Tag: Ryan Martinez

Bellator 111 Results: Dantas Submits Leone With Incredible Choke, Johnson, Mo, Volkov, and Ivanov All Advance


(Note: The heavyweights are never photographed below the shoulders.)

Bellator 111 being able to build off Bellator 110‘s momentum was questionable. After all, three fourths of 111’s main card was comprised of heavyweights with questionable cardiovascular conditioning. What could’ve turned into a disaster instead turned into a decent night of fights (though some were not so decent), with the Bellator bantamweight title up for grabs between champion Eduardo Dantas and challenger Anthony Leone.

On the prelims: Up-and-comers Brent Primus and Abdul Razak both looked impressive. We will watch their next fights with interest. However, we can’t say that we’ll do the same for Eric Prindle, a mainstay in Bellator’s heavyweight division. In his loss to Javy Alaya, he displayed a ground game so awful it made James Toney look like Marcelo Garcia.

Also of note on the prelims: The first heavyweight tournament quarterfinal took place. Blagoi Ivanov bested Rich Hale in a tepid decision with not a whole lot of action.


(Note: The heavyweights are never photographed below the shoulders.)

Bellator 111 being able to build off Bellator 110‘s momentum was questionable. After all, three fourths of 111′s main card was comprised of heavyweights with questionable cardiovascular conditioning. What could’ve turned into a disaster instead turned into a decent night of fights (though some were not so decent), with the Bellator bantamweight title up for grabs between champion Eduardo Dantas and challenger Anthony Leone.

On the prelims: Up-and-comers Brent Primus and Abdul Razak both looked impressive. We will watch their next fights with interest. However, we can’t say that we’ll do the same for Eric Prindle, a mainstay in Bellator’s heavyweight division. In his loss to Javy Alaya, he displayed a ground game so awful it made James Toney look like Marcelo Garcia.

Also of note on the prelims: The first heavyweight tournament quarterfinal took place. Blagoi Ivanov bested Rich Hale in a tepid decision with not a whole lot of action.

In the first fight on the televised portion of the card, former Bellator heavyweight champ Alexander Volkov defeated Mark Holata via TKO. The Russian started off shaky, getting rocked early on in the first round. After some time in the clinch, Volkov managed to floor Holata with a knee and then followed up with brutal ground and pound. It was all over in 81 seconds.

In the next match, kickboxers Peter Graham and Mighty Mo squared off. The first round of this fight wasn’t terrible, but the second and third round were less than spectacular. Mighty Mo and Graham displayed some Eric Prindle-level grappling in those rounds. Mo finally put Graham out of his misery with a half-assed head and arm choke late midway through the third. If you DVR’d the fights, watch this one on fast forward.

The night’s co-main event pitted UFC and Strikeforce vet Lavar Johnson against Ryan Martinez. Martinez wrestled Johnson to the mat early on, making the UFC vet’s chances look grim. Johnson managed to return to his feet. A few of the wildest exchanges we’ve ever seen ensued (like both guys were missing by miles but still swinging anyway). Johnson managed to connect before Martinez, and it was over before the the first round ended.

So the next round of the Bellator heavyweight tournament will look like this:

Mighty Mo vs. Alexander Volkov.

Lavar Johnson vs. Blagoi Ivanov.

Now, onto the main event. Eduardo Dantas pulled off the slickest rear naked choke off all time against Anthony Leone, submitting him in the second round. Our words don’t do the martial artistry justice. You’ll just have to check out the GIF (via @ZProphet_MMA). Trust us, it’s worth it. Dantas’ submission is immediately a candidate for submission of the year (so far). Fortunately, there were no staged scuffles afterwards.

