With no competition from the UFC last night (well, no real competition, at least), Bellator took to the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania to make a statement with Bellator 77. The main card played host to the quarterfinals of this season’s lightweight tournament.
In the evening’s main event, 20-0 Russian lightweight Alexander Sarnavskiy made his Bellator debut against UFC veteran Rich Clementi. Despite his creative, diverse offense, Sarnavskiy struggled early against Clementi, almost succumbing to a rear-naked choke at the end of the first round. Although he would adjust to end up making the fight very close, in the end Clementi won by split-decision. With the victory, Rich Clementi improves to 45-21-1.
In the co-main event, WEC veteran Dave Jansen finished a very game Magomed Saadulaev with a standing arm-in guillotine forty-one seconds into the third round. After a close first round, Jansen spent the second round breaking down Saadulaev with his ground and pound. Video of the entire fight is available after the jump.
Highlights from Clementi vs. Sarnavskiy
With no competition from the UFC last night (well, no real competition, at least), Bellator took to the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania to make a statement with Bellator 77. The main card played host to the quarterfinals of this season’s lightweight tournament.
In the evening’s main event, 20-0 Russian lightweight Alexander Sarnavskiy made his Bellator debut against UFC veteran Rich Clementi. Despite his creative, diverse offense, Sarnavskiy struggled early against Clementi, almost succumbing to a rear-naked choke at the end of the first round. Although he would adjust to end up making the fight very close, in the end Clementi won by split-decision. With the victory, Rich Clementi improves to 45-21-1.
In the co-main event, WEC veteran Dave Jansen finished a very game Magomed Saadulaev with a standing arm-in guillotine forty-one seconds into the third round. After a close first round, Jansen spent the second round breaking down Saadulaev with his ground and pound. Video of the entire fight is available after the jump.
Dave Jansen vs. Magomed Saadulaev
In other tournament action, Marcin Held took home a unanimous decision victory over Murad Machaev, marking his fourth-straight victory. Also of note, Ricardo Tirloni finished off Rene Nazare with a D’Arce choke in the second round. The entire fight was a back-and-forth slugfest, with each fighter rocking his opponent. With the crowd expecting a huge knockout, Tirloni landed a hard right hand early in the second round leading to the fight-ending D’Arce choke one minute and fourteen seconds into the second round.
Ricardo Tirloni vs. Rene Nazare
Full results:
Main Card:
Rich Clementi def. Alexander Sarnavskiy by Split Decision
Dave Jansen def. Magomeda Saadulaev by Submission (guillotine choke), 0:41 of Round Three
Marcin Held def. Murad Machaev by Unanimous Decision
Ricardo Tirloni def. Rene Nazare by Submission (D’Arce choke), 1:14 of Round Two
Preliminary Card:
Matthew Lozano def. Dave Morgan by Submission (Inverted Triangle Choke), 2:28 of Round Two
Lew Polley def. Carmelo Marrero by Unanimous Decision
Darrell Horcher def. E.J. Brooks by KO, 0:21 of Round One
Cosmo Alexander def. Mike Bannon by TKO (Doctor’s Stoppage), 5:00 of Round Two
Duane Bastress def. Ariel Sepulveda by Split Decision
Brett Martinez def. Eric Albright by Submission (Guillotine Choke), 3:28 of Round Two
It just wouldn’t be a Friday night without a Santos-Prindle cancellation and an action-packed Bellator tournament. If you went dateless last night (or had a really awesome date) and managed to catch the opening round of the Season 6 Lightweight tourney, you were treated to some memorable scraps. For those who missed it: someone got concussed, someone’s in a cast, and we’ve got your cheat sheet right here.
Rene Nazare was looking to let his hands go from the onset, but once Thiago Michel rattled off a few front kicks to the grill his interest in a standup battle waned. Michel worked his kickboxing game all three rounds, using his long limbs to land combinations while keeping Nazare at bay. The BJJ specialist was denied takedowns throughout the fight, and when he did manage to pull Michel to the ground he was either short on time or short on action. Michel’s aggression on the feet and defense on the ground was enough to score the split decision win.
A rare submission, a knock out, and a broken limb await you after the jump.
