MMA Generations: (2018-Beyound)

McDojoDelux · March 25, 2021

Cejudo destroyed Dillashaw ... let's see if the path of both will cross at Bantamweight, if they continue to win. But if Dillashaw loses, I think there might be a title shot for Cejudo on the BW.

How many controversial decisions in the event ... The fights of Reyes-Cutelaba and Perez-Benavidez were a shame !!!! Even I booed from here hehehehe

Right on the money with your take about a possible move up to Bantamweight for Cejudo, hard to book a rematch after such a dominant display but if they can both keep winning in their separate weight classes or TJ drops the Bantamweight strap I see no reason as to why Cejudo doesn't get his chance at becoming a double-champ himself.

Also, I can confirm that Adalaide Byrd, Chris Lee, and, Cecil Peoples were the judges for both fights.... Well that's my headcanon at least.

McDojoDelux · March 26, 2021

Bellator 210: Bader vs. Kongo

Date: February Week 3 (2019) Sunday

Event posts will be a mixture of both fight play-by-plays as well as quick bullet points to summarize the event as a whole, only key fights like the fight of the night or fights, the performance of the night as well as fights that have a lot of significance like the main event, co-main, or key bout on the main-card or prelims will be covered. These play by plays are romanticized for dramatic effect but the results are legitimate, if the play-by-plays are too long or you don’t feel like reading them I’ll have a more brief summary of what happened plus the full card results at the bottom.

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FIGHT PLAY-BY-PLAYS:

Many have criticized Bellator for their supposed “protection” of the undefeated Micheal ‘Venom’ Page as the undefeated karate style striker has been labeled a “can-crasher” by not only the causal but hardcore audience. If Bellator ever wanted the brash, outspoken, cocky, and at times disrespectful Brit to one day become a superstar a rise in competition was inevitable but some are saying a match-up with the former Bellator Welterweight Champion the sambo wrestler Andrey Koreshko is too much too soon. Koreshko is famously (1-1) with former Bellator Champion Douglas Lima a fighter many say is capable of being a Top 5 UFC Welterweight today (mostly Joe Rogan), he could potentially win in a pretty boring fight to put a can on Page’s hype but Koreshko is a very solid striker himself plus many are overlooking the slick BJJ on ‘Venom’ Page. But still, the rise in competition like mentioned before is a huge one, but this will undoubtedly prove where Micheal ‘Venom’ Page ranks amongst the best Welterweights today.

Round 1

Page comes out throwing combos to keep Koreshko away at a long-distance often throwing the 4 straight punches, the intent isn’t really to hurt but to manage distance as the two settles into the rhythm of the fight. Page lands a few leg kicks that set up Page to leap in with a superman jab, Koreshko nearly grabs the body lock but ‘Venom’ Page reacts fast enough to move out then lands a nice spinning back kick to the ribs. Koreshko set-up jab that doesn't hit but he rips the body of the Brit with two hooks then puts Micheal ‘Venom’ Page up against the cage after grabbing ahold of him. Koreshko tries to look for a double-legged takedown but some brutal elbows from the top force Koreshko to disengage. Page fakes a lead uppercut instead, starting a combo off with a straight to the body followed by a head kick which is blocked but he then hits another nice spinning back kick to the ribs with the other leg. Lead elbow lands for ‘Venom’ Page he ducks the counter right hook of Koreshko to land a nice counter uppercut then lands 3 consecutive leg kicks. ‘Venom’ Page talks a little trash as the round ends he takes the famous stance from the Karate Kid (1984) movie whilst sticking his tongue out at Koreshko.

Unofficial Judges:

MMAJunkie: 10-9 Page

Blurcat: 10-9 Page

Sherdog: 10-9 Page

Round 2

After a slow start from Koreshko, he looks to take action and become more active but he still is put at a long distance as Michael ‘Venom’ Page is still using straight punch combos to keep Koreshko at a distance. This frustrates Koreshko who starts throwing some haymakers that ‘Venom’ Page uses slick head movement to avoid an example of this is when Koreshko blitzes in throwing two looping hooks which slipped right then left to avoid ducker under an overhand from Koreshko to land a spinning elbow right as Koreshko was running in this backs up the Russian leading to ‘Venom’ Page's turning it up offensively. Starting with a switch head kick that's blocked he is able to slick his opponent's guard with a one-two then another one-two, Koreshko tries to fire back with an uppercut but Page slips right then cracks Koreshko with his own uppercut that puts Koreshko to the canvas!!! Koreshko catches himself with his two hands but Page takes the back starting to rain down punches and elbows!!! Koreshko shows his veteran experience surviving the onslaught, Page is on top in full-guard but uses excellent wrist control to prevent any ground n’ pound plus transition changes the two seem content to just lay there with little happening as the round ends.

Unofficial Judges:

MMAJunkie: 20-18 Page

Blurcat: 20-18 Page

Sherdog: 20-18 Page

Round 3

Do or die round now for Koreshko he couldn't have asked for a worse start with ‘Venom’ Page as he has been completely outstruck and his wrestling nullified by long-range combos. Page starts the round with a head kick that Koreshko eats right on the chin Page looks to follow up with a flying right-cross but overextends himself leading Koreshko to land his best counter overhand right on the chin of Page. Which staggers him backwards!!! Koreshko quickly grabs a hold of him but Page springs to life landing two slicing elbows from the clinch then a roundhouse kick as the two separate. A big cut over the right eye of Koreshko starts bleeding blady here in the 3rd and final round!!! Page digs into the body with a single right hook that deflates Koreshko for a brief second as he tries to pour it on it seems Koreshko excellently faked him as while he runs in Koreshko gets a hold of the body lock then trips Page down to the mat for his 1st successful takedown of the fight!!! Page tries to do the same wrist control that Koreshko did to control ‘Venom’ Page on his back but he doesn't have the same effect as Koreshko landing some nice elbows from the top plus some body punches. While Koreshko keeps up the ground n’ pound Page twists and turns trying to make his way to the cage then possibly gets up. But instead, his antics allow Koreshko to grab full-mount!!! Very little time left Koreshko starts throwing everything he has at Page, landing lethal elbows that nearly put Page out!!! Referee Frank Trigg looks like he is about to stop the fight but Page keeps moving but he is also still getting hit!!! The fight is over as the horn rings just time to save MVP from what was undoubtedly a potential TKO loss. While standing up we see Koreshko split open a cut on his eyebrow, as the two waits for the decision. Did Koreshko do enough to get a 10-8 round and a potential draw? Or will the judges give it 29-28 to MVP or will we see a potential screw job like seen twice at UFC on ESPN+ 1 will see right now here’s Bellator announcer Micheal C. Williams.

Unofficial Judges:

MMAJunkie: 28-28

Blurcat: 29-28 Page

Sherdog: 28-28

“Ladies and gentlemen having gone the distance this 3 round Welterweight fight will go to your judges at cage side, all 3 judges see this contest 29-28 your winner by unanimous decision

Micheal ‘Venom’ Page”

OFFICIAL RESULT:

Michael Page def. Andrey Koreshko via UD (29-28x3)

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Lima dropped the Bellator Welterweight Championship last year in a fantastic war with current Champ Rory McDonald while he lost the fight he also proved he is a legitimate fighter as Rory left the UFC as a Top 5 Welterweight. Now it’s just a matter of climbing back up the ladder for another title-shot he faces possibly the hardest 170 hitters on the Bellator roster Gerald Harris. Notorious for his slam knockouts Harris a veteran of the sport looks to claim a World Championship near the tail end of his career, although many have criticized this match-up because of the difference in age (Lima 31 / Harris 39) Harris has said his experience will be to his advantage although Lima has more MMA fights than him.

Round 1

Both men land left hands but as Lima backs up Harris keeps up the pressure with a jab then feints going for a slam takedown to go upstairs with a devastating overhand that lands right of the forehead of Lima!!! He’s down!!! Harris looking to finish Lima within the first 10 seconds of the fight!!! Big hammer fists land but Lima pounces up but Harris swings wild punches while Lima covers up!!! While up against the cage Harris is throwing some looping hooks one gets through Lima’s guard but the Brazilian is covering up excellently. But before he can circle out Harris grabs the body lock then lifts Lima up!!! He attempts the slam but in a moment of brilliance from Douglas Lima, he tilts all his weight forward as Harris goes down for the slam leaving the two in a sprawl which sees Lima escape Harris as the two get back to their feet. Lima lands a jab then flings out a head kick which lands, after that Lima starts digging in with his notorious leg kicks landing 3 consecutive kicks. Harris blitzes in with an overhand trying to drop Lima again but a perfect counter combination from Lima sees him land two quick hooks to the head then two quick hooks to the body finishing it with another devastating leg kick!!! A calf kick from Lima then another and then another!!! Lima keeps up the pressure he wants a finish in this 1st round!!! Harris blocks a right hook firing off a few jabs that land but he walks straight into a front kick to the face straight foot to the chin!!! Brilliant round as it comes to an end.

Unofficial Judges:

MMAJunkie: 10-9 Harris

Blurcat: 10-9 Lima

Sherdog: 10-9 Harris

Round 2

After such an exciting round the two go right back at it in the center of the octagon. Lima stings Harris with a very nice right-cross trying to avoid more follow-up strikes Harris backtracks to the back of the cage, Lima throws a few spinning attacks with a few spinning kicks to the body with some of them landing then he clocks Harris with a spinning back fist!!! Harris drops to the ground catching himself with his two hands then jumps back up, Lima stays patient and it pays off as he enters with a combo landing a jab overhand right on the forehead then a question mark head kick puts Harris down on his butt for the 2nd time tonight!!! Lima doesn't pounce on him though letting Harris back up to his feet, Harris gets caught off balance with a one-two nearly falling to the canvas again then is hit by a body kick as the two fighters circle each other. Lima clinches and unloads with some nice elbows plus knees, Lima pulls off a flurry of bus driver uppercuts whilst driving him up against the cage. Lima attempts a standing guillotine but doesn't get it fully under the chin, but Lima keeps a hold of the submission until the end of the round.