Complete results:

Main Card

Eduardo Dantas def. Anthony Leone via submission (rear naked choke), 2:04 of round 2
Lavar Johnson def. Ryan Martinez via TKO (punches), 4:22 of round 1
Mighty Mo def. Peter Graham via submission (head and arm choke), 2:31 of round 3
Alexander Volkov def. Mark Holata (punches), 1:21 of round 1

Preliminary Card

Blagoi Ivanov def. Rich Hale via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Cortez Coleman def. Daniel Miller via verbal submission (strikes), 4:49 of round 2
Javy Ayala def. Eric Prindle via TKO (doctor stoppage), 2:05 of round 3
Abdul Razak def. Matt Jones via TKO (punches), 1:23 of round 1
Brent Primus def. Chris Jones via TKO (punches), 1:45 of round 1
Chris Gutierrez def. Justin McNally via TKO (strikes), 2:50 of round 1

Bellator 96 Recap: King Mo and War Machine Score First-Round Wins, Babalu Sobral Announces Retirement Following Loss


(Like I said, betting money on Petruzelli would be a *terrible* idea. / Photo via Facebook.com/BellatorMMA)

Bellator’s 2013 Summer Series kicked off last night in Thackerville, Oklahoma — population: 404 — with the semifinals of the promotion’s latest light-heavyweight and heavyweight tournaments. The televised card was an overall success, featuring fast action, brutal stoppages, and much-needed wins for a pair of marquee names. But it didn’t go well for everybody. Here are the important points…

War Machine Is Back in General Population
In a non-tournament bout that opened the broadcast, charmingly outspoken welterweight War Machine returned to competition for the first time since his latest stint in jail, facing journeyman Blas Avena. Machine appeared to be in fine form, putting Avena on his back in the second half of the opening round, trapping his arm, and slugging Avena with left hands until the match was stopped at the 3:55 mark. Random thought: War really needs to be a coach on season 2 of Fight Master. You want drama? There’s your drama.

Heavyweights Gonna Heavyweight
Both of the heavyweight tournament semi-finals resulted in gnarly first-round knockouts. During the prelims, Ryan Martinez — who came in as a short-notice replacement for the injured Vinicius Queiroz — slugged out Richard Hale with punches from the top. And on the main card, undefeated Russian prospect Vitaly Minakov needed just 32 seconds to beat the crap out of Ron Sparks. Minakov is now 11-0, with six of those wins coming in the first minute of the fight. He and Martinez will now face each other at Bellator 97, July 31st in Albuquerque.

Farewell, Sweet Babalu


(Like I said, betting money on Petruzelli would be a *terrible* idea. / Photo via Facebook.com/BellatorMMA)

Bellator’s 2013 Summer Series kicked off last night in Thackerville, Oklahoma — population: 404 — with the semifinals of the promotion’s latest light-heavyweight and heavyweight tournaments. The televised card was an overall success, featuring fast action, brutal stoppages, and much-needed wins for a pair of marquee names. But it didn’t go well for everybody. Here are the important points…

War Machine Is Back in General Population
In a non-tournament bout that opened the broadcast, charmingly outspoken welterweight War Machine returned to competition for the first time since his latest stint in jail, facing journeyman Blas Avena. Machine appeared to be in fine form, putting Avena on his back in the second half of the opening round, trapping his arm, and slugging Avena with left hands until the match was stopped at the 3:55 mark. Random thought: War really needs to be a coach on season 2 of Fight Master. You want drama? There’s your drama.

Heavyweights Gonna Heavyweight
Both of the heavyweight tournament semi-finals resulted in gnarly first-round knockouts. During the prelims, Ryan Martinez — who came in as a short-notice replacement for the injured Vinicius Queiroz — slugged out Richard Hale with punches from the top. And on the main card, undefeated Russian prospect Vitaly Minakov needed just 32 seconds to beat the crap out of Ron Sparks. Minakov is now 11-0, with six of those wins coming in the first minute of the fight. He and Martinez will now face each other at Bellator 97, July 31st in Albuquerque.

Farewell, Sweet Babalu
Renato “Babalu” Sobral vs. Jacob Noe was certainly the most competitive fight on the main card, with both light-heavyweights landing well through the first two rounds. The third round could have been the deciding frame, but Noe didn’t let it go to the judges. After stunning Sobral with punches and opening up a cut near his left eye, Noe threw the kitchen sink at Babalu, who stumbled around and ate punches until the ref called a standing TKO at the 3:32 mark of the final round. Despite his wooziness, Sobral didn’t appear too pleased with the call.

