a few more years, collecting UFC knockout bonuses against mid-level veterans, winning a couple and losing one, winning a couple and losing one, until finally the UFC realized he was making too much money for a guy who would never work his way up to a title shot. And in that alternate universe, Paul Daley would be signed to World Series of Fighting right now. I’m not sure which scenario is worse.

Also at UFC 113…

– Mauricio “Shogun” Rua became the UFC light-heavyweight champion by knocking out Lyoto Machida in their rematch.

– Kimbo Slice was TKO’d by Matt Mitrione in his second official Octagon appearance, then released by the UFC.

– Jason MacDonald’s leg snapped and his opponent John Salter was super psyched about it.

GLORY 16 Highlights: Raymond Daniels’ Incredible Spinning Kick, Pat Barry Gets KTFO’d by Zack Mwekassa

(Props: GloryWorldSeries)

The kickboxing event GLORY 16 went down Saturday night at the 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colorado, and has been making headlines for two reasons. First, spin-kick artist Raymond Daniels added another spectacular knockout to his highlight reel when he nailed Francois Ambang with the “two touch” jumping back kick shown above. This one might be tough to beat in the Best Knockout of 2014 Potato Award category.

And in sadder news, UFC heavyweight veteran Pat Barry — whose return to kickboxing was supposed to rejuvenate his fight career — was brutally knocked out cold by Zack Mwekassa in the first round of their match. After the fight, there were reports floating around that Pat Barry vs. Mirko Cro Cop was booked as the headliner of GLORY’s next show on June 21st, which would be kind of insane considering that Pat has been knocked out three times in his last four fights and could probably use a little time off. Luckily, the booking appears to be an unfounded rumor at this point; we’ll update you when we know more.

An extended GIF of the Mwekassa/Barry finishing sequence is after the jump via ZombieProphet, along with full results from the event via MMAMania.

(Props: GloryWorldSeries)

An extended GIF of the Mwekassa/Barry finishing sequence is after the jump via ZombieProphet, along with full results from the event via MMAMania.

GLORY 16 RESULTS

– Marc De Bonte def Karapet Karapetyan via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)

Heavyweight Tournament Final
Errol Zimmerman def Anderson Silva (not that one, the other one) via TKO RD 1 2:30

– Zack Mwekassa def Pat Barry via KO RD 1 2:33

Heavyweight Tournament Semi-Finals
– Anderson Silva def Sergei Kharitonov via unanimous decision (29-27,29-27,29-27)
– Errol Zimmerman def. Ben Edwards via TKO RD 1 2:50

– Benjamin Adegbuyi def Daniel Sam via KO RD 2 2:59
– Artem Levin def Robert Thomas via unanimous decision (29-27,29-27,29-27)
– Jamal Ben Saddik def Nicolas Wamba via TKO RD 1 1:24
– Artem Vakhitov def Igor Jurkovic via unanimous decision (30-26,29-27,29-27)
– Raymond Daniels def Francois Ambang via KO Rd 1 1:47
– Josh Jauncey def Warren Stevelmans via unanimous decision in sudden victory RD (10-8, 10-8, 10-8)

Another Day, Another Horrific EFC Africa Stoppage [GIF]

Not unlike Madonna in the 1980’s, the referees of EFC Africa just continue to churn out hit after hit after excruciating hit. Not many of us thought they would be able to top last month’s chart-topper, “Winning Fighter Begs Ref to Stop Beatdown (The Bernado Mikixi Song)” but wouldn’t you know it, they’ve went and done it again.

In a featherweight contest between Gareth Buirski and Peter Nyide at EFC Africa 29 yesterday, Buirski pulled off a feat rarely seen in MMA when he elbowed Nyide unconscious with elbows from the bottom. It was a victory that would have surely been lauded by many an MMA fan had it not been overshadowed by the absolutely atrocious stoppage that followed. While the first elbow Buirski threw was enough to render Nyide unconscious, it wasn’t until Buirski had thrown fifteen more that the referee realized that the man lying limp and face down *might* be in trouble. Bravo, sir.

Seriously, Buirski threw fifteen elbows in a row — KO’ing and reawakening Nyide at least three times in the process — before the ref jumped in. Perhaps my favorite reaction to this, the latest in what has become an increasingly brutal series of stoppages under the EFC Africa banner, came from the reddit MMA page on which the gif was originally posted:

Thankfully, it looks like Nyide was somehow able to walk away from this one.

–J. Jones

Not unlike Madonna in the 1980′s, the referees of EFC Africa just continue to churn out hit after hit after excruciating hit. Not many of us thought they would be able to top last month’s chart-topper, “Winning Fighter Begs Ref to Stop Beatdown (The Bernado Mikixi Song)” but wouldn’t you know it, they’ve went and done it again.

