Before I even begin to analyze this card, let’s get a few things out of the way: No, there were not as many decisions on this card as last week’s smothering performances; the main event ended by submission. No, the card overall was not comparable to a ProElite event, although there was a light sparring session thrown in with the fights that we could have done without. Simply put, the main card of Bellator 65 brought a lot of decisions, but was overall an entertaining event.
The evening kicked off with the opening bouts of the season six bantamweight tournament. The first bout saw Marcos Galvao outwork Ed West on his way to a unanimous decision victory. West attempted to keep Galvao outside with kicks throughout the fight, but Galvao was able to consistently take West down and avoid submission attempts. When the fight would find its way back to the feet, Marcos Galvao threw flying knees and hard rights to win over the judges, 30-27 on all scorecards.
As for the other opening bout of the bantamweight tournament- it happened. That’s about all there is to say about Luis Nogueira vs. Alexis Vila. In a fight that saw very little action, Nogueira managed to avoid Vila’s wild strikes throughout the first round and take Vila’s back. And that’s about it; neither fighter landed anything of significance for the rest of the bout, although Vila was more active than Nogueira for the rest of the fight. Controversial decision? If there was more action, maybe. But since Vila’s offensive output was equally non-existent, it’s hard to say that either fighter deserved a victory.
Before I even begin to analyze this card, let’s get a few things out of the way: No, there were not as many decisions on this card as last week’s smothering performances; the main event ended by submission. No, the card overall was not comparable to a ProElite event, although there was a light sparring session thrown in with the fights that we could have done without. Simply put, the main card of Bellator 65 brought a lot of decisions, but was overall an entertaining event.
The evening kicked off with the opening bouts of the season six bantamweight tournament. The first bout saw Marcos Galvao outwork Ed West on his way to a unanimous decision victory. West attempted to keep Galvao outside with kicks throughout the fight, but Galvao was able to consistently take West down and avoid submission attempts. When the fight would find its way back to the feet, Marcos Galvao threw flying knees and hard rights to win over the judges, 30-27 on all scorecards.
As for the other opening bout of the bantamweight tournament- it happened. That’s about all there is to say about Luis Nogueira vs. Alexis Vila. In a fight that saw very little action, Nogueira managed to avoid Vila’s wild strikes throughout the first round and take Vila’s back. And that’s about it; neither fighter landed anything of significance for the rest of the bout, although Vila was more active than Nogueira for the rest of the fight. Controversial decision? If there was more action, maybe. But since Vila’s offensive output was equally non-existent, it’s hard to say that either fighter deserved a victory.
In the featherweight tournament semifinals, Daniel Straus picked up a unanimous decision over Mike Corey, despite having Corey in danger early and often throughout the fight. Mike Corey fought zombie-style against Straus, walking through Straus’ offense in an attempt to bring the fight to the ground. Straus was clearly tired and frustrated by the end of the fight, spitting out his mouthpiece in an effort to buy time.
This isn’t to say that Straus didn’t impress; as hard as Corey worked for the takedown, he was only successful with one takedown attempt. Straus improves to 5-1 in Bellator and 19-4 overall with the victory.
In the evening’s main event, Eduardo Dantas proved his legitimacy in the bantamweight division with a dominant victory over bantamweight champion Zach Makovsky. Makovsky found early success with his takedowns, yet was unable to do much of anything in Dantas’ guard. Meanwhile, Dantas had Makovsky looking timid on his feet, catching the champion with hard kicks throughout the opening frame.
Dantas continued to press the action in the second round, capitalizing on a Makovsky takedown with a reversal and eventually mounting the champion. Once Dantas earned full mount, the fight was all but over. Dantas set up an arm-triangle choke that put Makovsky to sleep, winning the bantamweight title. Dantas improves to 14-2 overall, including a 4-0 run in Bellator.
One final note: Lyman Good has qualified for next season’s welterweight tournament. Rather than attempt to describe his fight, let’s just show you the video. It won’t take long.