It just wouldn’t be a Friday night without a Santos-Prindle cancellation and an action-packed Bellator tournament. If you went dateless last night (or had a really awesome date) and managed to catch the opening round of the Season 6 Lightweight tourney, you were treated to some memorable scraps. For those who missed it: someone got concussed, someone’s in a cast, and we’ve got your cheat sheet right here.
Rene Nazare was looking to let his hands go from the onset, but once Thiago Michel rattled off a few front kicks to the grill his interest in a standup battle waned. Michel worked his kickboxing game all three rounds, using his long limbs to land combinations while keeping Nazare at bay. The BJJ specialist was denied takedowns throughout the fight, and when he did manage to pull Michel to the ground he was either short on time or short on action. Michel’s aggression on the feet and defense on the ground was enough to score the split decision win.
Brent Weedman found himself in several precarious positions last night, all of which he’d more or less placed himself in. Both men came out swinging for the fences, and only seconds into the bout Weedman sat JJ Ambrose down with a big left hand. Rather than pounce, Weedman backed off, giving Ambrose an opportunity to get back to his feet, secure a body lock, and slam him to the canvas. Weedman survived a D’Arce choke, guillotine, and kimura before landing a beautiful pair of upkicks that sent Ambrose’s mouthpiece flying. From there Weedman took control, securing JJ’s back and working for a rear naked choke to close out the round. The second stanza began with Weedman ceding position again as he pulled back on a tentative kick then fell to his back. Again Ambrose seized the moment with a D’Arce attempt, but Weedman escaped to side mount and went to work. After landing some ground and pound from the crucifix, Weedman saw an opening for the rarely-seen Von Flue choke. The crushing pressure was too great for Ambrose, who tapped at 3:26 of the second round.
Ricardo Tirloni said in his pre-fight interviews that he likes getting hit. I don’t doubt his sincerity, but he may not have cared for the way Rick Hawn throws down. The Olympic judoka worked his way through a bevy of hard knees and kicks from Tirloni, all the while looking for a home for his big right hand. Hawn corralled the Brazilian toward the cage halfway through the first round and landed a massive right hand that sent Tirloni and his eleven-fight win streak crashing down. A few follow-up shots on the ground punched Hawn’s ticket to the tournament semi-finals.
Patricky Freire and Lloyd Woodard threw down in a back and forth first round that was difficult to score; fortunately for the cageside judges, it was evident that this one wasn’t going to make it to the final bell. Woodard threw relentless knees as the two exchanged heavily right from the start. A well-timed straight left dropped “Pitbull” to the mat, but Freire would explode back to his feet and secure a pair of takedowns of his own before getting reversed. Back on their feet, Freire connected with a series of blows that had “Cupcake” in trouble. Freire dumped him on his back but was unable to complete a kimura attempt as the clock wound down. The leather continued to fly in the second round, with both men throwing without a thought of defense. Coming off a heavy exchange, “Pitbull” shot in for a double leg but was caught by a knee on the way in. Woodard took advantage of his stunned opponent, stuffing the takedown and landing in side-control. From here it was shades of Mir-Nogueira II, as Woodard slapped on a kimura, rolled Freire over, and drew the tap. Just like his mentor, Freire waited until his arm had snapped before admitting defeat. It was a huge upset for Woodard, who advances to the next round of the tourney.
Thiago Michel def. Rene Nazare via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Prelims:
Luis Vega def. Sonny Luque via submission (arm-triangle choke) – R1, 3:43
Chris Jones def. Steven Peterson via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28) Dave Jansen def. Jacob Kirwan via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Rad Martinez def. Douglas Frey via TKO (punches) – R1, 4:08
UNCASVILLE, Conn. — This is the Bellator 48 live blog for Rene Nazare vs. Juan Barrantes, a lightweight bout on tonight’s Bellator card from the Mohegan Sun.
Fighting for Bellator, the undefeated Nazare (9-0) has defeated Luiz Azeredo and Kelvin Hackney. Barrantes (7-5) is making his Bellator debut coming off a knockout loss to Antonio Carvalho at a W-1 event in Canada last year.