Unofficial Judges:

MMAJunkie: 19-18 Lima

Blurcat: 20-17 Lima

Sherdog: 19-18 Lima

Round 3

Finale round the two meets each other going toe to toe in the center of the cage. Lima looks fresh continuing to throw combos pretty easily pumping out jabs while also continuing to hack at the legs of Harris with more devastating leg kicks. Lima ribs Harris to the body with a right hook plus a straight then goes upstairs with an uppercut!!! Douglas ‘The Phenom’ Lima pours it on with even more combinations starting with a spinning back fist that grazes the right side of the forehead of Harris he is then cracked with a led elbow whilst he tries to counter with an overhand, Lima throws a couple of push kicks to the body then lands a stinging calf kick that nearly floors Harris!!! Gerald Harris's leg has a huge hematoma on his right leg, his left isn’t much better, his thigh area is redder than a tomato!!! Harris flings out a jab that lands clean but there seems to be very little power to his punches now as his movement is completely stagnated as Lima pumps a one-two right to the chin of Harris. Calf kick from Lima lands to the left leg on Harris who attempts a counter hook but Lima’s too quick landing the leg kick ducking the hook then hits a straight-right to the body. Lead elbow lands for Lima then he hits two more leg kicks followed by a spinning back kick to the body. Another kick and that's it Harris taps to strikes he can’t take it anymore!!!

OFFICIAL RESULT:

Douglas Lima def. Gerald Harris via TKO [Leg Kicks] R3 (4:00)

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There has only ever been 3 Bellator Heavyweight world Champions the last one was crowned in 2014 a full 5 years have passed since Bellator has held a Heavyweight World Championship fight until now. To reintroduce fans to their new and improved Heavyweight roster Bellator held a Heavyweight Grand Prix with 8 fighters in total competing to be crowned the Bellator Heavyweight Champion the two finalists Ryan Bader and Fedor Emelianenko was scheduled for an end of year fight for 2018 but an Emelianenko injury has forced the Russian out of a lengthy period of time. Leaving Bader without an opponent for quite some time so instead Cheick Kongo a decorated French Kickboxer and veteran of the sport. Bader will look to become the first-ever Bellato double-champion as he already claimed the Light-Heavyweight title against Phil Davis back at Bellator NYC/180 (June 2017).

Round 1

Kongo’s check right hook is slipped but Bader who counters with a single straight-left, the two starts feint and faking strikes both looking to slowly establish themselves into this fight. While the fight at a semi-long distance Kongo throws a few wide looping leg kicks which resulted in Bader able to pick up a few then throw a counter elbow. After catching another leg kick from Kongo this time Bader fakes the elbow to mask in a level-change which he easily gets with a double-leg takedown!!! In full-guard Kongo tries to get grip his hands around the back of Bader to try and force a stand-up but ‘Darth’ Ryan Bader powers out of it transitioning into full-mount early!!! After rocking Kongo with some very hard punches from the top but the desperate twisting and turning from Kongo got Bader off balance momentarily, nearly causing him to escape in a scramble but before he can get away Bader grabs the back of Kongo while they stand then it Bader attempted a standing rear-naked choke but last minute changed it to a bulldog choke to the surprise of Kongo!!! As the two falls to the canvas, it’s clear there is no way out for Kongo so he promptly taps out!!! Ryan Bader is the first Bellator double-champion ever and the first Bellator Heavyweight Champion since Vitaly Minkov all the way in 2013.

OFFICAL RESULT:

[HVYC+LHYC] Ryan Bader def. Cheick Kongo via SUB [bulldog-Choke] R1 (3:16) to win vacant Bellator Heavyweight Championship

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Critical Rating: 79% / Commercial Rating: 74%

Attendance: 5,566 (Gate: $1,371,462)

Venue: Michelob Ultra Arena ( USA, Las Vegas )

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Main-Event

[HVYC+LHYC] Ryan Bader def. Cheick Kongo via SUB [bulldog-Choke] R1 (3:16) to win vacant Bellator Heavyweight Championship

[Fight Rating: Great]

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Co-Main

Douglas Lima def. Gerald Harris via TKO [Leg Kicks] R3 (4:00)

[Fight Rating: Fantastic]

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Main-Card

Zach Freeman def. Ryan Couture via UD (29-28x3)

[Fight Rating: Good]

Juliana Velasquez def. Colleen Schneider via SUB [Kimura] R1 (3:50)

[Fight Rating: Great]

Michael Page def. Andrey Koreshko via UD (29-28x3)

[Fight Rating: Good]

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Predictions:

rodrigoviolim - (5/5) correct predicts

*flawless victory* (1st perfect predictions of the dnyasty, congraustlations rodrigoviolim )

vladjarca - (4/5) correct predictions

Majster_93 - (4/5) correct predictions

CageRage - (3/5) correct predictions

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Gotta give big props to Bellator and Scott Coker as on their first-ever show on the fairly new streaming service DZAN they put on quite a show whilst going head to head with the UFC on their first event broadcasted on ESPN with UFC on ESPN+ 1: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw taking place on the exact same day. Hardcore and even some casuals have admitted that fight-wise Bellator offered a more entertaining product and while the UFC undoubtedly got more viewers plus financial success this is a very good sign for the world's 2nd best MMA promotion going forward. Possibly in the best-case scenario, the card started out with Micheal ‘Venom’ Page getting that much-needed win over a very credible opponent in Andrey Koreshko to break off into the potential mainstream media of MMA/ sports in general. Page showed while he is flashy he can also follow the game-plan using long-range combos of straight punches plus leg kicks which left Koreshko frustrated on the outside this led to him throwing thunderous punches in an attempt to get a one-shot knockout but Page with the excellent counter uppercut himself while slipping Koreshko put the Russian down in the 2nd nearly finishing the former champ. With two rounds in the bank for Page, Koreshko showed the heart of Champion with a very successful finale round finally taking advantage of Page’s mistakes when he missed on strikes taking him to the ground rocking him on the ground with punches but Page survived for the final horn to get the decision win. Julianna Velasquez continued her undefeated streak with a dominant grappling display getting a first-round kimura submission she looks to possibly challenge undefeated Bellator Flyweight Champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane soon as she demanded a title-shot whilst talking to promoter Scott Coker as he was cage side. Zach Freeman and Ryan Couture put on a really solid fight with Freeman winning round 1 after a competitive back n’ fourth round with the two exclusively standing. Freeman was able to string together more combos while Couture mostly just got single snipping counter punches plus a few leg kicks and jabs from long distance. Round 2 led to Couture implementing his wrestling to win the round quite convincingly, but the 3rd saw Freeman sprawl excellently to prevent the takedowns of Couture as he went 0-3 on takedowns. The two traded combos but Freeman was landing way more often finishing his combos with a check right hook to win a very close unanimous decision. Douglas Lima won his first fight back after dropping his Welterweight Championship to Rory McDonald last year. It was a very scary start to contest which saw Lima be dropped after a flash knockdown in the first 10 seconds of the fight with an overhand as Gerald Harris was pouring it on with wild rapid punches to get the finish but Lima would regain his wits to outstrike Harris brutalizing him with leg kicks plus punches eventually near the end of round 3 the amount of damage to Harris's legs was too much with a huge hematoma on his right leg he tapped to strikes after Lima landed an array of more leg kicks. Finally, Ryan Bader is now the first Bellator double-champion after domaining Cheick Kongo putting an insufferable pressure grappling fight with the Kickboxer taking him down quickly grabbing mount nearly finishing him with ground n’ pound then in a scramble grabbed the bulldog choke to get the submission victory. Bader currently holds the Light-Heavyweight and now Heavyweight Bellator belts while being interview by commentator by ‘Big’ John McCarthy he said,

“I’m the best fighter in the world, I'm a champion in two of the heaviest weight classes in the world, I’m the baddest man on the planet and have yet to be tested. I’ve got so much I didn’t show tonight I genuinely think no one is on my level [Daniel] Cormier is too slow for me [Alexander] Gustafsson doesn't have the heart that I have. Just watch me I think we'll be fighting in a cross-promotion very soon and if not you all know why”.

- Ryan Bader

rodrigoviolim · March 26, 2021

Yeeeees !!!! Hallelujah man !!! finally I can hit a complete even if it is 5 fights hehehe

McDojoDelux · March 27, 2021

January Week 4 (2019) UFC Rankings

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McDojoDelux · March 29, 2021

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January Week 4 (2019) Recap

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MMA News

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MMA Twitter

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McDojoDelux · March 30, 2021

February Week 1 (2019) Recap

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MMA News

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UFC Fight Night: O'Malley v. Moraes [Preview]

Main-Event [ESPN]

Bantamweight: Marlon Moraes (#4, 21-5-1) vs. Sean O’Malley (10-0)

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Co-Main [ESPN]

Featherweight: Renato Moicano (#4, 13-1-1) vs. Jeremey Stephens (#7, 28-15)

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Main-Card [ESPN]

Welterweight: Demian Maia (#7, 25-9) vs. Belal Muhammed (13-3)

Bantamweight: Rani Yahya (25-9-1NC) vs. Nathaniel Wood (14-3)

Lightweight: Tiago dos Santos (20-6-2-1NC) vs. Damir Hadzovic (12-4)

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Preliminary-Card [ESPN 2]

Heavyweight: Augusto Sakai (12-1-1) vs. Cyril Asker (9-4)

W-Flyweight: Mackenzie Dern (7-0) vs. Melinda Fabian (4-4-2)

W-Flyweight: Priscila Cachoeira (8-1) vs. Lauren Muelleer (#14, 5-0)

Middleweight: Cezar Ferreira (13-7) vs. Bradley Scott (11-6)

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Early-Prelims [uFC Fight Pass]

Flyweight: Matheus Nicolau (#7, 13-2-1) vs. Jarred Brooks (14-2)

Strawweight: Polyana Viana Mota (10-2) vs. Alex Chambers (5-5)

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While it’s unfortunate the original main event for the UFC’s first card in Brazil this year lost its main-event as Moraes original opponent Raphael Assuncao pulled out 4 weeks before their scheduled title-elimator rematch. The rest of the card has been untouched by the injury bug and all in all it’s a solid Fight Night card. The main-event has been as expected pretty popularising to some as an unranked fight will fight a Top 5 ranked fighter which many consider worthy of already fighting for the Bantamweight title this year alone. Marlon Moraes after stumbling in his UFC debut losing a close but lackluster split decision to Raphael Assuncao followed by an equally uneventful split decision win against John Dodson has put together two quick first-round knockouts over Aljamain Sterling and Jimmie Rivera winning performance of the night awards in both outings. When asked why he took the fight against O’Malley on short notice instead of just waiting for a title-shot he told reporters “it’s another early 1st round finish, I go in there get some money get more hype, and earn a title shot. If ranked opponents can’t last 1 round with me how much do you really think he’ll [sean O’Malley] last?”. O'Malley, a creative and powerful striker has touted the Brazilian as a “steroid user” leading up to the fight claiming “that EPO won’t work against me”. Betting lines have Moraes as (-500) favorite heading into tonight's main-event as expected but many media pundits think O’Malley can give Maroes a good run for his money in fact the ever-popular Chael Sonnen predicted O’Malley shocks the world with a 1st round head kick finish which in likelihood probably secures the victory for the Brazilian but we'll have to wait and see. The co-main event hadn’t seen much shine until the big news this week after Jeremy Stephens dust-up with his now-former gym in Alliance MMA. As explained in the article above Stephens and many of his friends including Dominick Cruz have left Alliance MMA to form their own gym in Evolution MMA after payment issues arose with the gym as Alliance coach claims Stephens hasn’t yet paid them for the Aldo fight while Stephens claims he did and the coaches are trying to drain him of more money. Cruz will be cornering Stephens tonight as he wants to both help his friend plus make a good first impression for the new gym as ‘Lil-Heaven’ bout with the Brazilian Renato Moicano will be the new gyms first UFC fight. The two last fought in July 2017 with Moicano getting a close split decision win for the Brazilian, Moicano will look to live up to the Jose Aldo potential that many think he can live up to as he continues to climb the Featherweight ranks. Moicano has actually given his thoughts on the whole situation with Jeremy Stephens and his former gym calling ‘Lil-Heaven’ an “ungrateful idiot” explaining how a change of training camps in just a couple of days before their fight will be disastrous for him, in retaliation Stephens told reporters "This is going be my most brutal knock-out win trust me".