Full Results:
Main Card
Eduardo Dantas def. Zach Makovsky via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 3:26
Daniel Straus def. Mike Corey via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) featherweight-tournament semifinal
Luis Nogueira def. Alexis Vila via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) – bantamweight-tournament opening round
Marcos Galvao def. Ed West via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) – bantamweight-tournament opening round
Preliminary Card
Duane Bastress def. Plinio Cruz via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 2:52
Will Martinez def. Terrell Hobbs via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:13
Scott Heckman def. Lester Caslow via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:40 Kris McCray def. Ailton Barbosa via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Lyman Good def. LeVon Maynard via KO (punch) – Round 1, 0:13 – welterweight-tournament qualifier
E.J. Brooks def. Mikhail Malyutin via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
It’s hard to imagine at this point in his career, but there was a time not too long ago that Brandon Vera was knocking on the door of a heavyweight title shot. Consecutive losses to Tim Sylvia and Fabricio Werdum quickly squashed this notion, and perhaps in an attempt to save his career, Vera dropped to light heavyweight. The results thus far have been nothing short of disastrous.
Since dropping to 205, Vera:
1. Scored a weak UD over Reese Andy in his debut at UFN 14
2. Was made Keith Jardine’s personal whipping boy at UFC 89
3. Was nearly bear hugged to death by Randy Couture at UFC 105
4. Had his face ground into a fine powder by Jon Jones at UFC Live 1
5. Suffered the second most embarrassing loss in UFC history* when Thiago Silva used him as his personal set of bongos before treating his face like that of a three dollar hooker at UFC 125. But hey, the fight was changed to a no-contest, so that’s something, right?
6. Had his arm broken by a guy he was supposed to destroy at UFC 137.
Regardless of his track record, it looks like Vera will be getting yet another chance to silence his naysayers when he takes on the heavy-handed James Te Huna at UFC on FUEL 4 in July.
(“How old are you again, Brandon? I lost count.”)
It’s hard to imagine at this point in his career, but there was a time not too long ago that Brandon Vera was knocking on the door of a heavyweight title shot. Consecutive losses to Tim Sylvia and Fabricio Werdum quickly squashed this notion, and perhaps in an attempt to save his career, Vera dropped to light heavyweight. The results thus far have been nothing short of disastrous.
Since dropping to 205, Vera:
1. Scored a weak UD over Reese Andy in his debut at UFN 14
2. Was made Keith Jardine’s personal whipping boy at UFC 89
3. Was nearly bear hugged to death by Randy Couture at UFC 105
4. Had his face ground into a fine powder by Jon Jones at UFC Live 1
5. Suffered the second most embarrassing loss in UFC history* when Thiago Silva used him as his personal set of bongos before treating his face like that of a three dollar hooker at UFC 125. But hey, the fight was changed to a no-contest, so that’s something, right?
6. Had his arm broken by a guy he was supposed to destroy at UFC 137.
After Silva was popped for steroids in the aftermath of his win over Vera and served a subsequent year-long suspension, “The Truth” was supposed to welcome that “piece of shit juice monkey” back to the octagon at UFC on FX 3. However, when Vera found out that the aformentioned broken arm he sustained against Elliot Marshall would not be healed up in time, he was forced to withdraw from the rematch.
Vera might want to consider wearing his protective face guard ala Kobe Bryant when he squares off against James Te Huna, because that New-Zealander packs some serious power in his hands. Te Huna is currently 3-1 in the octagon, with all of his victories coming by way of uber violent (T)KO. He suffered his only UFC loss via rear-naked choke to top contender Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 127, so if Vera is smart, he’ll be looking to take this one to the ground, as Te Huna has shown a weakness for submissions in the past.
No date or location have been named for UFC on FUEL 4, though it is expected to place sometime in July.
If you ask a movie reviewer what sets great movies apart from good ones, many would tell you that great movies are the ones that manage to transcend their premises. The Rocky series wasn’t about boxing; it was a story of an underdog who succeeded through hard work and determination in the face of impossible odds. Fight Club wasn’t about dudes beating each other up in basements; it was a dirge for our lost masculinity and the rise of anonymous consumerism.
And the new MMA documentary Fightville isn’t about the fighting; it’s about the struggle.
Directed by Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker — who have previously collaborated on four other full-length features, including the Iraq war documentary Gunner Palace — Fightville is a gritty and thought-provoking glimpse into the human condition that should appeal to fight fans as well as fans of good filmmaking. Simply put, it’s the best MMA documentary since The Smashing Machine.
If you ask a movie reviewer what sets great movies apart from good ones, many would tell you that great movies are the ones that manage to transcend their premises. The Rocky series wasn’t about boxing; it was a story of an underdog who succeeded through hard work and determination in the face of impossible odds. Fight Club wasn’t about dudes beating each other up in basements; it was a dirge for our lost masculinity and the rise of anonymous consumerism.
And the new MMA documentary Fightville isn’t about the fighting; it’s about the struggle.