If you’re a well-traveled MMA veteran who has fought for the biggest organizations in the world, but you’re now being stopped by a virtual unknown in the opening round of a Bellator tournament, it might be a good sign to hang up the gloves — and that’s exactly what Babalu did after the fight, announcing his retirement in the cage. It’s hard to say if Sobral’s retirement will be permanent, or one of those temporary retirements that fighters seem to love so much. But for now, the BJJ black-belt leaves behind a 37-11 career record, and can claim victories over Chael Sonnen, Mauricio Rua, Robbie Lawler, Jeremy Horn, and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou.

King Mo Smashes — and I Mean Smashes — Seth Petruzelli


(Skip to the 1:11 mark for the brain-damage.)

Look, I still think making Muhammad Lawal a 15-1 favorite in this fight was ludicrous. This wasn’t exactly Cro Cop vs. Dos Caras Jr. — it was a halfway legitimate matchup. But King Mo won, and he made it look easy. As soon as Lawal completed his first takedown, it was the beginning of the end. With Petruzelli on his back, Lawal grabbed his feet, swung them out of the way, and dived in with one of the most savage haymakers-from-above in MMA history. Nobody could have survived that shot, and Petruzelli was no exception. And so, Lawal bounces back from his surprise upset against Emanuel Newton at Bellator 90, and will now face Jacob Noe in the finals of the light-heavyweight summer tourney at Bellator 97. Meanwhile, Petruzelli’s Bellator record drops to 1-2.

And now, full results from Bellator 96…

MAIN CARD
Muhammed Lawal def. Seth Petruzelli via KO, 1:35 of round 1
Jacob Noe def. Renato Sobral via TKO, 3:32 of round 3
Vitaly Minakov def. Ron Sparks via TKO, 0:32 of round 1
War Machine def. Blas Avena via TKO, 3:55 of round 1

PRELIMINARY CARD
Damon Jackson def. Keith Miner via TKO, 2:00 of round 1
Raphael Butler def. Jeremiah O’Neal via TKO, 2:57 of round 1
Ryan Martinez def. Richard Hale via KO, 2:19 of round 1
Brandon Halsey def. Joe Yager via split decision (30-28 x 2, 28-30)*
Derek Campos def. Brandon Girtz via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
Justin McNally def. Steven Artoff via verbal submission (triangle choke), 2:44 of round 1

UNAIRED MATCHES (FOLLOWING THE MAIN CARD BROADCAST)
Chas Skelly def. Jarrod Card via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
Keith Berry def. Cortez Coleman via split decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
Mike Maldonado def. Chavous Smith via submission (rear-naked choke), 2:27 of round 1

* That 28-30 has to be a scoring error by the judge. Yager had a point deducted for groin-strikes, so even if he won every round, the highest score he could have received would be 29.

Bellator 93 Recap: Dave Jansen and Michael Page Earn Victories in Night of Quick Stoppages, Controversy

(Michael Page vs. Ryan Sanders — strong front-runner for Phantom Punch of 2013. Props: videosei.)

Despite losing some of its star power due to injuries, last night’s Bellator 93 event in Lewiston, Maine, turned out to be a mostly-satisfying affair, with eight of the ten scheduled matches ending within the first-round, and three ending within the first 20 seconds. But two unfortunate moments cast a shadow on the event.

First off, Michael Page‘s hotly-anticipated Bellator debut ended with a 10-second KO victory over Ryan Sanders, as the flashy British striker caught Sanders with a straight right as his victim was charging in…or so it seemed. Upon closer inspection, there was something a little fishy about the stoppage. Watch the replays in the video above, and you’ll see that Page either barely touched Sanders, or didn’t touch him at all. At any rate, the strike didn’t seem to justify the reaction of Sanders, who immediately flopped to the mat, clutching his head in agony. He was back on his feet moments later, looking somewhat disappointed. We’re not going to accuse Bellator of some vast conspiracy; it’s more likely that Sanders simply didn’t want to be there. And unfortunately, he may have robbed us of the opportunity to see Page produce another classic no-walk-off knockout.