Thankfully, it looks like Nyide was somehow able to walk away from this one.

–J. Jones

On This Day in MMA History: Toby Imada Inverted Triangle Chokes His Way Into MMA’s Eternal Highlight Reel

Showcasing the semifinals of their very first lightweight tournament as well as the promotional debuts of future UFC fighters Joey Beltran, Waylon Lowe, Dave Herman, and inaugural Invicta FC flyweight champion Jessica Penne, Bellator’s fifth event was truly stacked for it’s time and featured just one decision on its 9-fight card. But none of the finishes held a candle to the moment when Toby Imada choked out Jorge Masvidal with an inverted triangle choke in the evening’s headlining fight on May 1st, 2009 — five years ago today.

A little background: After securing tournament quarterfinal victories over Alonzo Martinez and Nick Agallar, respectively, at Bellator 1, veteran journeyman Toby Imada was set to face off against rising up-and-comer Jorge Masvidal, who in addition to being a rather prolific street fighter had already scored stoppage victories over Joe Lauzon and Yves Edwards in his young MMA career. After two rounds of fighting, Masvidal looked every bit the dynamic striker (and gambling favorite) he had been billed as, having punished Imada with hard shots and vicious ground-n-pound for the majority of the contest.

But for every ten Jones vs. Teixeiras, there is one Russow vs. Duffy, so to speak.

But for every ten Jones vs. Teixeiras, there is one Russow vs. Duffy, so to speak. As such, when Masvidal dove on a single leg midway through the third round, Imada found the only window of opportunity he would need to pull a rabbit out of his ass in the form of a mid-air inverted triangle choke. Before Masvidal knew what was happening, he was flopping lifelessly to the canvas with Imada’s legs around his throat. It was as incredible a victory as it was disturbing, hence referee Greg Franklin’s Herb Dean-esque exclamation of “Oh shit!” upon seeing Masvidal’s sheet-white face.

The submission earned Imada “Submission of the Year” honors at the 2009 World MMA Awards (Journalist of the Year that year: Somehow not Ariel Helwani!) and a fight with Eddie Alvarez for the promotion’s inaugural lightweight title at Bellator 12. Although Imada would lose that fight via second round submission and would more or less spend the rest of his career toiling in mediocrity/ending up on Patricky Freire’s highlight reel, there’s no discrediting the thing of beauty that was his come-from-behind submission that night.

In fact, I’d go as far as to say that Imada’s inverted triangle, along with Yahir Reyes’ spinning backfist that took place the following week at Bellator 6, pretty much put Bellator on the map. And for setting into motion a series of events that would eventually culminate in Tito Ortiz vs. Alexander Shlemenko, we thank you, Mr. Imada.

–J. Jones

Armchair Matchmaker: UFC 172 Edition

(“Hate to say Bones told you so…” Photo via Getty.)

It wouldn’t be hyperbole to say that UFC 172 was easily the greatest card of 2014 thus far. With brilliant, jaw-dropping finishes from top-to-bottom and perhaps the most complete performance of Jon Jones’ career, UFC 172 was a faith-restoring night of fights to say the least, and one that dramatically altered the fates of those who competed on it.

But today, we look forward. While Jon Jones‘ victory over Glover Teixeira can only mean that a highly-anticipated rematch with Alexander Gustafsson is surely on the horizon (a rare instance of the MMA Gods actually granting us a wish with no strings attached *fingers crossed*), there are still several potential matchups worth discussing, so let’s see what the future holds for UFC 172’s biggest winners and losers…

Anthony Johnson: What can you say about “Rumble” that hasn’t already been said? He looked damn-near perfect against Phil Davis, shutting down the four-time NCAA Division I All-American’s takedown attempts with ease and making him look like even more of an amateur on the feet. After two rounds had passed, we were all left wondering how Davis was ever considered the favorite heading into this matchup, and when/if Johnson’s gas tank would expire. It never did, and in his first fight back in the UFC since 2012, Johnson firmly established himself as a top contender at 205 lbs.

Personally, I think “Rumble” should use this opportunity to finally call out GSP, but a match against the Ryan Bader-Rafael Cavalcante winner probably makes more sense from a logistical standpoint. Bader has become a weigh-station for future contenders over the years (and I say that with all due respect), so should he get past “Feijao” at UFC 174, he would make for a fine addition to Johnson’s highlight reel (again, with all due respect). And if Cavalcante emerges with the W, you’ve got yourself a slugfest for the ages right there.