Directed by Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker — who have previously collaborated on four other full-length features, including the Iraq war documentary Gunner Palace — Fightville is a gritty and thought-provoking glimpse into the human condition that should appeal to fight fans as well as fans of good filmmaking. Simply put, it’s the best MMA documentary since The Smashing Machine.
Fightville has been drawing buzz since last year’s SXSW film festival, and is set to release on April 20th in select theaters in New York and Los Angeles, as well as on VOD and iTunes. The film centers on Tim Credeur’s Gladiators Academy and the nondescript dirt-floor rodeo arenas in Lafayette, Louisiana, but it could just have easily taken place in Anytown, USA, where similar dramas are being played out in countless MMA gyms and regional promotions.
Filmed three years ago, prior to Credeur’s star pupil Dustin Poirier’s Octagon debut and ascension up the UFC featherweight ranks, the story shows the contrast between Poirier’s traversal up a rocky and winding path to his goal of signing with the UFC, and his teammate Albert Stainback’s attempts to find the amount of dedication necessary to make it as a fighter. Giving Mickey Goldmill a run for his money, Credeur is a genuine mentor to the pair, offering equal parts encouragement, advice and tough love as necessary.
A pair of training scenes perfectly captures Credeur’s carrot-and-stick coaching method, as well as his two students’ difference in commitment-level. With Poirier, Credeur takes a gentle and encouraging approach to sparring, recognizing that Dustin has been preparing dutifully for an upcoming bout. Meanwhile, Stainback — who had been MIA for most of his training camp for his fight on the same card — is rewarded with a full-on ass-whooping by a few of Credeur’s star pupils, who are ordered to “green-light” Stainback for his lack of discipline.
Although we’ve seen Poirier go a perfect 4-0 in the UFC since the film was shot — with his first UFC headlining appearance opposite Chan Sung Jung scheduled for May 15th — I still felt let down when the movie was over, because I wanted to see it all play out on screen. In filmmaking circles, I believe this is what’s known as “setting up the sequel.”
After the normal celebrating and gloating from last week’s winning Faber team, attention is turned to this week’s matchup of Team Cruz’ Jeremy Larsen and Team Faber’s Mike Chiesa. Remember when a few weeks back Mike’s father died just after seeing him fight and win on national television, and we learned that Mike and Sam Sicilia are best friends and training partners back home.
Well, on this year’s TUF, the two lightweights have found themselves on opposing teams, but are trying to find a balance between not betraying their team and not betraying one another. They call themselves “Team purple,” as in a combination of Faber’s blue team and Cruz’ red team. That’s adorable. Really.
After the normal celebrating and gloating from last week’s winning Faber team, attention is turned to this week’s matchup of Team Cruz’ Jeremy Larsen and Team Faber’s Mike Chiesa. Remember when a few weeks back Mike’s father died just after seeing him fight and win on national television, and we learned that Mike and Sam Sicilia are best friends and training partners back home.
Well, on this year’s TUF, the two lightweights have found themselves on opposing teams, but are trying to find a balance between not betraying their team and not betraying one another. They call themselves “Team purple,” as in a combination of Faber’s blue team and Cruz’ red team. That’s adorable. Really.
Because of their close friendship, Mike seemed to lean heavily on Sam when his father died. Having a true friend there to support him made a huge positive difference for Mike. Well, now that Mike is up and fighting Team Cruz’ Jeremy, Coach Dominick wastes no time trying to get Sam to trash all that trust and goodwill between he and Mike.
Cruz makes it immediately known to Jeremy, Sam and his whole team in the locker room that he expects Sam to tell him and Jeremy everything he knows about his friend Mike’s strengths, weaknesses, style and preferences. Sam isn’t having it.
“It’s still important to me to be a good man, above all,” he says during an interview. “And giving away game plans and being that sneak, isn’t what I’m here for at all.”
Cruz basically makes an argument that since Sam might have to fight Mike at some point anyway, like, why not go ahead and help some stranger beat him up first? Or something convoluted like that.
“If you want that belt you should be willing to give up anything for it,” Cruz says, even though its not Sam that is fighting, and there is no belt on the line.
Back in the house Sam tells Mike what Cruz tried to get him to do. Mike is not pleased.
“It makes me want to cut my leg off, go down to 135 pounds and throw [Cruz] a fucking beating,” he says.
Looks like Faber was wrong in his nickname of Chiesa. “Long hair” does, in fact, care.
Coach Cruz does not give up and in the training center approaches Sam. “Hey Sam, how often do you train with Chiesa?” he asks. “Everyday,” Sam responds. “What are his submissions?” Cruz continues.