Speaking of let-downs, the guaranteed barnburner between Marcus Davis vs. Waachiim Spiritwolf ended in a no-contest in the first round, after Davis nailed Spiritwolf with a knee to the groin; Spiritwolf couldn’t continue after the foul. (Sound familiar?) Though the Lewiston crowd chanted “Bullshit!” and booed Spiritwolf in an apparent indictment of his bitchassness, there was nothing fake about that low-blow. Check out the GIF below, via BloodyElbow…


(Michael Page vs. Ryan Sanders — strong front-runner for Phantom Punch of 2013. Props: videosei.)

Despite losing some of its star power due to injuries, last night’s Bellator 93 event in Lewiston, Maine, turned out to be a mostly-satisfying affair, with eight of the ten scheduled matches ending within the first-round, and three ending within the first 20 seconds. But two unfortunate moments cast a shadow on the event.

First off, Michael Page‘s hotly-anticipated Bellator debut ended with a 10-second KO victory over Ryan Sanders, as the flashy British striker caught Sanders with a straight right as his victim was charging in…or so it seemed. Upon closer inspection, there was something a little fishy about the stoppage. Watch the replays in the video above, and you’ll see that Page either barely touched Sanders, or didn’t touch him at all. At any rate, the strike didn’t seem to justify the reaction of Sanders, who immediately flopped to the mat, clutching his head in agony. He was back on his feet moments later, looking somewhat disappointed. We’re not going to accuse Bellator of some vast conspiracy; it’s more likely that Sanders simply didn’t want to be there. And unfortunately, he may have robbed us of the opportunity to see Page produce another classic no-walk-off knockout.

Speaking of let-downs, the guaranteed barnburner between Marcus Davis vs. Waachiim Spiritwolf ended in a no-contest in the first round, after Davis nailed Spiritwolf with a knee to the groin; Spiritwolf couldn’t continue after the foul. (Sound familiar?) Though the Lewiston crowd chanted “Bullshit!” and booed Spiritwolf in an apparent indictment of his bitchassness, there was nothing fake about that low-blow. Check out the GIF below, via BloodyElbow…

In other main card action, can-crusher extraordinaire Travis Wiuff‘s return to the heavyweight division ended up with him getting crushed in just 18 seconds. The GIF below tells the entire story of the fight, pretty much — southpaw Ryan Martinez landed a heavy straight left early, and didn’t stop swinging until Big Dan was pulling him off. It was the third consecutive loss for Wiuff.

Finally, in the main event, Dave Jansen and Marcin Held battled for three rounds to determine Bellator’s Season 7 Lightweight Tournament winner. Though he’s primarily known as a submission ace with a taste for leg-locks, Held looked very comfortable keeping the fight standing in the first round, getting the better of Jansen in most of their striking exchanges. Ironically, Held was much less effective on the mat, as his attempts to tie Jansen up in the second round were consistently met with escapes and ground-and-pound. As the Polish prodigy began to fade in the third, Jansen turned up the heat, beating him up in the standup exchanges and keeping his knees/ankles well out of danger. Jansen took the fight by unanimous decision, upping his Bellator record to a perfect 6-0, and earning a future title shot against Michael Chandler.