Welterweight Belal Muhammed, a very solid all-round fighter who loves to dirty box his opponents, has been calling for a rise in competition and he’s gotten it in the form of BJJ master Demian Maia. Maia really needs a win as he finds himself on a 3-fight skid with a 4th straight loss he could very well be axed from the company, which Belal himself has commented on “Demian Maia is a legend, I hope they don’t cut him but at the same time that doesn't mean I’m here to be his friend I’m here to win. I’ve waited a long time for a ranked opponent and got the best possible option. Maia is very well known and I favor my chances to be brutally honest. He doesn't stand a chance against anyone on the feet he needs to take this to the ground but he has never been great at getting takedowns so I see a one-sided victory for me”. England's Nathan Wood looks to continue his undefeated run in the octagon, the Bantamweight fighter is one of the more successful imports from Cage Warriors a strong striker with stellar takedown defense the 26-year-old faces a Brazilian veteran in Rani Yahya a world-caliber BJJ artist possibly the highest-level black belt in the UFC’s Bantamweight division who can also swang and bang with ruthless strikes up-top. Wood’s takedown defense will in all likelihood be highly tested tonight but with a win, he could find a ranking next to his name and the same goes for Yahya himself too. The last main-card fight is a Lightweight bout as Tiago dos Santos a muay-thai practitioner faces ‘The Bosnian Boomer’ Damir Hadzovic a headhunter who promises fireworks predicting a 3rd round uppercut knockout.

Now it’s time for if you “ if don’t know, now you know” by Dana White he pointed out the two Heavyweight prospects headlining the prelims tonight Augusto Sakai is one of the most promising Heavyweight prospects from Brazil in quite some time he has solid fundamentals with an accomplished background in muay-thai to take his game to the next level he has been taken under his wing by MMA legend Jose Aldo. Sakai opponent Cyril Asker has been inconsistent lately unable to get back-to-back wins inside the UFC yet but still when he is focused Asker is a very strong Heavyweight who can often overpower his opponents with superior strength and punching power. White also pointed out undefeated Strawweight prospect Mackenzie Dern saying “a potential champion in the making will fight tonight” showing the expectations that Dana as well as the UFC has for her. A high-level BJJ black belt artist at the young age of 25 she has developed some good looping strikes but make no mistake she definitely prefers to grapple on the mat the UFC has her facing off against Karate black belt Melinda Fabian who has a very good armbar off her back. Buried on the prelims is a very interesting Flyweight bout as #7 ranked Flyweight Matheus Nicolau a solid boxer who could make a run at a UFC title but needs to finetune the rest of his game as his wrestling, BJJ, kickboxing, and muay-thai is yet to catch up to his boxing. Jarred Brooks looks to enter the rankings with a convincing victory, a solid ground n’ pound wrestler, Brooks has made no secret about his gameplan “take him down, make him tired, get the TKO finish”.

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MMA Twitter

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vladjarca · March 30, 2021

Main-Event [ESPN]

Bantamweight: Marlon Moraes (#4, 21-5-1) vs. Sean O’Malley (10-0)

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Co-Main [ESPN]

Featherweight: Renato Moicano (#4, 13-1-1) vs. Jeremey Stephens (#7, 28-15)

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Main-Card [ESPN]

Welterweight: Demian Maia (#7, 25-9) vs. Belal Muhammed (13-3)

Bantamweight: Rani Yahya (25-9-1NC) vs. Nathaniel Wood (14-3)

Lightweight: Tiago dos Santos (20-6-2-1NC) vs. Damir Hadzovic (12-4)

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Preliminary-Card [ESPN 2]

Heavyweight: Augusto Sakai (12-1-1) vs. Cyril Asker (9-4)

W-Flyweight: Mackenzie Dern (7-0) vs. Melinda Fabian (4-4-2)

W-Flyweight: Priscila Cachoeira (8-1) vs. Lauren Muelleer (#14, 5-0)

Middleweight: Cezar Ferreira (13-7) vs. Bradley Scott (11-6)

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Early-Prelims [uFC Fight Pass]

Flyweight: Matheus Nicolau (#7, 13-2-1) vs. Jarred Brooks (14-2)

Strawweight: Polyana Viana Mota (10-2) vs. Alex Chambers (5-5)

CageRage · March 30, 2021

UFC Fight Night: O'Malley v. Moraes [Preview]

Main-Event [ESPN]

Bantamweight: Marlon Moraes (#4, 21-5-1) vs. Sean O’Malley (10-0)

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Co-Main [ESPN]

Featherweight: Renato Moicano (#4, 13-1-1) vs. Jeremey Stephens (#7, 28-15)

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Main-Card [ESPN]

Welterweight: Demian Maia (#7, 25-9) vs. Belal Muhammed (13-3)

Bantamweight: Rani Yahya (25-9-1NC) vs. Nathaniel Wood (14-3)

Lightweight: Tiago dos Santos (20-6-2-1NC) vs. Damir Hadzovic (12-4)

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Preliminary-Card [ESPN 2]

Heavyweight: Augusto Sakai (12-1-1) vs. Cyril Asker (9-4)

W-Flyweight: Mackenzie Dern (7-0) vs. Melinda Fabian (4-4-2)

W-Flyweight: Priscila Cachoeira (8-1) vs. Lauren Muelleer (#14, 5-0)

Middleweight: Cezar Ferreira (13-7) vs. Bradley Scott (11-6)

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Early-Prelims [uFC Fight Pass]

Flyweight: Matheus Nicolau (#7, 13-2-1) vs. Jarred Brooks (14-2)

Strawweight: Polyana Viana Mota (10-2) vs. Alex Chambers (5-5)

rodrigoviolim · March 30, 2021

Main-Event [ESPN]

Bantamweight: Marlon Moraes (#4, 21-5-1) vs. Sean O’Malley (10-0)

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Co-Main [ESPN]

Featherweight: Renato Moicano (#4, 13-1-1) vs. Jeremey Stephens (#7, 28-15)

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Main-Card [ESPN]

Welterweight: Demian Maia (#7, 25-9) vs. Belal Muhammed (13-3)

Bantamweight: Rani Yahya (25-9-1NC) vs. Nathaniel Wood (14-3)

Lightweight: Tiago dos Santos (20-6-2-1NC) vs. Damir Hadzovic (12-4)

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Preliminary-Card [ESPN 2]

Heavyweight: Augusto Sakai (12-1-1) vs. Cyril Asker (9-4)

W-Flyweight: Mackenzie Dern (7-0) vs. Melinda Fabian (4-4-2)

W-Flyweight: Priscila Cachoeira (8-1) vs. Lauren Muelleer (#14, 5-0)

Middleweight: Cezar Ferreira (13-7) vs. Bradley Scott (11-6)

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Early-Prelims [uFC Fight Pass]

Flyweight: Matheus Nicolau (#7, 13-2-1) vs. Jarred Brooks (14-2)

Strawweight: Polyana Viana Mota (10-2) vs. Alex Chambers (5-5)

Majster_93 · March 30, 2021

Main-Event [ESPN]

Bantamweight: Marlon Moraes (#4, 21-5-1) vs. Sean O’Malley (10-0)

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Co-Main [ESPN]

Featherweight: Renato Moicano (#4, 13-1-1) vs. Jeremey Stephens (#7, 28-15)

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Main-Card [ESPN]

Welterweight: Demian Maia (#7, 25-9) vs. Belal Muhammed (13-3)

Bantamweight: Rani Yahya (25-9-1NC) vs. Nathaniel Wood (14-3)

Lightweight: Tiago dos Santos (20-6-2-1NC) vs. Damir Hadzovic (12-4)

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Preliminary-Card [ESPN 2]

Heavyweight: Augusto Sakai (12-1-1) vs. Cyril Asker (9-4)

W-Flyweight: Mackenzie Dern (7-0) vs. Melinda Fabian (4-4-2)

W-Flyweight: Priscila Cachoeira (8-1) vs. Lauren Muelleer (#14, 5-0)

Middleweight: Cezar Ferreira (13-7) vs. Bradley Scott (11-6)

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Early-Prelims [uFC Fight Pass]

Flyweight: Matheus Nicolau (#7, 13-2-1) vs. Jarred Brooks (14-2)

Strawweight: Polyana Viana Mota (10-2) vs. Alex Chambers (5-5)

McDojoDelux · April 1, 2021

UFC Fight Night: O'Malley vs Moraes

Date: February Week 1 (2019) Saturday

Event posts will be a mixture of both fight play-by-plays as well as quick bullet points to summarize the event as a whole, only key fights like the fight of the night or fights, the performance of the night as well as fights that have a lot of significance like the main event, co-main, or key bout on the main-card or prelims will be covered. These play by plays are romanticized for dramatic effect but the results are legitimate, if the play-by-plays are too long or you don’t feel like reading them I’ll have a more brief summary of what happened plus the full card results at the bottom.