Cruz digs deeper, asking Sam to divulge more and more about Mike’s go-to moves. When Sam demures, Cruz pays lip service to this being a tough situation for Sam…and then he proceeds to shit all over that understanding notion.
“What I’m trying to do here is help you guys win. It’s not my job to keep people friends, make people friends,” Cruz tells Sam.
Cruz must have some crazy Eddie Munster vampire mind control powers because by the end, Sam seems to have, in part, come around. “He’s just helping me out,” he says.
Cut to Jeremy and he says that Mike is one-dimensional, then proceeds to list two dimensions of his game – wrestling and submissions. Who’s counting anyway?
So Chris Tickle might have gout, you guys. Or something. Either way, his toe really hurts and his coach Cruz can’t be bothered. “Nobody really cares if you’re hurt. All they want to know is are you going to fight or aren’t you going to fight?” Cruz says.
So how’s this for awkward – Mike and Jeremy share a room together. When the topic is brought up in the house, neither one wants to be the guy who says they’d rather no longer share a room. With that new knowledge, the TUF producers could have just stuck eight cameras in that room all week long and captured what very well could have been really uncomfortable moments for both fighters.
Faber is high on his guy, saying that “Mike has some of the best MMA style takedowns.”
Back in the Team Cruz training room, Chris Tickle, who went to a specialist to get his foot tested for gout, is having stomach problems. It’s not the first time. He got out of sparring during a past week by telling his coach that he was about to poop himself.
After some sharp and intense looking sparring exchanges, Tickle says, “my stomach.” Cruz isn’t annoyed yet, saying, “you got hit with a good body shot.”
Tickle specifies, “no, it hurt before I started training.” To which, his coach replies, “Who cares?” Yeah, Cruz is annoyed now, once more. Not that he doesn’t have high hopes for Chris.
“Tickle, he does not like getting punched. He does not like pushing through the pain of getting tired…Tickle can win this whole show. That’s what’s frustrating about this,” he says.
Back to his fighter at hand, Cruz tells us that he and Jeremy used to actually play together when they were little kids because their moms were friends. “You cannot break this guy,” Cruz says admiringly of Larsen. Those must have been some intense play dates.
Earlier, Cruz confronts Tickle in front of the doctor and asks if he wants to continue in the competition or go home. Tickle is offended that anyone could interpret his being late to practice and stopping early as anything but an insatiable appetite to improve and compete. He says that unless someone has gout, they can’t understand the pain he’s in.
Yeah, so turns out Tickle doesn’t have gout. He did get some anti-inflammatory shots and says his toe feels good. Never had gout before, but joint damage there does hurt like a bitch. Glad I didn’t have Cruz around me at the time calling us one at the time.
Weigh in time!
Jeremy is in at 154 and Mike at 155. Staredown, no incident. Time to get it on.
Fight Time!
Rd 1
Feints from both, with pawing jabs from Mike. Chiesa lands a leg kick and then goes in for the takedown. He presses Jeremy against the cage and works for the takedown relentlessly. Forty five seconds in, he gets it
Larsen with a half guard, Mike postures up and throws elbows, landing a bunch. Jeremy works his way to the cage to try and walk his way up the way Coach Faber taught him to in practice. They are away from the fence now, but Jeremy recomposes an open guard. Mike stands up and throws punches downward.
Jeremy stands up, gets an underhook of his own and presses Mike against the cage, where they stay for some time. Mike lands a knee to the head, using his longer limbs well.
They separate and Mike throws a head kick that misses then shoots in. Like the last time, Larsen does a game job of defending, even as he’s backed against the cage. But Mike keeps working and eventually scoops him up for a big double leg slam at just inside two minutes left.
Jeremy prevents Mike’s initial attempts to pass his guard and gets full guard. Mike stands to pass but Jeremy makes his way back to his feet. Mike gets a front headlock/guillotine grip, presses Jeff back to the cage, where Jeremy kneels to prevent Mike from kneeing him legally.
That does not stop Mike, who knees Jeremy right to the head while he’s on one knee and one arm. Referee Steve Mazzagatti steps in and breaks up the action.
At the restart, Mike comes in with a flurry of punches that miss. Larsen works into a clinch and tries to take Mike down against the fence. Round ends with him trying.
Rd 2
Mike throws a head kick that misses to open the round. He then follows with a takedown attempt that takes Jeremy back into the fence. Larsen defends and then reverses positions with his own underhook, pressing Mike against the fence. Mike turns him around once more and presses against the cage, landing a knee to the head and then to the body before they separate.