Round 1: Nazare with hard combos early, backing Barrantes against the cage. He’s a huge favorite in this one. The two fighters trading, but Nazare is getting the better of it. After he lands a few shots, they clinch. Nazare lands a shot on the exit. Barrantes already bleeding from the nose. The two trade uppercuts in the clinch until Nazare dumps him on the mat. Nazare landing shots from the top from time to time as he advances to half-guard. Barrantes throws up a triangle but Nazare’s out in a flash. Nazare tries a guillotine as the round ran out but Barrantes escaped at the bell. Easy 10-9 for Nazare.
Round 2: Nazare controlling the striking early. A minute in, he ducks under a hook and takes Barrantes down. Working from half-guard, Nazare lands a few elbows. Barrantes is proving a tough out though. He’s not threatening submissions from the bottom but uses enough hip movement to affect Nazare’s balance and timing. Barrantes gets to his feet with just over a minute left. Nazare drills Barrantes with an uppercut and a hook that both land flush, and then takes him down again with 30 seconds left. Everything but the finish, though it’s another 10-9 for Nazare.
In between rounds though, the cageside doctor takes a look at Barrantes and won’t allow him to continue due to a swollen shut eye.
Winner: Rene Nazare def. Juan Barrantes via TKO (doctor stoppage), Rd. 2, 5:00
UNCASVILLE, Conn. — This is the Bellator 48 live blog for Rene Nazare vs. Juan Barrantes, a lightweight bout on tonight’s Bellator card from the Mohegan Sun.
Fighting for Bellator, the undefeated Nazare (9-0) has defeated Luiz Azeredo and Kelvin Hackney. Barrantes (7-5) is making his Bellator debut coming off a knockout loss to Antonio Carvalho at a W-1 event in Canada last year.
Round 1: Nazare with hard combos early, backing Barrantes against the cage. He’s a huge favorite in this one. The two fighters trading, but Nazare is getting the better of it. After he lands a few shots, they clinch. Nazare lands a shot on the exit. Barrantes already bleeding from the nose. The two trade uppercuts in the clinch until Nazare dumps him on the mat. Nazare landing shots from the top from time to time as he advances to half-guard. Barrantes throws up a triangle but Nazare’s out in a flash. Nazare tries a guillotine as the round ran out but Barrantes escaped at the bell. Easy 10-9 for Nazare.
Round 2: Nazare controlling the striking early. A minute in, he ducks under a hook and takes Barrantes down. Working from half-guard, Nazare lands a few elbows. Barrantes is proving a tough out though. He’s not threatening submissions from the bottom but uses enough hip movement to affect Nazare’s balance and timing. Barrantes gets to his feet with just over a minute left. Nazare drills Barrantes with an uppercut and a hook that both land flush, and then takes him down again with 30 seconds left. Everything but the finish, though it’s another 10-9 for Nazare.
In between rounds though, the cageside doctor takes a look at Barrantes and won’t allow him to continue due to a swollen shut eye.
Winner: Rene Nazare def. Juan Barrantes via TKO (doctor stoppage), Rd. 2, 5:00
MMA Fighting has live Bellator 48 results of Pat Curran vs. Marlon Sandro and rest of the Bellator Summer Series finale card at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn.
In the main event, Sandro (19-2) battles Curran (15-4) in the finals of the Summer Series Featherweight Tournament for a chance to challenge Joe Warren for the title at a later date.
MTV 2 Bouts Pat Curran def. Marlon Sandro via second-round KO(live blog) Cole Konrad def. Paul Buentello via unanimous decision (live blog) Seth Petruzelli def. Ricco Rodriguez via first-round KO (live blog) Rene Nazare def. Juan Barrantes via second-round TKO (doctor’s stoppage) (live blog)
Preliminary Bouts Saul Almeida def. Tateki Matsuda via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) – The 22-year-old Almeida, a rising prospect from the New England region, controlled Matsudi with ground work for most of the fight. He threatened Matsuda with submissions through the duration of the fight, hunting a kimura at the end of the first round and a rear naked choke at the end of the second. Matsuda survived but was otherwise overwhelmed. Almeida rose to 10-1 with his third straight win.
Ryan Quinn def. Brett Oteri via technical submission (rear naked choke), Rd. 1, 1:49 – Quinn got the takedown early, got Oteri’s back and applied the choke. Oteri tried breaking his grip and never tapped before he went unconscious and the referee stopped it.