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FIGHT PLAY-BY-PLAYS:

Nathaniel Wood has turned into a much-watch prospect in the UFC’s Bantamweight division, after successfully winning the Cage Warriors Bantamweight title defending it twice the Englishmen has gotten two finishes in his first two UFC fights both via submission. With a large backing from his home region of Britain, Wood has all the tools necessary to become a key player in the Bantamweight division. His opponent Rani Yahya looks to end the hype with a very high-level BJJ black belt he’ll definitely test if Wood’s all-round game is at the level it needs to be to compete with the top 135er’s in the world. Both fighters also have some decent power in their hands so this classic veteran versus prospect can potentially be an instant thriller.

Round 1

The two feint jabs and other straight punches until Yahya throws the first strike of the fight with a surprisingly early right head kick that Wood slips by moving to the left landing a leg kick then pivot jab with a glancing left rook on the forehead of the Brazilian. Yahya starts throwing looping hooks that Wood uses excellent head movement to slip, as Yahya backs down he continues pouring on punches only for Wood to continue to show stellar head movement. After missing yet another looping hook Wood circles right then clinches with Yahya, with a decent body lock Wood attempts a surprising takedown but Yahya threatens with the guillotine so Wood settles by pushing him up against the cage of the octagon. Wood throws elbows to the head then short hooks to the body as the fight comes to a slower pace, but suddenly in a burst of energy Yahya is able to reserved position in a true show of technique plus strength as he unloads with 3 straight knees to the body then a glancing one to the head. Wood is able to escape the muay-thai clinch ducking a right hook as he escapes countering with a jab then a right hook of his own which he lands. Yahya hits his first jab of the fight then follows it up with a flying spinning back kick to the liver of Wood. Yahya hopes to continue pouring on the pressure but Wood is able to land another pivot jab as Yahya comes in then blasts him with a check left hook straight on the chin!!! Yahya stumbles backwards a bit, Wood blitzes in on the Brazilian looking for the finish but he misses with a follow-up jab the straight leaving him open to a check lead elbow that opens a cut under the right eye of Wood. This elbow causes Wood to go on the defensive for the rest of the round as Yahya fails to follow up with anything significant.

Unofficial Judges:

MMAJunkie: 10-9 Woods

Blurcat: 10-9 Yahya

Sherdog: 10-9 Woods

Round 2

Wood starts finding a home for the jab landing 5 of them but is countered on his 6th one as Yahya ducks under then landing a nice counter left hook on the check. A one-two then right-cross form Yahya is slipped by Woods who tilts his head backwards while he moves back he lands a leg kick on Yayha’s lead leg. Wood blitzes in on Yahya starting with the lead uppercut then two hooks that both lands finished with a straight to the body. Wood’s is coming on strong here landing the one-two then leg kick followed by a right hook to the body. Wood lands another nice pivot jab followed by two hooks to the body then a leg kick. Wood blitzes again but this time starts with the straight to the body but Yahya this time excepted this as Wood runs into a flying knee that hits him straight under the chin!!! Wood’s legs come out from under him as he hits the canvas back first!!! Yahya rains down hammerfists as Wood curls up into a ball showing little defense at all as the fight is called off!!!!

OFFICIAL RESULT:

Rani Yahya def. Nathaniel Wood via TKO [Flying-Knee & Punches] R2 (1:33)

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A must-win fight for Demian Maia is on a 3-fight losing streak a 4th consecutive loss would be devastating for his career as he takes a big step down in competition to fight an unranked fighter in Belal Muhammad. In fairness to Maia, his 3 losses come to three out of the top five Welterweights in the world in Tyron Woodley, Colby Covington, and Kamaru Usman so it’s hard to know where Maia is at this point in his career. But the path to victory should be clear to both, Belal needs to keep the fight standing to possibly get a TKO or KO. While Maia needs to get this fight to the mat or at least tie up with Belal to incorporate his world-caliber BJJ.

Round 1

The Brazilian crowd chants “Maia'', while the fighters are being introduced, while Belal is getting introduced he plays into the loud boos of the crowd calling for more. Muhammad surprises some with no touching of the gloves as Maia puts his glove out which causes even louder boo’s to be showered his way as the fight starts. Belal opens up with the one-two following it with a nice jab then straight-right, Muhammad continues to throw this combination consistently which keeps Maia at a long distance for a majority of the opening round. Belal uses this combination again but instead of finishing with a straight-right, he hits a right-hook behind the ear that puts Maia to the canvas!!! Muhammad doesn’t follow up as Maia pulls guard baiting Muhammad to follow up and grapple on the ground with him. But Muhammad just kicks the legs of Maia until referee Kevin McDonald gets Maia to stand-up. Belal Muhammed blasts Maia with straight-right as the right eye of Maia starts to close plus his nose is bleeding pretty blady on top of that. Maia starts parrying plus hand fighting from a distance which limits Belal to only landing a couple of jabs despite him trying to set-up combos again. Belal after landing a jab then tries to follow up an overhand over the top but misses baldy and due to poor footwork, Maia is able to quick shot in and clinch with Belal Muhammad. Demian Maia starts unloading with some knees to the body while controlling Muhammad up against the cage, Muhammad tries to cage walk but ends up giving his back!!! Maia attempts a rear-naked choke while Muhammad is still standing trying to get him to the ground, but Muhammad defends well and rides out the round with Maia on his back.

Unofficial Judges:

MMAJunkie: 10-9 Muhammad

Blurcat: 10-9 Muhammad

Sherdog: 10-9 Muhammad

Round 2

Muhammad jabs are now starting to get parried by Maia leaving Belal without a consistent source of attack. Maia ducks under the straight-right of Belal Muhammad leading to an excellent level-change from the Brazilian who easily gets the double-leg takedown!!! Maia starts dominating the transitions as he grabs the mounted-crucifix as he rains down punches from the top which nearly cause the end of the fight!!! This leads to Belal Muhammad giving up his back as Maia quickly grabs some double-underhooks Muhammad is in some serious trouble!!! Maia starts to put the squeeze on Belal Muhammad as he grabs the rear-naked choke!!! Muhammad taps out that’s it!!! Demian Maia gets it done and the relief on his face is clear to see as he can’t stop smiling after the fight, this win definitely means a lot to the Brazilian.

OFFICIAL RESULT:

Demian Maia def. Belal Muhammed via SUB [RNC] R2 (2:52)

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Jeremy 'Lil-Heathen’ Stephens looks to impress tonight as he presents Evolution MMA one of the newest MMA gyms on the MMA landscape, founded by both him and Dominick Cruz after the two left Alliance MMA on sour terms. All this drama with his previous gym plus founding his own one with Cruz all happened in the span of a couple of days, something Moicano thinks will negatively affect Stephens performance. “To me, I always thought I was going to win the fight, but with everything he’s been doing leading up, he kinda strikes me as an ungrateful idiot. Changing so much only days before a fight can only lead you down the path of defeat”. Stephens has taken these comments personally starting a mild feud between the two as both fighters have promised quick finishes tonight.

Round 1

Moicano scores with the jab but finds his straight parried by Stephens who unleashes and lands a nice overhand right behind the ear of the Brazilian which backs him up to the cage. Moicano while against the cage starts to use frantic feints to put Stephens off guard but ‘Lil-Heathen’ blitzes in landing a flush right-hook but the uppercut is just a little too far to the right as Moicano circles away. The two manage distance trying to set something up from long range, Moicano fires off on a few set-up jabs most of them miss but the intention is to only find his range, not land. After using one of these set-up jabs he jumps right at Stephens with a superman punch right on the nose of ‘Lil-Heathen’ that backs him up!!! Moicano keeps up the pressure feint that he’ll throw a body shot but goes upstairs with a lead left-hook but Stephens reads Moicano feint excellently as the Brazilian runs straight into a powerful counter right-hook of Stephens straight to the jaw!!! Moicano is knocked down!!! Falling face-first to the canvas he down and out!!! Jeremy Stephens taunts the now silent Brazilian crowd screaming out “I told him” over and over again as he celebrates getting Evolution MMA its first win inside the octagon.

OFFICIAL RESULT:

Jeremy Stephens def. Renato Moicano via KO [Punch] R1 (1:53)

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Sean O’Malley is on the cusp of going from a high-praised prospect to a UFC title-contender in just his 2nd ever fight in the promotion. O’Malley got the opportunity to headline after Raphael Assuncao was pulled from the original main-event due to injury and with no ranked opponent willing to fight Marlon Moraes on such short notice the UFC turned to O’Malley who was campaigned vigorously to get a chance to fight against Moraes ever since it was announced Assuncao wouldn’t be able to make the walk. O’Malley comes in with only a few short weeks of preparations compared to a full training camp by Moraes who himself is on the cusp of a UFC title-shot something he knows with a loss to an unranked opponent could mean it’ll be years of work before he gets back into the position he is currently in. The two have traded verbal bars with O’Malley being the aggressor claiming the Brazilian is on steroids as well as just overall trolling on Twitter leading up to the bout. Will a possible star be born tonight or will Moraes have ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley come crashing down to earth?

Round 1

No touching of the gloves as expected the two have made their clear dissatisfactions with each other clear as day heading into fight week. O’Malley flips the bird to Moraes while referee Herb Dean is asking if each fight is ready, Moraes calmly laughs this off as the crowd cheers him on as they are really getting into the fight. Here we go it finally starts. One-two by O’Malley comes up short as Moraes slips backwards, who unleashes a quick leg kick that is checked by ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley. The two start ranging distance with their lead hand trying to find the range. O’Malley fakes the straight-up top that allows ‘Sugar’ to quickly get in close and secure the double-leg takedown!!! O’Malley quickly tries to grab full-mount but an amazing sprawl by the Brazilian sees Moraes on top as O’Malley attempted to grab full-mount!!! Now Moraes quickly grabs full-mount with little resistance!!! He secures the armbar from full-mount!!! O’Malley taps!!!! That was too easy for the Brazilian wow!!!