They stay on the outside where the shorter Jeremy lands two jabs and a cross. Mike shoots in for the takedown. Once more, Mike doesn’t get it initially but keeps pressing against the cage and ultimately puts Larsen on his butt.
Jeremy fights hard to prevent the pass, then gets up to his feet but is promptly dumped once more. Mike tries to take Jeremy’s back but the cage stops him.
Back to their feet, Jeremy lands a left hook and right cross, Mike shoots, gets stuffed.
Mike seems to be getting tired but keeps shooting as Jeremy keeps swinging. Mike momentarily gets the takedown but Jeremy stands back up. Mike shoots again and works while Larsen defends. With thirty seconds left, Mike take Jeremy’s back and they are on the ground. Mike works for the rear naked choke, Jeremy defends as time runs out.
Ain’t gonna be a third round tonight, folks. Mike gets the unanimous decision win. Team Faber evens the score to 2-2.
“It’s been a tough year. I love you mom,” he tells the camera while inside the ring.
Host Jon Anik interviews Mike and asks how he was able to stay in the house after his dad died and stay focused on winning. “I knew its what my dad wanted…It was tough for me but it was an easy decision to make,” he says.
Anik interviews Larsen and he’s none to happy. “I don’t know, man. I thought they took a point in the first round. I took a knee right to the head…we should be in the third right now,” the disappointed Jeremy says.
*Turns out, though it was unclear during the live telecast, referee Steve Mazzagatti did indeed take a point away from Chiesa for his illegal knee to the head of Larsen while he was down in the first round. Since Mike otherwise looked to be winning that round, it seems likely that the subtracted point made that round 9-9, with the second round going to Chiesa 10-9 and giving him the win.
Dana White gets interviewed by Anik next and warns fighters to not commit fouls. “That illegal knee could have cost him the fight,” he says. Or, in our mind, “That’s fucking illegal!”
Fight Pick time
Faber gets to make the matchup with his team’s win and chooses Tickle to take on Joe Proctor. Surprise, surprise, Tickle seems offended that Faber chose him to fight one of his guys, and puts his arms out wide in the universally “get at me,” pose. Faber doesn’t even look in Tickle’s direction and acknowledge him. Really, why would he?
*We were initially as confused as Jeremy Larsen and erroneously wrote that referee Stave Mazzagatti had not taken a point away. But last night we contacted over the phone Mazzagatti and he confirmed that he took a point away from Mike in the first round. We apologize for the error.
After the normal celebrating and gloating from last week’s winning Faber team, attention is turned to this week’s matchup of Team Cruz’ Jeremy Larsen and Team Faber’s Mike Chiesa. Remember when a few weeks back Mike’s father died just after seeing him fight and win on national television, and we learned that Mike and Sam Sicilia are best friends and training partners back home.
Well, on this year’s TUF, the two lightweights have found themselves on opposing teams, but are trying to find a balance between not betraying their team and not betraying one another. They call themselves “Team purple,” as in a combination of Faber’s blue team and Cruz’ red team. That’s adorable. Really.
After the normal celebrating and gloating from last week’s winning Faber team, attention is turned to this week’s matchup of Team Cruz’ Jeremy Larsen and Team Faber’s Mike Chiesa. Remember when a few weeks back Mike’s father died just after seeing him fight and win on national television, and we learned that Mike and Sam Sicilia are best friends and training partners back home.
Well, on this year’s TUF, the two lightweights have found themselves on opposing teams, but are trying to find a balance between not betraying their team and not betraying one another. They call themselves “Team purple,” as in a combination of Faber’s blue team and Cruz’ red team. That’s adorable. Really.
Because of their close friendship, Mike seemed to lean heavily on Sam when his father died. Having a true friend there to support him made a huge positive difference for Mike. Well, now that Mike is up and fighting Team Cruz’ Jeremy, Coach Dominick wastes no time trying to get Sam to trash all that trust and goodwill between he and Mike.
Cruz makes it immediately known to Jeremy, Sam and his whole team in the locker room that he expects Sam to tell him and Jeremy everything he knows about his friend Mike’s strengths, weaknesses, style and preferences. Sam isn’t having it.
“It’s still important to me to be a good man, above all,” he says during an interview. “And giving away game plans and being that sneak, isn’t what I’m here for at all.”