(“Hate to say Bones told you so…” Photo via Getty.)

Phil Davis: If there was one basic lesson that Davis should have taken away from his one-sided loss to Rashad Evans back at UFC on FOX 2, it’s that the first M in MMA stands for “mixed.” Some two years later, Davis’ striking remains underwhelming at best — a means to the end that is his wrestling — and simply won’t cut it against the well-rounded elites of the division moving forward. From the moment Johnson cut him open in the first round, Davis looked tentative, scared even, and pulled nearly every punch he threw out of the fear of a “Rumble” counterstrike. A harsh critique, maybe, but for a guy who completely overlooked Johnson and said he would “break Jon Jones like a cookie” when/if they ever met, Davis looked straight-up neutered last Saturday.

So where should he go from here? To Thailand for six-months minimum of Muay Thai training, for starters, and then a fight with Glover Teixeira. Davis may talk a good game, but a controversial win over Lyoto Machida and no one else has not exactly sold him as a top contender in our eyes. And what better way to prove that he can actually hang with the big dogs than by facing the guy who just took Jon Jones’ best shots for five rounds?

It’s sink or swim time for Davis as an MMA fighter, and if he wants to actually prove that he has more in his repertoire than some solid takedowns and a the occasional submission, a win over a power-puncher with exceptional takedown defense (a.k.a “an Anthony Johnson-type”) is the only way he can do so.

Luke Rockhold: Following his Chris Lytle vs. Jason Gilliam-level ground pwnage of Tim Boetsch on Saturday, the final Strikeforce middleweight champion called out Vitor Belfort, who scored our 2013 Knockout of the Year over him back at UFC on FX 8, and Michael Bisping, who is an asshole. A fight with “The Count” makes fuck-all sense at this point, but a rematch with Belfort?

Problem is, no one knows when Belfort will have his TRT issues sorted out, and Dana White’s recent statements about the Brazilian seem to indicate that he just might have failed his drug test prior to his short-lived UFC 173 title fight with Chris Weidman. But being that Rockhold already holds wins over Tim Kennedy and Ronaldo Souza, his options are severely limited…

I know, how about Yoel Romero? “The Soldier of God” just dominated Brad Tavares at UFC on FOX 11, is 4-0 in the UFC, and couples a ridiculous grappling pedigree with some scary punching power. Any takers?

Jim Miller: Aside from being an endlessly entertaining fighter who’s damn near impossible to finish, Jim Miller is the kind of perennial top contender who absolutely clowns anyone ranked below him while lacking the ability to truly break into the upper-echelon of the division. In his past two fights, however, Miller has proven more than ever before that he is an aggressive opportunist who will look for the quick finish if he feels that he has his opponent hurt. Sound familiar?

There’s a reason Miller called out Donald Cerrone (and most of the lightweight division, but whatevs) in his post-fight interview, and it’s not just because they’re remarkably similar fighters. The fight is guaranteed to net either man at least one “Performance of the Night” bonus, and from a fan’s perspective, it would be an absolute thrill to watch.

Max Hollaway: After suffering a couple of tough defeats to Conor McGregor and Dennis Bermudez back in 2013, “Blessed” has bounced back with a pair of impressive, technical wins over Will Chope and Andre Fili in 2014. I was shocked to see Hollaway as the underdog heading into his fight with Fili last weekend, but moving forward, a fight with Cole Miller, who’s also riding a two-fight streak, sounds good to me. Simple.

Joseph Benavidez: In a division as small as flyweight, it pains me to say that Joseph Benavidez could find himself in Yushin Okami/Jon Fitch territory before too long. That is not to say that Benavidez is a quote unquote boring fighter (because he’s anything but), but with two losses to champion Demetrious Johnson including a quick KO defeat in their last meeting, there’s nowhere to really place Benavidez at 125 lbs. That he costs 40ish thousand to show (which is a lot in the UFC’s eyes) and currently serves the purpose of crushing potential contenders makes him a bit of a liability, to be honest, and if the UFC plans to continue cutting the Jake Shields’ of each division simply because they’ll never be at championship level again, Benavidez better pray for an interim-title opportunity to be thrown his way in the near future.

In the meantime, I dunno, a fight with John Lineker, maybe? “Hands of ~~Ham~~ Stone” is coming off a decision loss to current title challenger Ali Bagautinov that, go figure, he struggled to make weight for. It doesn’t make a ton of sense to pair up a guy coming off a win with another coming off a loss, but them are slim pickens in the flyweight division.

Do any of these matchups tickle your fancy, Potato Nation? Let us know in the comments section.

–J. Jones