OFFICIAL RESULT:

Marlon Moraes def. Sean O’Malley via SUB [Armbar] R1 (1:03)

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Critical Rating: 71% / Commercial Rating: 82%

Attendance: 5,566 ( Gate: $1,371,462 )

Venue: Amadeu Teixeira Arena ( Brazil )

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Main-Event

Marlon Moraes def. Sean O’Malley via SUB [Armbar] R1 (1:03)

[Fight Rating: Good]

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Co-Main

Jeremy Stephens def. Renato Moicano via KO [Punch] R1 (1:53)

[Fight Rating: Good]

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Main-Card

Demian Maia def. Belal Muhammed via SUB [RNC] R2 (2:52)

[Fight Rating: Good]

Rani Yahya def. Nathaniel Wood via TKO [Flying-Knee & Punches] R2 (1:33)

[Fight Rating: Great]

Damir Hadzovic def. Tiago dos Santos via SD (28-29, 29-28x2)

[Fight Rating: Good]

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Preliminary-Card

Augusto Sakai def. Cyril Asker via KO [Knee] R1 (4:58)

[Fight Rating: Great]

Mackenzie Dern def. Melinda Fabian via UD (30-26x2, 30-27)

[Fight Rating: Good]

Lauren Muelleer def. Priscila Cachoeira via UD (30-27x3)

[Fight Rating: Good]

Bradley Scott def. Cezar Ferreira via TKO [Punches] R2 (0:34)

[Fight Rating: Good]

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Early-Prelims

Matheus Nicolau def. Jarred Brooks via UD (29-27x3)

[Fight Rating: Good]

Alex Chambers def. Polyana Viana Mota (30-27x3)

[Fight Rating: Average]

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Fight of the Night:

Rani Yahya vs. Nathaniel Wood

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Performance of the Night:

Marlon Moraes, Jeremy Stephens, Rani Yahya

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Predictions:

vladjarca - (8/11) correct predictions

CageRage - (7/11) correct predictions

rodrigoviolim - (7/10) correct predictions

Majster_93 - (8/11) correct prediction

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Make it three in a row now as Marlon Maroes only needed 63 seconds to dispatch short notice replacement ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley. The bout started off promising O’Malley’s with the taller frame (5’11 to 5’6) and reach (72’ to 67’) was showing great distant management plus it seemed he held a slight speed advantage as he executed on a lightning-fast double-leg takedown when it looked like he was going to fire off a straight-right. But unfortunately, this would be the end of O’Malley’s success in the fight as the American rushed trying to transition into full-mount which he very would've gotten if not for one of best sprawls by Moraes which would see the Brazilian on top in full-mount instead. Moraes quickly submitted the unranked prospect, after the fight, neither party was too keen on burying the hatchet between them as Moraes during his post-fight interview took pleasure in his victory while demanding a title-shot. “There are levels to this game which this guy [sean O’Malley] had to learn the hard way, he talked big and just as I said before man. If ranked opponents can barely last one round with me how long do you think an unranked opponent is gonna last with me? It’s time to stop fooling around TJ Dillashaw. I'm your next fight you have to defend that belt against me, Henry Cejudo go defend your Flyweight belt you're not getting that title-shot over me ain’t no way”. O'Malley, frustrated by the loss, would take off his gloves leaving them in the cage not to announce his retirement but because he was so angry he didn’t even wanna look at them. Jeremy Stephens got a satisfying victory of his own with a brutal knockout over the #4 ranked Featherweight Renato Moicano the knockout has gone viral with upwards of a million views on both Twitter plus Youtube. After Moicano landed a flush superman punch he attempted to pour on the pressure feinting a combo starting with a body shot he’d go up stairs with a lead left-hook but Stephens saw it all coming blasting him with a powerful counter right-hook of Stephens straight to the jaw that had Moicano land face-first knocked out.

The rest of the main-card saw two Brazilian veterans get much-needed wins as Demian Maia would get a 2nd round submission over Belal Muhammad despite a rocky 1st round that saw him dropped early in the round as Muhammad was landing combos at will. But Maia would make excellent defensive adjustments taking away Belal’s combos with hand fighting parrying most of his punches leaving a frustrated Belal open for the takedown as his footwork started to become less technical from there Maia was easily able to get the rear-naked choke after some nice ground n’ pound from the mounted-crucifix. Rani Yahya put a halt to the rising prospect in Nathaniel Wood’s after an exciting opening round that had the crowd buzzing, Wood was winning the majority of the fight he had stellar head movement throughout the fight plus was routinely able to piece up the Brazilian with combos to the head and body. But the veteran remained cool and collected under fire timing an excellent flying knee as Wood attempted a straight right to the body that ended up giving Rani a performance of the night plus fight of the night bonus check. Damir Hadzovic got a razor-close split decision win against Tiago dos Santos much to the displeasure of the Brazilian crowd it was a very technical chess match that saw the two land a very similar amount of strikes. Dos Santos overall strikers were very balanced to the head, body, and legs while Hadzovic was able to establish clinch control up against the cage in round 1 and 3 for a significant amount of time in each round.

Onto the prelims, Augusto Sakai dominated Cyril Asker with his superior muay-thai clinch as Asker attempted to wrestle numerous times throughout the fight but found himself constantly tangled in Sakai muay-thai clinch knocking him out with a knee near the end of the 1st. Mackenzie Dern grappled her way to a one-sided decision. The 2nd biggest underdog of the night (behind O’Malley’) in Middleweight Bradley Scott (-340) got a 2nd round TKO as Ferreira was throwing looping punches with little foot or head movement which allowed him to get cracked by a counter one-two after missing a looping right-hook then was sent to the canvas with ironically a right-hook from Scott. Lauren Muelleer outperformed Priscila Cachoeira anywhere the fight went from striking to grappling no matter what Cacheoira tried Melleer was just better. #7 ranked Flyweight Matheus Nicolau defended his ranking against the unranked Jarred Brooks with a decisive 3rd round that saw him drop Brooks twice with a dipping right-hook to the chin while the American constantly came forward trying to wrestle. Nicolau demanded a Top 5 ranked fighter next saying, “They wanted this guy [Jarred Brooks] to win. The UFC wanted me to lose so they could give my ranking to him but it didn’t happen. The UFC owes me a top 5 opponent now don’t matter who it is, just give me what I deserve and stop trying to get rid of me”.

McDojoDelux · April 1, 2021

<div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="Wbm3irk.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Wbm3irk.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

February Week 2 (2019) UFC Rankings

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McDojoDelux · April 2, 2021

February Week 2 (2019) Recap

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MMA News

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Bellator 211: Primus vs. Chandler

[Preview]

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Main-Event

Lightweight: [C] Brent Primus (8-0) vs. Michael Chandler (18-4)

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Co-Main

Heavyweight: Frank Mir (18-12) vs. Quinton Jackson (38-13)

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Main-Card

Light-Heavyweight: Liam McGeary (12-3) vs. Robert Drysdale (7-0-1NC)

Lightweight: Patricky Freire (20-8) vs. Mandel Nallo (6-1)

W-Flyweight: Heather Hardy (2-1) vs. Anastasia Yankova (5-1)

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The current Bellator Lightweight Champion may be the most disrespected Champion in the whole MMA landscape right now and unfortunately for him, some of the criticism is warranted as the way he became Champion at ‘Bellator: NYC/ 180’ when he defeated Chandler due to a doctor's stoppage 2 minutes into the first round. There was no bad cut nor was Chandler taking heavy shots what happened was early in the first after blocking a head kick Chandler dropped to the floor as his left ankle went out from under him, Chandler attempted to put weight on it but his left leg had been completely compromised in which referee Todd Anderson paused the action to access Chandler’s left ankle to which the bout was eventually called off by the doctors at the New York Athletic State Commission. Many thought Chandler’s leg had broken but as it turns out it was a case of Foot Drop to quote Michale Chandler “It’s damage to a nerve”, “It pretty much shut down the whole lower part of my left leg. I wasn’t able to step anymore. It’s called Foot Drop”. For those wondering what Foot Drop does in a more detailed sense is when the dropping of the forefoot happens due to weakness can be due to irritation or damage to the fibular nerve in the leg. To put it simply Chandler’s left ankle just stopped at the start of the first round. So with the unusual circumstances of the bout, a rematch was a must with Chandler once again the huge betting favorite at (-950) to the (+750) underdog of the Champion Brent Primus.

While Primus has acknowledged that the way he won the belt was definitely not how he indeed to gain it he also said he still “feels like a Champion” to quote the reigning Bellator Lightweight Champ, “I’m not stupid I know fans don’t respect me as a Champion but how I train and what I have to sacrifice I feel I earned it. I feel like a Champion. So come Saturday I gotta prove I’m the Champion to the fans which I know I can do”. Chandler has of course called the win a “fluke” and promises one-sided domination. Hopefully, if the two can have a relatively fair fight this time with no devastating injuries coming in or during the bout this should be a very interesting clash of styles even though the oddsmakers think it’ll be a one-sided beatdown. Primus is a high-level BJJ black-belt under Fabiano Scherner with some creative kicks, as for Micheal Chandler we all pretty much know what happens during a Micheal Chandler fight as powerful wrestler and striker with a never say die attitude you either have to survive to the late rounds to finish him while he is gassed or put him out early with one shot or possibly put on a suffocating grappling match which Primus could very well do.

In all honesty, this event is carried by the main event but still let’s dig into the rest of the card. Will see a Heavyweight class of two former UFC Champions as Frank Mir faces Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson who despite being in multiple wars and being 40 years old is still very durable plus he has retained some of his legendary knock-out power which claimed him UFC gold when he defeated Chuck Liddell for the UFC Light-Heavyweight Championship at UFC 71 (May 2007) the rest of his all-round skills wrestling especially has declined in recent years. Mir is an excellent wrestler but the longer it stays on its feet the more likely the former UFC Heavyweight Champion goes to sleep. Mir needs to make this an ugly 15 minutes with pure wrestling, dirty boxing, clinching, whatever style of grappling he needs to do to neutralize the power of ‘Rampage’ Jackson he needs to do. A classic high-level striker in Liam McGeary versus a high-level BJJ black-belt plus wrestler specialist in Robert Drysdale. Patricky Freire looks to get his 5th straight win to claim a shot at the Bellator Lightweight Championship is a powerhouse, a physically strong muay-thai fighter with very good knock-out power with some decent kicks to go along with it. Mandel Nallo is a very raw Canadian prospect the Bellator a very high on, Nallo himself is a very powerful striker plus training at Tristar gym has helped advance his career to the next level but he has yet to show how well his overall MMA skills stack up against the non-regional competition. Lastly, two ladies who love to strike will put on a potential barn burner as one of Bellator’s highest skilled muay-thai female fighters in Anastasia Yankova faces one of the most skilled female boxers in Bellator in Heather Hardy.