Cruz basically makes an argument that since Sam might have to fight Mike at some point anyway, like, why not go ahead and help some stranger beat him up first? Or something convoluted like that.
“If you want that belt you should be willing to give up anything for it,” Cruz says, even though its not Sam that is fighting, and there is no belt on the line.
Back in the house Sam tells Mike what Cruz tried to get him to do. Mike is not pleased.
“It makes me want to cut my leg off, go down to 135 pounds and throw [Cruz] a fucking beating,” he says.
Looks like Faber was wrong in his nickname of Chiesa. “Long hair” does, in fact, care.
Coach Cruz does not give up and in the training center approaches Sam. “Hey Sam, how often do you train with Chiesa?” he asks. “Everyday,” Sam responds. “What are his submissions?” Cruz continues.
Cruz digs deeper, asking Sam to divulge more and more about Mike’s go-to moves. When Sam demures, Cruz pays lip service to this being a tough situation for Sam…and then he proceeds to shit all over that understanding notion.
“What I’m trying to do here is help you guys win. It’s not my job to keep people friends, make people friends,” Cruz tells Sam.
Cruz must have some crazy Eddie Munster vampire mind control powers because by the end, Sam seems to have, in part, come around. “He’s just helping me out,” he says.
Cut to Jeremy and he says that Mike is one-dimensional, then proceeds to list two dimensions of his game – wrestling and submissions. Who’s counting anyway?
So Chris Tickle might have gout, you guys. Or something. Either way, his toe really hurts and his coach Cruz can’t be bothered. “Nobody really cares if you’re hurt. All they want to know is are you going to fight or aren’t you going to fight?” Cruz says.
So how’s this for awkward – Mike and Jeremy share a room together. When the topic is brought up in the house, neither one wants to be the guy who says they’d rather no longer share a room. With that new knowledge, the TUF producers could have just stuck eight cameras in that room all week long and captured what very well could have been really uncomfortable moments for both fighters.
Faber is high on his guy, saying that “Mike has some of the best MMA style takedowns.”
Back in the Team Cruz training room, Chris Tickle, who went to a specialist to get his foot tested for gout, is having stomach problems. It’s not the first time. He got out of sparring during a past week by telling his coach that he was about to poop himself.
After some sharp and intense looking sparring exchanges, Tickle says, “my stomach.” Cruz isn’t annoyed yet, saying, “you got hit with a good body shot.”
Tickle specifies, “no, it hurt before I started training.” To which, his coach replies, “Who cares?” Yeah, Cruz is annoyed now, once more. Not that he doesn’t have high hopes for Chris.
“Tickle, he does not like getting punched. He does not like pushing through the pain of getting tired…Tickle can win this whole show. That’s what’s frustrating about this,” he says.
Back to his fighter at hand, Cruz tells us that he and Jeremy used to actually play together when they were little kids because their moms were friends. “You cannot break this guy,” Cruz says admiringly of Larsen. Those must have been some intense play dates.
Earlier, Cruz confronts Tickle in front of the doctor and asks if he wants to continue in the competition or go home. Tickle is offended that anyone could interpret his being late to practice and stopping early as anything but an insatiable appetite to improve and compete. He says that unless someone has gout, they can’t understand the pain he’s in.
Yeah, so turns out Tickle doesn’t have gout. He did get some anti-inflammatory shots and says his toe feels good. Never had gout before, but joint damage there does hurt like a bitch. Glad I didn’t have Cruz around me at the time calling us one at the time.
Weigh in time!
Jeremy is in at 154 and Mike at 155. Staredown, no incident. Time to get it on.
Fight Time!
Rd 1
Feints from both, with pawing jabs from Mike. Chiesa lands a leg kick and then goes in for the takedown. He presses Jeff against the cage and works for the takedown relentlessly. Forty five seconds in, he gets it
Larsen with a half guard, Mike postures up and throws elbows, landing a bunch. Jeff works his way to the cage to try and walk his way up the way Coach Faber taught him to in practice. They are away from the fence now, but Jeff recomposes an open guard. Mike stands up and throws punches downward.
Jeff stands up, gets an underhook of his own and presses Mike against the cage, where they stay for some time. Mike lands a knee to the head, using his longer limbs well.
They separate and Mike throws a head kick that misses then shoots in. Like the last time, Jeff does a game job of defending, even as he’s backed against the cage. But Mike keeps working and eventually scoops him up for a big double leg slam at just inside two minutes left.