Andrew Calandrelli def. Matt Nice via submission (keylock), Rd. 1, 3:55 – Calandrelli was given superstar treatment by this crowd, as he’s a popular local trainer. He peppered Nice early with jabs and a left hook, then took him down and quickly moved into side control, where he applied the fight-ending move.
Nik Fekete def. Mark Griffin via TKO, Rd. 2 (3:12) – Fekete looked like the stronger fighter from the get-go, bullying Griffin around in the clinch and taking him down late in the first. In the second, Fekete scored another takedown early in the round and placed Griffin in a crucifix, eventually scoring the stoppage after a series of unanswered short elbows from the top.
Jeff Nader def. Dan Cramer via TKO, Rd. 3 (1:04) – A great comeback win for Nader, who was completely dominated on the ground in each of the first two rounds. In either round, it looked like he could have been stopped as Cramer pummeled him with strikes, some of which were deflected. But he fought on and early in the third, Nader caught Cramer early with a right hook behind the ear. Cramer was wobbled and Nader caught him at least three more times. On a flush uppercut, Cramer’s legs buckled and referee Kevin Mulhall saw enough and stopped the action. Cramer, who never went down during the flurry, immediately protested, but to no avail.
MMA Fighting has live Bellator 48 results of Pat Curran vs. Marlon Sandro and rest of the Bellator Summer Series finale card at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn.
In the main event, Sandro (19-2) battles Curran (15-4) in the finals of the Summer Series Featherweight Tournament for a chance to challenge Joe Warren for the title at a later date.
MTV 2 Bouts Pat Curran def. Marlon Sandro via second-round KO(live blog) Cole Konrad def. Paul Buentello via unanimous decision (live blog) Seth Petruzelli def. Ricco Rodriguez via first-round KO (live blog) Rene Nazare def. Juan Barrantes via second-round TKO (doctor’s stoppage) (live blog)
Preliminary Bouts Saul Almeida def. Tateki Matsuda via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) – The 22-year-old Almeida, a rising prospect from the New England region, controlled Matsudi with ground work for most of the fight. He threatened Matsuda with submissions through the duration of the fight, hunting a kimura at the end of the first round and a rear naked choke at the end of the second. Matsuda survived but was otherwise overwhelmed. Almeida rose to 10-1 with his third straight win.
Ryan Quinn def. Brett Oteri via technical submission (rear naked choke), Rd. 1, 1:49 – Quinn got the takedown early, got Oteri’s back and applied the choke. Oteri tried breaking his grip and never tapped before he went unconscious and the referee stopped it.
Andrew Calandrelli def. Matt Nice via submission (keylock), Rd. 1, 3:55 – Calandrelli was given superstar treatment by this crowd, as he’s a popular local trainer. He peppered Nice early with jabs and a left hook, then took him down and quickly moved into side control, where he applied the fight-ending move.
Nik Fekete def. Mark Griffin via TKO, Rd. 2 (3:12) – Fekete looked like the stronger fighter from the get-go, bullying Griffin around in the clinch and taking him down late in the first. In the second, Fekete scored another takedown early in the round and placed Griffin in a crucifix, eventually scoring the stoppage after a series of unanswered short elbows from the top.
Jeff Nader def. Dan Cramer via TKO, Rd. 3 (1:04) – A great comeback win for Nader, who was completely dominated on the ground in each of the first two rounds. In either round, it looked like he could have been stopped as Cramer pummeled him with strikes, some of which were deflected. But he fought on and early in the third, Nader caught Cramer early with a right hook behind the ear. Cramer was wobbled and Nader caught him at least three more times. On a flush uppercut, Cramer’s legs buckled and referee Kevin Mulhall saw enough and stopped the action. Cramer, who never went down during the flurry, immediately protested, but to no avail.
Filed under: BellatorBellator’s summer series comes to an end on Saturday night with the final fight of its eight-man featherweight tournament, featuring Marlon Sandro taking on Pat Curran. Also on the card is Bellator’s heavyweight champion, Cole Konr…
Bellator‘s summer series comes to an end on Saturday night with the final fight of its eight-man featherweight tournament, featuring Marlon Sandro taking on Pat Curran. Also on the card is Bellator’s heavyweight champion, Cole Konrad, in a non-title fight with Paul Buentello, and former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez taking on Seth Petruzelli.