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One FC: Worldwide Collision

[Preview]

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Main-Event

Light-Heavyweight: [C] Aung La N Sang (24-10-1) vs. Roger Gracie (8-2)

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Co-Main

Featherweight: [C] Martin Nguyen (11-3) vs. Jadambaa Narantungalag (12-6)

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Main-Card

W-Flyweight: Ann Osman (5-4) vs. Irina Mazepa (2-1)

Flyweight: Tilek Batyrov (10-2) vs. Riku Shibuya (8-4)

Middleweight: Luis Santos (65-11-1-1NC) vs. Leandro Ataides (11-3)

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Much like ‘Bellator: 211’ One Championship has put together a pretty decent card that is mostly carried by the main-event which see’s the International Fighter of the Year plus One-Championship double-champ Aung La N Sang defend his Light-Heavyweight title against Roger Gracie a member of the legendary Gracie family name. Of course, being a Gracie meaning he has high-level BJJ with submission wins over current UFC Light-Heavyweight contender Anthony ‘Lionheat’ Smith and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Kevin Randleman. Aung La N Sang, however, could very well be the most talented fighter outside the UFC high-level in kickboxing and BJJ himself he is the comfortable (-500) favorite but if this fight somehow hits the mat seeing how that grappling affair will unfold could be very interesting. Martin Nguyen the current One-Featherweight Champion is a solid all-round fighter with some great dutch muay-thai and kickboxing training out of Sanford MMA being coached by the legendary Henri Hooft who trains fighters like Anthony Johnson, Kamaru Usman, Gilbert Burns, Michael Johnson, plus even Aung La N Sang himself. With him being well coached he has developed a very high fight IQ that does everything well but won’t necessarily deviate from the game plan even if it’s not working. Jadambaa Naratungalag is a black-belt in karate recently he has been training with Stephen ‘Wonderboy Thompson to help further develop his takedown defense and karate base style. But at 43 years old how effective can Naratungalag be against the 29-year-old Champion? Tilek Batyrov is a Dagestan karate-base fighter similar to that of Zabit Magomedsharipov his sambo wrestling has acted as a good base to prevent the takedown as well as getting the takedown himself. Riku Shibuya is another karate-base Japanese fighter who uses excellent sprawls to intangible his opponents in the muay-thai clinch. Finally, the opening bout of the prelims sees an MMA legend Luis Santos taking on Leandro Ataides both have very similar styles with solid muay-thai and BJJ with good wrestling on top of that. This could neutralize them both so it could come down to who can either implement the better game-plan or possibly can hit harder?

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vladjarca · April 2, 2021

Main-Event

Lightweight: [C] Brent Primus (8-0) vs. Michael Chandler (18-4)

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Co-Main

Heavyweight: Frank Mir (18-12) vs. Quinton Jackson (38-13)

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Main-Card

Light-Heavyweight: Liam McGeary (12-3) vs. Robert Drysdale (7-0-1NC)

Lightweight: Patricky Freire (20-8) vs. Mandel Nallo (6-1)

W-Flyweight: Heather Hardy (2-1) vs. Anastasia Yankova (5-1)

Main-Event

Light-Heavyweight: [C] Aung La N Sang (24-10-1) vs. Roger Gracie (8-2)

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Co-Main

Featherweight: [C] Martin Nguyen (11-3) vs. Jadambaa Narantungalag (12-6)

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Main-Card

W-Flyweight: Ann Osman (5-4) vs. Irina Mazepa (2-1)

Flyweight: Tilek Batyrov (10-2) vs. Riku Shibuya (8-4)

Middleweight: Luis Santos (65-11-1-1NC) vs. Leandro Ataides (11-3)

CageRage · April 2, 2021

Bellator 211: Primus vs. Chandler

[Preview]

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Main-Event

Lightweight: [C] Brent Primus (8-0) vs. Michael Chandler (18-4)

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Co-Main

Heavyweight: Frank Mir (18-12) vs. Quinton Jackson (38-13)

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Main-Card

Light-Heavyweight: Liam McGeary (12-3) vs. Robert Drysdale (7-0-1NC)

Lightweight: Patricky Freire (20-8) vs. Mandel Nallo (6-1)

W-Flyweight: Heather Hardy (2-1) vs. Anastasia Yankova (5-1)

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One FC: Worldwide Collision

[Preview]

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Main-Event

Light-Heavyweight: [C] Aung La N Sang (24-10-1) vs. Roger Gracie (8-2)

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Co-Main

Featherweight: [C] Martin Nguyen (11-3) vs. Jadambaa Narantungalag (12-6)

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Main-Card

W-Flyweight: Ann Osman (5-4) vs. Irina Mazepa (2-1)

Flyweight: Tilek Batyrov (10-2) vs. Riku Shibuya (8-4)

Middleweight: Luis Santos (65-11-1-1NC) vs. Leandro Ataides (11-3)

rodrigoviolim · April 2, 2021

Bellator 211: Primus vs. Chandler

[Preview]

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Main-Event

Lightweight: [C] Brent Primus (8-0) vs. Michael Chandler (18-4)

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Co-Main

Heavyweight: Frank Mir (18-12) vs. Quinton Jackson (38-13)

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Main-Card

Light-Heavyweight: Liam McGeary (12-3) vs. Robert Drysdale (7-0-1NC)

Lightweight: Patricky Freire (20-8) vs. Mandel Nallo (6-1)

W-Flyweight: Heather Hardy (2-1) vs. Anastasia Yankova (5-1)

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One FC: Worldwide Collision

[Preview]

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Main-Event

Light-Heavyweight: [C] Aung La N Sang (24-10-1) vs. Roger Gracie (8-2)

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Co-Main

Featherweight: [C] Martin Nguyen (11-3) vs. Jadambaa Narantungalag (12-6)

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Main-Card

W-Flyweight: Ann Osman (5-4) vs. Irina Mazepa (2-1)

Flyweight: Tilek Batyrov (10-2) vs. Riku Shibuya (8-4)

Middleweight: Luis Santos (65-11-1-1NC) vs. Leandro Ataides (11-3)

Majster_93 · April 5, 2021

Main-Event

Lightweight: [C] Brent Primus (8-0) vs. Michael Chandler (18-4)

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Co-Main

Heavyweight: Frank Mir (18-12) vs. Quinton Jackson (38-13)

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Main-Card

Light-Heavyweight: Liam McGeary (12-3) vs. Robert Drysdale (7-0-1NC)

Lightweight: Patricky Freire (20-8) vs. Mandel Nallo (6-1)

W-Flyweight: Heather Hardy (2-1) vs. Anastasia Yankova (5-1)

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One FC: Worldwide Collision

[Preview]

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Main-Event

Light-Heavyweight: [C] Aung La N Sang (24-10-1) vs. Roger Gracie (8-2)

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Co-Main

Featherweight: [C] Martin Nguyen (11-3) vs. Jadambaa Narantungalag (12-6)

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Main-Card

W-Flyweight: Ann Osman (5-4) vs. Irina Mazepa (2-1)

Flyweight: Tilek Batyrov (10-2) vs. Riku Shibuya (8-4)

Middleweight: Luis Santos (65-11-1-1NC) vs. Leandro Ataides (11-3)

McDojoDelux · April 7, 2021

Bellator 211: Primus vs. Chandler II

Date: February Week 2 (2019) Saturday

Event posts will be a mixture of both fight play-by-plays as well as quick bullet points to summarize the event as a whole, only key fights like the fight of the night or fights, the performance of the night as well as fights that have a lot of significance like the main event, co-main, or key bout on the main-card or prelims will be covered. These play by plays are romanticized for dramatic effect but the results are legitimate, if the play-by-plays are too long or you don’t feel like reading them I’ll have a more brief summary of what happened plus the full card results at the bottom.

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FIGHT PLAY-BY-PLAYS:

This is a match-up that critics have dubbed “classic Bellator” as two past their prime legends take center stage in the co-main event of Bellator 211 tonight. In all fairness Quinton Jackson despite being 40 is still a solid fighter while slow he has retained his legendary knockout power plus granite chin that won him the UFC Light-Heavyweight title at UFC 71 (May 2007) but he has all but given up on his defensive wrestling at this point in his career much preferring a stand and trade style of fighting. Frank Mir nearing 40 years old is a high-level BJJ and wrestler who will probably look to get ‘Rampage’ down to the mat then out early possibly with a signature armbar that won him the Heavyweight title at UFC 48 (June 2004).

Round 1

Jackson comes out swinging for the fences with the opening punch of the fight as he gets some serious swing on looping right-hook that Mir ducks countering with a jab to the body then left to the forehead, ‘Rampage’ attempts to grab ahold of Mir but the former UFC Heavyweight champ circles out in time. Mir appears light on his feet as he keeps circling around ‘Rampage’ looking for him to make the first move so he counters. Jackson happily takes the role of the aggressor throwing out a one-two followed by two left-hooks all of which miss due to some slick head movement from Mir who catches Jackson on the chin with a right hook as Jackson continues to come forward. Mir dodges a jab by slipping right unleashing with a left-cross then shoots for a double-leg which is completely stuffed by ‘Rampage’ Jackson. Mir keeps a hold of a single-leg but can’t seem to muster the strength to push Jackson to the cage, the two take a minute to catch a few breaths before they separate. Jackson lands a jab then straight on the forehead of Mir keeping up the pace he swings out another looping right hook that misses again due to some great head movement from Mir who counters with a leg kick. Jackson starts throwing out one-two’s to range distance, Mir mostly parries most of the straight punches from ‘Rampage’ countering sometimes with a few straights to the body. Mir darts in looking to clinch but Jackson knees him in the body while Mir comes in forcing him to back off, as he does so Jackson for the third time swings out a brutal right-hook. Mir instead of moving his head left goes right into the right-hook of Jackson that puts Mir’s lights out instantly as he collapses to the canvas!!!! Jackson does his usual post-fight celebration howling to the crowd as the ringside doctors rush over to Mir.

Jackson takes this moment to call out Fedor Emelianenko proclaiming, “I’ve already put to sleep one of the greatest PRIDE fighters [Wanderlei Silva] twice now it’s time to knock-out Fedor’s [Emelianenko] *** out since people think he’s the best to ever do it. Then after that f*** it. Why not I’ll knock out Ryan Bader for the title. He’s literally the only double-champion that no one even cares about”.

OFFICIAL RESULT:

Quinton Jackson def. Frank Mir via KO [Punch] R1 (4:05)

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In their first fight, Primus walked away with what many would consider “a fluke win” against the longtime Bellator mainstay and two times looking to make it three times former Lightweight Champion ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler. The former Champ suffered a foot drop which completely shut down Chandler’s leg midway through the first causing a stop to the action as the doctors ruled he was unable to continue. The foot drop didn’t particularly happen due to a Primus leg kick but rather a bad landing by Chandler who has gone to call Primus “not a legitimate Champion, you didn’t win a second of the fight even when I was on one leg”. It’s very rare the Champion has to prove he is worthy of having the belt in his hands to the challenger but that's just how many see this fight. That being said Primus does pose legitimate BJJ and creative leg kicking problems which cause to lead to another upset victory as oddsmakers have Chandler a (+950) favorite to the (-750) underdog.