Jeff prevents Mike’s initial attempts to pass his guard and gets full guard. Mike stands to pass but Jeff makes his way back to his feet. Mike gets a front headlock/guillotine grip, presses Jeff back to the cage, where Jeff kneels to prevent Mike from kneeing him legally.
That does not stop Mike, who knees Jeff right to the head while he’s on one knee and one arm. Referee Steve Mazzagatti steps in and breaks up the action.
At the restart, Mike comes in with a flurry of punches that miss. Jeff works into a clinch and tries to take Mike down against the fence. Round ends with him trying.
Rd 2
Mike throws a head kick that misses to open the round. He then follows with a takedown attempt that takes Jeff back into the fence. Jeff defends and then reverses positions with his own underhook, pressing Mike against the fence. Mike turns him around once more and presses against the cage, landing a knee to the head and then to the body before they separate.
They stay on the outside where the shorter Jeff lands two jabs and a cross. Mike shoots in for the takedown. Once more, Mike doesn’t get it initially but keeps pressing against the cage and ultimately puts Jeff on his butt.
Jeff fights hard to prevent the pass, then gets up to his feet but is promptly dumped once more. Mike tries to take Jeff’s back but the cage stops him.
Back to their feet, Jeff lands a left hook and right cross, Mike shoots, gets stuffed.
Mike seems to be getting tired but keeps shooting as Jeff keeps swinging. Mike momentarily gets the takedown but Jeff stands back up. Mike shoots again and works while Jeff defends. With thirty seconds left, Mike take Jeff’s back and they are on the ground. Mike works for the rear naked choke, Jeff defends as time runs out.
Ain’t gonna be a third round tonight, folks. Mike gets the unanimous decision win. Team Faber evens the score to 2-2.
“It’s been a tough year. I love you mom,” he tells the camera while inside the ring.
Host Jon Anik interviews Mike and asks how he was able to stay in the house after his dad died and stay focused on winning. “I knew its what my dad wanted…It was tough for me but it was an easy decision to make,” he says.
Anik interviews Larsen and he’s none to happy about no point being taken in the first round for Mike’s blatant foul, which would have likely meant a sudden death third round. “I don’t know, man. I thought they took a point in the first round. I took a knee right to the head…we should be in the third right now,” the disappointed Jeff says.
Dana White gets interviewed by Anik next and warns fighters to not commit fouls. “That illegal knee could have cost him the fight,” he says. Or, in our mind, “That’s fucking illegal!”
Fight Pick time
Faber gets to make the matchup with his team’s win and chooses Tickle to take on Joe Proctor. Surprise, surprise, Tickle seems offended that Faber chose him to fight one of his guys, and puts his arms out wide in the universally “get at me,” pose. Faber doesn’t even look in Tickle’s direction and acknowledge him. Really, why would he?
(Minowaman vs. Shlemenko. Sorry Seth, this is what you get for taking the weekend off.)
At the minimum, last night’s Super Fight League 2 card was a small, albeit significant, improvement over the upstart promotion’s first card. The fact that Bob Sapp was not participating already ensured this. Yes, it was still riddled with the goofy, often laughably bad commentary of Phil Baroni and some other guy who I don’t really care to look up at the moment, but overall, it was able to deliver more action and dramatic finishes than this weekend’s Bellator card could account for, and considering it was free, who are we to complain? If only they could get rid of those awkward crowd shots.
But before we get to the most exciting finish, perhaps we could focus on the oddest one– Alexander Shlemenko’s first round TKO of Ikuhisa Minowa. Minowa continued his rough streak against recognizable-named opponents this morning, and it looks like he could be on the shelve for a little longer than usual this time around. For the first couple of minutes, the fight was vintage Shlemenko, featuring more spinning death attacks than a tornado in an axe factory. Minowa simply had no answer for “The Storm” on the feet, and was stalked around the cage until around the two minute mark, when Shlemenko was able to land a well timed knee to Minowa’s skull that sent him reeling backward.
Minowa seemed to be alright, reaching for a leg log in the moments afterward, but when Shlemenko was able to pull out from danger, Minowa suddenly curled up in the fetal position with an apparent rib injury. No word yet on exactly how bad he is hurt, but we’re going to guess that the injury was more, you know, real, than the quad injury that felled Sapp in his main event clash against James Thompson at SFL 1. The announcer not named Phil Baroni was kind enough to inform us that Shlemenko has now fought 13 times in the past two years. That is fucking insane. And speaking of insane, Shlemenko’s thirst for his well deserved rematch against Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard might just be driving him a bit loony. After defeating Minowa, Shlemenko gave what was perhaps the greatest post fighting interview of all time, calmly stating, “Hey India. Hector, I kill you.” If only Lombard could come to an agreement with the Bellator brass, perhaps we could watch these two throw down again.