What: Bellator 48
When: Saturday, the MTV2 televised card begins at 9 PM ET.
Where: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut
Predictions on the four televised fights below.
Pat Curran vs. Marlon Sandro The summer featherweight tournament has been a lot of fun, and this is probably the best final we could have gotten: Sandro is a dangerous striker and a lot of fun to watch, but he’ll be challenged by Curran, who previously won a Bellator lightweight tournament and looks great after dropping 10 pounds.
So how does this one go down? I wouldn’t be shocked if Curran uses his superior size and wrestling to take Sandro down repeatedly and grind out a decision, but I think it’s more likely that they stay standing, Sandro lands the more significant strikes, and Sandro takes the decision.
Beating Curran would strengthen Sandro’s claim to being the best featherweight outside the UFC and set up some more big Bellator fights in the future, against either the promotion’s featherweight champion, Joe Warren, or against the winner of Bellator’s last featherweight tournament, Patricio “Pitbull” Freire. Pick: Sandro
Cole Konrad vs. Paul Buentello Although this is a non-title fight, Buentello is the toughest test to date for Konrad, Bellator’s heavyweight champion. Konrad has never faced anyone with Buentello’s experience, and if Buentello is in shape and motivated, his punching power could cause some problems for Konrad.
But Konrad is a great wrestler who won the NCAA heavyweight title, and I don’t think Buentello’s takedown defense will be good enough to stay off his back. Look for Konrad to take Buentello down in all three rounds and stay on top of him long enough to grind out a fairly boring decision. Pick: Konrad
Ricco Rodriguez vs. Seth Petruzelli Rodriguez won the UFC heavyweight championship by beating Randy Couture in 2002, then went through a long period of losing big fights and getting into trouble outside the cage. But over the last couple years he has appeared to get his head screwed on straight, and he’s currently on a 12-fight winning streak.
But none of the 12 men Rodriguez has beaten in his current streak are as good as Petruzelli, who’s best known for beating Kimbo Slice in a nationally televised EliteXC bout. Petruzelli is a good enough striker that he could give Rodriguez trouble standing up, but Rodriguez will have a big advantage on the ground and should be able to submit Petruzelli. Pick: Rodriguez
Juan Barrantes vs. Renê Nazare Nazare is a very accomplished Brazilian jiu jitsu practitioner who’s 9-0 as a professional MMA fighter. The 7-5 Barrantes isn’t in Nazare’s league and won’t last long. Pick: Nazare
You know how sometimes you work on something for a long time, but toward the end you’re just making it worse, but you’ve already put time and energy into it so you don’t want to trash it? Yeah, that’s never happened to me before.
From Wikipedia: The Casino of the Sky has a functional planetarium utilizing fiber optics to display the sun, moon, and stars accompanying the lighting effects of the Wombi Rock, which is a three-story high crystal mountain crafted of alabaster and more than 12,000 individual plates of hand-selected onyx from quarries in Iran, Pakistan, and Mexico; which were transported to Carrara, Italy and fused into glass.
Now look, we may not be able to fully comprehend the functional value of this “Wombi Rock” but that sounds fucking BALLER. Turns out the Mohegan Sun Casino outside Uncasville, Connecticut is the second largest casino in the United States, and we have someextravagantcasinos.
So when Bellator pops off for the third and last time of the summer this Saturday, don’t talk to me about “minor league” and “small potatoes”. With a talent pool that is constantly getting deeper with the excellent scouting from the BFC office, a tournament format that keeps fans coming back, and a spot waiting for them on SpikeTV (*fingers crossed*) Bellator is big time, baby.
Come on in and let’s run down the show, starting off with that Featherweight Tournament Final…
You know how sometimes you work on something for a long time, but toward the end you’re just making it worse, but you’ve already put time and energy into it so you don’t want to trash it? Yeah, that’s never happened to me before.