Round 1

Referee Jason Herzog in control of the action tonight the two refuse to touch gloves not surprising as both haven’t had very kind words to say of one another in the last couple of weeks. Chandler pumps out the jab but fails to find the range while Primus to no one's surprise attacks ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler left leg with kicks. With the jab not finding any success, Chandler switches to just exploding to attack in then moving out to catch his breath. He first blitzes in off a checked kick as he just misses a looping left-hook the Primus slips back to dodge then ducks under the jab then barely dodges the uppercut from Chandler who finally lands with a solid left-cross to the right side of the dome of the Champion. As he moves out Primus continues to attack with leg kicks he finds that Chandler doesn't seem keen on countering as mentioned before he only offers offense when he explodes. So Primus uses this time to pile up on strikes landed with more leg kicks plus a jab to the body which he has found a home for, he got too greedy with it though as he tried a double jab to the body the first one landed but he found himself being counter with a flying knee straight to the chin as he went for the second one!!! Chandler blitzes in fast landing 6 out of 6 punches starting with a one-two then 3 hooks he ends the combo with a brutal right hook to the body!!! Primus backs up to the cage flicking out two defensive jabs that don’t bother Chandler at all. Again Chandler explodes in with a straight that lands followed by an uppercut then right-hook to the body to finish the combo, Primus starts using push kicks to the body which makes it harder for Michael Chandler to explode in as he push kicks do their job keeping him at long range unable to explode inside consistently he is only able to land a couple of leaping straight-rights in which Chandler practically jumps to land at times.

Unofficial Judges:

MMAJunkie: 10-9 Chandler

Blurcat: 10-9 Chandler

Sherdog: 10-9 Chandler

Round 2

Primus comes in looking for the takedown as he ducks under a leaping straight from Chandler grabbing a double-leg but transitions to a single-leg to confuse Chandler which works perfectly as he uses a trip to put the fight to the canvas!!! As soon as they hit the ground the former Champion explodes into a scramble which sees him grab half-guard on top as Primus is now suddenly on his back within mere seconds of securing the takedown. It’s an exhausting two minutes as Chandler spends most of his time in full-guard landing punches to the body. It’s Primus who scrambles while on the bottom this time and much like Chandler he finds success in creating separation which causes the two to clinch briefly but the Champ can’t pin down his opponent as the fight finds its way back to its feet. Chandler’s one-two is parried once again he runs right into a takedown attempt from Primus who wastes no time getting the double-leg takedown!!! The rest of the round is spent with Primus in side-control offering a few solid ground n’ pound punches to the body while on top in that position.

Unofficial Judges:

MMAJunkie: 20-18 Chandler

Blurcat: 20-18 Chandler

Sherdog: 19-19

Round 3

Primus throws some more leg kicks to the left leg of Chandler but most of them are checked, the Champion returns to the leg kick then jab to the body combination that he found success in the 1st round. Chandler tries exploding while Primus is retracting his jab to the body but finds Primus slipping his overhand right then left-hook landing a crunching leg kick counter that nearly causes Chandler to fall!!! Chandler responds quickly with a set-in jab that misses but as Primus moves his head to the right he quickly finds out that the jab was just a set-up for a thunderous switch overhand left that lands directly on the chin!!!! The Champion is hurt badly he is punch drunk falling backwards!!! Primus crashes into the fence of the Bellator cage using it to stand up as he nearly was knocked down!!! Primus dives for the double-leg takedown as Chandler explodes in with a looping left overhand to finish the fight, Primus grabs a hold of the hips getting the bodylock!!! After some struggle from Chandler, the takedown is successful but Primus leaves his head exposed for the Guillotine submission!!! Primus tries to escape before it’s locked in but Chandler is too fast locking in the Guillotine deep. Primus attempts to ride out the submission hoping Chandler gasses out his grip in hopes of surviving it!!! Primus is asleep and he's been choked out!!! Michael Chandler is once again the Bellator Lightweight Champion for the third time in his career!!!

As the belt is wrapped around him he dedicates the win to his newly adopted son calling it the “greatest decision of my life” during the post-fight interview he also promises another long title reign. Although he only has one guaranteed fight left on his control with Bellator so we could see some intense contract negotiations very soon.

OFFICIAL RESULTS:

Michael Chandler def. Brent Primus via SUB [Guillotine] R3 (1:25)

Chandler wins Bellator Lightweight Championship

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Critical Rating: 73% / Commercial Rating: 75%

Attendance: 4,097 (Gate: $630,938)

Venue: Turning Stone Resort Casino (New York, USA)

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Main-Event

[NEW-C] Michael Chandler def. Brent Primus via SUB [Guillotine] R3 (1:25) to win Bellator Lightweight Championship

[Fight Rating: Great]

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Co-Main

Quinton Jackson def. Frank Mir via KO [Punch] R1 (4:05)

[Fight Rating: Good]

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Main-Card

Robert Drysdale def. Liam McGeary via SUB [RNC] R1 (3:03)

[Fight Rating: Great]

Patricky Freire def. Mandel Nallo via UD (30-27x3)

[Fight Rating: Great]

Heather Hardy def. Anastasia Yankova via TKO [Punches] R2 (2:28)

[Fight Rating: Great]

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Predictions:

vladjarca - (5/5) **Perfection**

CageRage - (4/5)

rodrigoviolim - (3/5)

Majster_93 - (3/5)

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Michael Chandler tonight became the first-ever 3-time Bellator Lightweight Champion with a relatively convincing win over Brent Primus to eliminate all thoughts of the controversial ending to their 1st fight. The now-former Champion Primus tried his best showcasing Chandler was very susceptible to body shots and leg kicks but while he landed a lot of kicks it seemed none of them was able to hurt or stifle the movement of ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler. Now 8-2 in the last 10 fights what Chandler has left to prove in Bellator or if he wants to stay with the promotion once his contract is up, is all speculation at this point he said he’ll “face anyone” that is put in front him “like a true Champion always should”. For Primus despite no judge officially giving him a single round on the scorecards he did show he can at least exploit some aspects of Chandler’s style which could lead to a possialbe trilogy if he can climb back up the ladder he told reporters in the post-fight presser, “of course this I'm very disappoint worked my *** off for this, I felt the fight was going my way as it started to drag into the Championship rounds but he got me with a clean shot then got me in the submission while I was hurt. As a BJJ black belt, I’m extremely ashamed of myself for losing that way. I should know better, I deviated from the game-plan which is something that will never happen again”. One Lightweight who could be Chandler’s very next opponent is Patricky Freire who got a comfortable UD to win over Mandel Nallo the 1st round was very close as was constantly able to land check right-hooks throughout the round as whenever Nallo tried darting in, Nallo himself was able to land a few straight punches himself from long range particularly the one-two then cross combo but Fierre by the end of the round started putting up more and more punches with one-twos and hooks, uppercut and hooks, hooks then leg kicks. But during the last minute of the round, Nallo landed his own one-two opening a cut on the right eyebrow of Fierre then transitioned to a very slick double-leg takedown. But rounds two and three saw Feirre incorporate his muay-clinch in which Nallo simply had no answer for constantly landing lethal knees to the body which bruised the body of Nallo whenever he got going with consistent offense landing a few set-ups straights his flow was always disrupted by Fierre dragging him into the clinch with little to no resistance as Nallo tried to get into close range. In round 3 Nallo kept running into the check-right hook and thai clinch by the last minute of the 3rd round he was put down finally by a check hook but couldn’t find the finish ground n’ pound shot to finish him off. Feirre himself had fought Chandler twice and lost both times, currently riding a 6-fight win streak with a split decision win over Benson Henderson, a1st round TKO of Derek Campos, 2nd round knockout of Josh Thomson, and many other wins to his resume.

Quinton Jackson got in all honesty a pretty sad knockout over Frank Mir in the 1st round. Mir over the course of the fight showed he was actually a much more superior fighter showing excellent defense with head movement as ‘Rampage’ Jackson spent most of the fight swinging out punches for the knock-out. Often Mir would counter these looping punches with straight cross punches to the body then transition to the head combinations. Eventually, a wrong move from Mir dipping his head right when he should have gone left would lead to him running into the looping right-hook of Jackson that instantly knocked him out. Jackson would take the mic to call out Fedor Emelianenko for another veteran versus veteran fight as well as taunting Ryan Bader to quote ‘Rampage’ Jackson, “I’ve already put to sleep one of the greatest PRIDE fighters [Wanderlei SIlva] twice now it’s time to knock-out Fedor’s [Emelianenko] *** out since people think he’s the best to ever do it. Then after that f*** it. Why not I’ll knock out Ryan Bader for the title. He’s literally the only double-champion that no one even cares about”. Robert Drysdale has made a major leap in Bellator’s Light-Heavyweight division with a 1st round finish of Liam McCreary the fight started with the two exchanging single straight punches as neither committed to any combinations, but after slipping under a jab from McCreary while trying to back off Drysdale didn’t see a quick swift looping head kick from McCreary as his foot hit right behind the ear of Drysdale. This put him on ice slipping all over the place but Drysdale showed brilliant timing while hurt as when McCreary was coming in he ran straight into a blast double-leg that put him on his back on the ground. Drysdale quickly made his way to mount effortlessly and ground n’ pound put McCreary in trouble causing him to turn over to his back which led to a rear-naked choke finish. Finally Heather Hardy put on a masterclass in striking despite Anastasia being a high-level accomplished muay-thai fighter the superior boxer in Heather Hardy put her on the end of an array of boxing combos with hooks, straights, uppercuts, every strike you can think of Hardy threw and probably landed. It was a brutal night as Anastasia's nose was completely broken plus she had multiple cuts on her forehead plus one big one on her left cheek. Eventually a one-two then set-in straight followed by an uppercut put Anastasia to the ground then after some ground n’ pound referee Malaya Mishler put an end to the fight.

vladjarca · April 7, 2021

I must admit, I am a doctor in Bellatority

McDojoDelux · April 7, 2021

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="vladjarca" data-cite="vladjarca" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="52737" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I must admit, I am a doctor in Bellatority</div></blockquote> Teach us your ways oh wise and powerful one.