The Duffee/Grove video, along with the full results are after the jump.
(Minowaman vs. Shlemenko. Sorry Seth, this is what you get for taking the weekend off.)
At the minimum, last night’s Super Fight League 2 card was a small, albeit significant, improvement over the upstart promotion’s first card. The fact that Bob Sapp was not participating already ensured this. Yes, it was still riddled with the goofy, often laughably bad commentary of Phil Baroni and some other guy who I don’t really care to look up at the moment, but overall, it was able to deliver more action and dramatic finishes than this weekend’s Bellator card could account for, and considering it was free, who are we to complain? If only they could get rid of those awkward crowd shots.
But before we get to the most exciting finish, perhaps we could focus on the oddest one– Alexander Shlemenko’s first round TKO of Ikuhisa Minowa. Minowa continued his rough streak against recognizable-named opponents this morning, and it looks like he could be on the shelve for a little longer than usual this time around. For the first couple of minutes, the fight was vintage Shlemenko, featuring more spinning death attacks than a tornado in an axe factory. Minowa simply had no answer for “The Storm” on the feet, and was stalked around the cage until around the two minute mark, when Shlemenko was able to land a well timed knee to Minowa’s skull that sent him reeling backward.
Minowa seemed to be alright, reaching for a leg log in the moments afterward, but when Shlemenko was able to pull out from danger, Minowa suddenly curled up in the fetal position with an apparent rib injury. No word yet on exactly how bad he is hurt, but we’re going to guess that the injury was more, you know, real, than the quad injury that felled Sapp in his main event clash against James Thompson at SFL 1. The announcer not named Phil Baroni was kind enough to inform us that Shlemenko has now fought 13 times in the past two years. That is fucking insane. And speaking of insane, Shlemenko’s thirst for his well deserved rematch against Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard might just be driving him a bit loony. After defeating Minowa, Shlemenko gave what was perhaps the greatest post fighting interview of all time, calmly stating, ”Hey India. Hector, I kill you.” If only Lombard could come to an agreement with the Bellator brass, perhaps we could watch these two throw down again.
Perhaps no fighter has fallen farther, faster, in the past couple years than Todd Duffee. We all know the story: After blistering Tim Hague in just six seconds in his UFC debut and subsequently landing on the pages of damn near every muscle fitness catalog on the market, Duffee’s hype train was derailed, as if by Lawrence of Arabia himself, at UFC 114, when Mike Russow scored one of the greatest comebacks of all time by knocking him out cold in the third round. Duffee was dropped by the UFC shortly thereafter for supposed attitude problems, and would get steamrolled by Alistair Overeem at K-1 Dynamite: Power of Courage on New Year’s Eve the following year. This morning marked the first time in nearly two years that we had seen Duffe in action, and it only took him thirty seconds to show us that the dude can still throw with some serious power, as he ran through UFC and Bellator veteran Neil Grove without breaking a sweat.
After a feeling out process that was too short to remember, a staple of Grove’s fights, Duffee landed a right hand so powerful that it apparently imploded the ringside announcers microphones upon impact. Seriously, that hook came from farther away than Jeremy Stephens’ home run uppercut of Rafael Dos Anjos, but there was simply nothing that Grove could do. A few follow up punches sealed the deal, and Duffee earned his third fastest paycheck to date. Well, fourth if you count the Overeem loss, but the money he made that night didn’t even cover the open heart chest surgery he had to undergo (no, not really), so we’ll call it even.
He might not be ready for another run in the UFC, but there’s no denying that Duffee’s speed and heavy-hands could prove to be the undoing of many a heavyweight if he manages to keep his own head on straight. Time will tell.
Check out the full results from SFL 2 below.
Todd Duffee defeats Neil Grove by KO, Round 1
Colleen Schneider defeats Cherie Buck by TKO, Round 2
Ricky Singh defeats Salika Senanayake by TKO, Round 1
Anup Kumar defeats Dilanga Rathnaveera by Submission, (Rear Naked Choke, Round 2) Alexander Shlemenko defeats Ikuhisa Minowa by TKO, Round 1
Bharat Khandare defeats Soro Ismael by TKO, Round 1
Pierre Daguzan defeats Chaitanya Gavali (29-28)
Ryan Healy defeats Paul Kelly (30-27)