From Wikipedia: The Casino of the Sky has a functional planetarium utilizing fiber optics to display the sun, moon, and stars accompanying the lighting effects of the Wombi Rock, which is a three-story high crystal mountain crafted of alabaster and more than 12,000 individual plates of hand-selected onyx from quarries in Iran, Pakistan, and Mexico; which were transported to Carrara, Italy and fused into glass.
Now look, we may not be able to fully comprehend the functional value of this “Wombi Rock” but that sounds fucking BALLER. Turns out the Mohegan Sun Casino outside Uncasville, Connecticut is the second largest casino in the United States, and we have someextravagantcasinos.
So when Bellator pops off for the third and last time of the summer this Saturday, don’t talk to me about “minor league” and “small potatoes”. With a talent pool that is constantly getting deeper with the excellent scouting from the BFC office, a tournament format that keeps fans coming back, and a spot waiting for them on SpikeTV (*fingers crossed*) Bellator is big time, baby.
Come on in and let’s run down the show, starting off with that Featherweight Tournament Final…
Pat Curran vs Marlon Sandro
Curran had an unlikely (some would say controversial) run through the 155 pound tournament last year that led him to an unsuccessful bid to become Bellator’s lightweight champ. His progress through the featherweight brackets has been much smoother, including a sweet peruvian necktie on Peruvian Luis Palomino and a three round beatdown on a twelve year old English boy. Curran has blossomed as a striker in Bellator, using punches, kicks, and knees to good effect since he joined the roster, but his wrestling background will be important in the Sandro fight. Curran must avoid Sandro’s bombs, stay smart on defense, and use his speed to jump off his offense. If he can wrestle Sandro down and maintain control, he can be the first guy to win Bellator tournaments in two weight classes.
Marlon Sandro has made his way through the tournament comfortably as well, after entertaining scraps with Genair da Silva and Nazareno Malegarie. The former Sengoku kingpin was expected to be the challenger for the featherweight title when he signed with Bellator, and he’s now one fight away from a shot at Joe Warren. After his surprising upset loss to Hatsu Hioki, Sandro will have to deal with fighters trying to grind him down with defensive wrestling and take away his thunderous power on the feet. Sandro is durable, well-rounded, and experienced, and he needs very little opportunity to land a KO punch. Sandro has the power to test Curran’s chin as it has never been tested before — Curran has never been knocked out, but the Monster from Rio is absolutely capable of leaving Paddy Mike staring up at Wombi Rock when the fight is over.
Cole Konrad vs. Paul Buentello
Cole Konrad claimed the Bellator heavyweight title by doing his best impression of the proverbial immovable object. He’s a huge athlete with a very good wrestling pedigree, but his striking is rudimentary at best, his cardio is unimpressive, and his submission game is a work in progress, polar bear choke or not. Perhaps the biggest question mark for Konrad is how training has been going at Team DeathClutch since Lesnar has been out.
Across from him in the cage, Paul Buentello holds a significant advantage in the stand up game, with better technique and power than Konrad. Thing is, Buentello probably will not be standing for most of this fight. Once on the ground, the Headhunter doesn’t have the strength to get out from under 300 pounds of Konrad, nor does he have the BJJ skills to win off his back. If Buentello can’t stop the takedowns from Konrad, it’s going to be a long night for everyone.
Seth Petruzelli vs. Ricco Rodriguez
Pay attention to where Rodriguez weighs in — he’s been talking about hitting light heavy for about a year now, and this is his third catchweight in a row. It looks like 205 is a bit too far down for Suave, and the biggest boys at 265 have too much size on him. That won’t be a problem for Rodriguez in this bout, as the Silverback is a jumped-up 205er himself. With a bit of a size advantage and a very solid ground game, Rodriguez should be able to stay away from any Kimbo Killers and work his own game.
Also on the card: BJJ champ Rene Nazare returns to action in Bellator, expect him to show off against Juan Barrantes. Nazare is 9-0 with 7 stoppage wins, and he continues to improve at 28. Something tells us this fight will not go the full fifteen.
On the undercard:
John Clarke vs. Dan Cramer
Andrew Calandrelli vs. Matt Nice
Brett Oteri vs. Ryan Quinn
Nik Fekete vs. Mark Griffin
Saul Almeida vs. Tateki Matsuda
MMA