Full results from Bellator 93 are below…

MAIN CARD
– Dave Jansen def. Marcin Held via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
– Ryan Martinez def. Travis Wiuff via KO, 0:18 of round 1
– Marcus Davis vs. Waachiim Spiritwolf declared a no contest (unintentional low blow), 3:05 of round 1

PRELIMINARY CARD
– Dave Vitkay def. Jesse Peterson via technical submission (guillotine choke), 0:18 of round 1
– Michael Page def. Ryan Sanders via KO, 0:10 of round 1
– Jason Butcher def. Jack Hermansson via submission (triangle choke), 2:24 of round 1
– Mike Mucitelli def. Brett Dillingham via submission (armbar), 2:48 of round 1
– Joe Pacheco def. Pierry Pierre via submission (Americana), 1:54 of round 1
– Vince Murdock def. John Raio via TKO, 4:01 of round 3
– Jon Lemke def. Jesse Erickson via TKO, 2:50 of round 1

‘ProElite 3: Grove vs. Minowa’: Simply Put, It Was an Improvement

Brent Schermerhorn vs. Kaleo Gambill, the lone knockout from the main card. All videos props to IronForgesIron.com

When we last checked in on ProElite, the promotion was in the midst of a heavyweight grand prix that had the announcer for the evening tweeting mid-bout that he was falling asleep. Mix in unimpressive victories for Tim Sylvia and Andre Arlovski, and a disappointing performance from Reagan Penn, and the phrase “rock bottom” comes to mind. Things could have gotten more boring, sure. But if they did, we wouldn’t waste time telling you about it.

Needless to say ProElite’s third installment, which took place last night in Hawaii, was a step in the right direction. While the main event and co-main event were nothing to write home about, the card saw some entertaining fights and quick finishes.

In the evening’s main event, Minowa started out strong, landing leg kicks against Kendall Grove and securing a takedown at the end of the round. However, Grove was able to find his range by the second round, and outpointed Minowa en route to a unanimous decision. We don’t know how much time Minowa spent training against a person sitting on someone else’s shoulders poking at him with sticks in preparation for his American debut, but our guess is “not enough”.


Brent Schermerhorn vs. Kaleo Gambill, the lone knockout from the main card. All videos props to IronForgesIron.com

When we last checked in on ProElite, the promotion was in the midst of a heavyweight grand prix that had the announcer for the evening tweeting mid-bout that he was falling asleep. Mix in unimpressive victories for Tim Sylvia and Andre Arlovski, and a disappointing performance from Reagan Penn, and the phrase “rock bottom” comes to mind. Things could have gotten more boring, sure. But if they did, we wouldn’t waste time telling you about it.

Needless to say ProElite’s third installment, which took place last night in Hawaii, was a step in the right direction. While the main event and co-main event were nothing to write home about, the card saw some entertaining fights and quick finishes.

In the evening’s main event, Minowa was ineffective against Kendall Grove. Minowa’s only significant output was some leg kicks at the beginning of the first round and a takedown at the end of the round. For the rest of the fight, Grove was able to keep him outside and outpointed him en route to a unanimous decision. We don’t know how much time Minowa spent training against a person sitting on someone else’s shoulders poking at him with sticks in preparation for his American debut, but our guess is “not enough”.

The co-main event pitted Olympic wrestler Sara McMann against one-time Cyborg victim Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano. Sara McMann grinded out the unanimous decision victory against her more experienced opponent. The less we say about that one, the better.

While the heavyweight grand prix yielded some unspeakably boring fights the first time around, the heavyweights put on a much better show this time around. In tournament action, Jake Heun started out strong against Richard Odoms, slamming the heavier opponent and attempting submissions. Heun got the better of Odoms throughout the fight, but gassed out in the second round, allowing Odoms to secure the fight ending choke. Richard Odoms will meet Ryan Martinez, who outpointed Cody Griffin on his way to a unanimous decision victory.

Main Card Results:

Kendall Grove def. Ikuhisa Minowa via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Sara McMann def. Hitomi Akano via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Richard Odoms def. Jake Heun via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:56 – Odoms advances to heavyweight grand prix final
Ryan Martinez def. Cody Griffin via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) – Martinez advances to heavyweight grand prix final
Patrick Cummins def. Tasi Edwards via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1, 4:01
Brant Schermerhorn def. Kaleo Gambill via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 0:45


Griffin vs. Martinez


Heun vs. Odoms


Grove vs. Minowa