McDojoDelux · April 13, 2021

One Championship: Worldwide Collision

Date: February Week 2 (2019) Saturday

Event posts will be a mixture of both fight play-by-plays as well as quick bullet points to summarize the event as a whole, only key fights like the fight of the night or fights, the performance of the night as well as fights that have a lot of significance like the main event, co-main, or key bout on the main-card or prelims will be covered. These play by plays are romanticized for dramatic effect but the results are legitimate, if the play-by-plays are too long or you don’t feel like reading them I’ll have a more brief summary of what happened plus the full card results at the bottom.

--------------------------------------------------------------

FIGHT PLAY-BY-PLAYS:

Luis Santos is one of the greatest Brazilian fighters that has remained largely unknown by most casual MMA fans, but hardcore fans recognize the Brazilian for his very entertaining style which sees him utilize a high-level striking of muay-thai and boxing much like Jose Aldo and very much like Aldo not many would know that the two Brazilians are high-level BJJ black-belts with very good wrestling as two rarely use it. Leandro Ataides had a very similar type of fighting to Santos, Atadies is a fundamental striker liking to keep a very boxing heavy game-plan with a similar guard and combos he also has a BJJ black-belt as well.

Round 1

Ataides starts us off with a jab that grazes the chin but his right hand is slipped by Santos who lands a clean pull-counter overhand!!! While Ataides isn’t necessarily hurt or on wobbly legs Santos explodes in throwing some ruthless strikers, ‘Sapo’ lands a flurry of 3 hooks to the head followed by a clean uppercut that snaps Ataides head up he tries to respond with counter left-cross but he just misses Santos chin as it slips past him to which Santos counters Ataides with a check right-hook. Santos ducks up the one-two as well as just slipping a swinging left-hook from Ataides. This opens him up for Santos to unload with another flurry of hooks this time starting with 2 to the body then 3 to the head all of which land, Ataides backs up due to the incoming punches leaving his lead leg exposed for a calf-kick. ‘Sapo’ continues to pour it on landing a stiff jab as Ataides attempts a lead uppercut then Santos lands a jab to the body followed but his crane kick is dodged by Ataides as he moves backwards. Santos feints a push kick but that leads to Ataides land a clean one-two, ‘Sapo’ flurries with 4 hooks to the head only 1 of them land directly behind the ear but as the combo ends Santos finds himself on the end of a terrific uppercut that snaps his head up!!! Santos hits another jab then calf-kick, he throws and lands another jab but his left-cross misses as Ataides slips right to land a check right-hook on the chin then an uppercut to the body. Santos one-two is ducked by Ataides who counters with a check right-hook to the check then he lands a one-two of his own that backs Luis Santos up to the cage. Ataides use a double-jab the first being a set-in jab that lands then a follow-up one which also lands this allows him to mask a nice right elbow to the forehead as the two find themselves in close quarters with each other. Ataides is throwing everything he has as Santos covers up against the cage throwing a flurry of 5 hooks that are blocked by the guard of ‘Sapo’ who then backs up Ataides to the middle of the octagon after landing a clean one-two followed by a slapping leg kick that made a huge sound as it landed. Santos fients the right-hook which gets him countered by a huge left overhand right on the chin then a looping left-hook also lands on the forehead. The round starts slowing down this lower output favors Santos who uses the lack of action near the end to land multiple push kicks to the body and leg kicks.

Round 2

Santos comes out looking to continue the success he found with kicks in the 1st round landing a nice roundhouse kick to the body ducking under the counter right-cross from Ataides to land two quick leg kicks. As they both feint to range distance Santos throws an ill-advised leg kick but it’s checked and ‘Sapo’ is forced to eat a stiff counter jab as he comes straight in!!! That jab wobbles Santos as he starts to wobble while on one leg!!! Ataides instead of throwing ruthless strikes darts in to control the wrists of Santos backing him up against the cage, then pulls guard to get a standing guillotine submission while Santos is up against the cage!!!! Ataides is trying to pull him to the ground but Santos is able to show superior strength by still standing while Ataides has the submission!!! But this ends up being fruitless as the submission forces him to eventually tap out!!!!

OFFICIAL RESULT:

Leandro Ataides def. Luis Santos via SUB [Guillotine] R2 (0:45)

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**Nguyen my apologizes for the spelling mistake but if you've been reading this thread for a while you know that's common by this point**

While not the most hyped-up Championship match-up in the world Martin Nguyen vs. Jadambaa Narantungalag is still a noteworthy bout that deserves some attention. Narantungalag at 43 years old has a chance to become the oldest One-Championship titleholder in the companies history his black belt in karate plus high-level grappling his recent training with UFC Welterweight Stephen ‘Wouderboy’ Thompson to perfect his karate base-style stand up. Nguyen is a very fundamental fighter practically everywhere from striking to grappling training under Henri Hooft at Sanford MMA, while his movements are very predictable most don’t seem to be able to find a way to stop it as he has claim One-Championship gold along the way and looks to make his 1st title-defense tonight.

Round 1

Narantungalag flicks out a quick one-two then grazes Nyugen with a switch head kick but the Champ eats all of it and keeps coming forward. The two trade jabs but some sloppy footwork by Narantungalag has him on the end of a ruthless left-cross then right-hook to the chin!!! Narantungalag grabs a hold of the necktie with his left hand while trying to scoop out Nguyen's left leg from under him. But Nguyen prevents the takedown by grabbing ahold of Narantungalag's head with his left hand and pushing him away which causes the two to separate. The two continue to trade jabs, Nguyen starts unloading with some leg kicks as well but this leaves him open to the takedown which Narantungalag exactly does after an excellent entry by Narantungalag for a quick double-leg takedown!!! Narantungalag lies on top of Nguyen on top basically smothering him in full-guard it isn’t very entertaining or pretty but most of the time spent on the ground is spent with Narantungalag attempting to gain full-mount mostly working on positional wrestling instead of inflicting damage with ground n’ pound. After a lengthy period of inactivity with 2 minutes and 30 seconds spent on the ground with basically very little happening, the referee stands the two up with 30 seconds left in the round. Narantungalag attempts to dart in for another quick double-leg takedown but runs into a jab then a switch head kick but instead of grazing the forehead Nguyen hits the chin of Narantungalag with his shin!!! Narantungalag is rocked, he quickly covers up while stumbling backwards, Nguyen launches another head kick although particularly blocked a bit of the foot grazes the side of the forehead of Narantungalag which puts him down!!! Nyugen kneels down launching a knee that misses then he unloads with punches that mostly miss as the round ends.

Round 2

Narantungalag flicks out a couple of jabs, Nguyen hits a few roundhouse kick to the bodies as the two take a while to set up more strikes to start the 2nd round. Nguyen starts digging into the body of Narantungalag following up his roundhouse kick with a straight then left hook combo to the body. Now he starts transitioning to the head with a straight to the body comes up short but he comes up top with a looping right-hook that looked like it was also going to the body. Narantungalag can’t seem to get anything going as he is a little hesitant to fire back after that knockdown in the 1st round. Nguyen closes the distance to clinch with Narantungalag getting the collar-tie to unload with 3 quick elbows with the final one opening a cut over the right eye of Narantungalag as they separate from each other. Nguyen hits a straight to the body then a jab to the head followed by a check-right hook right on the chin, then he unloads with a one-two followed by a roundhouse kick to the body. Nguyen keeps up the pace with another combination of strikes hitting a nice quick jab followed by a 5 punch combo of straights all practically landing on the chin!!! Narantungalag is hanging in there but is just shelling up not firing back at all!!! Nguyen fakes a straight to the body then feints a jab which confuses Narantungalag leaving his hands near his hips which perfectly set-ups a beautiful question mark head kick for Nguyen!!! Narantungalag staggers backward dazed!!! Narantungalag rushes in trying to clinch but runs into a check right-hook that nearly drops him as he staggers backwards again, a one-two lands clean the finally puts Narantungalag down as he falls backwards. Nguyen starts dropping some dangerous ground n’ pound that knocks him out cold!!!

OFFICIAL RESULT:

[C] Martin Nguyen def. Jadambaa Narantungalag via KO [Punches] R2 (2:28)

Nguyen 2nd Title-Defense

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**Roger Gracie is 39 years old**

International Fighter of the Year and One-Champion Double-Champ Aung La N Sang makes his first appearance of 2019 his opponent Roger Gracie will be competing for the first time since 2016 as he announced his retirement from the sport. Gracie was the inaugural One-Championship Light-Heavyweight belt holder when he won it in 2016 at ‘One-Championship 42: Ascent to Power’. Ever since then One’s Light-Heavyweight division has been relatively put on ice as they found no real worthy opponents that had the name recognition to become Champion until Middleweight Champ Aung La N Sang challenged for the belt against Heavyweight Champ Brandon Vera the winner to be One’s first-ever double-champ and Sang would come out the victor with a 2nd round TKO. Gracie was convinced to end his retirement by One-Champion CEO Chatri Sityoodtong, so in terms, it’s the old champ who never lost his belt going up against the new champ who was crowned in his abscess. Due to his inactivity as well as Sang being an excellently skilled fighter with high-level kickboxing, taekwondo, as well as being a slick grappler himself Sang is a very comfortable (-930) favorite coming into tonight with Gracie being a (+700) underdog. Despite the wide betting line, this is a Gracie we are all talking about and if this fight does go to the ground it’ll be interesting to see what exactly plays out.

Round 1

Sang closes distance landing a one-two and leg kick coming in then circles out going to the right, Sang unload switch a few more leg kicks landing 3 of them from long range but the 4th one is checked which allows Roger Gracie to basically jump right at Sang clinching up with him grabbing his wrist for some wrist control. Gracie attempts to trip up Sang getting his foot right behind the left knee of Sang that does get him down but Sang grabs the body lock somehow while doing down allowing a sprawl that sees Sang on top in full guard!!! Gracie holds on to Sang waiting for the ref to stand them up, Sang tries to transition or land ground n’ pound but Gracie grabs a hold of Sang’s head and is not letting go. Eventually, the ref stands them up, Sang flicks out the jab constantly as Gracie doesn't seem all too keen to defend any of them allowing Sang to start landing a few more straight punches one moment, in particular, see’s Sang land a stiff jab then feints a straight that set-ups a set-in jab that staggers Gracie!!! Sang grabs a hold of the standing Guillotine and gets a pretty solid hold around Grace’s head!!! Sang pulls guard but loses hold of the Guillotine causing him to fall on his back as Gracie jumps straight on him. Sang pushes both his feet up against Gracie allowing for a bit of separation, Sang quickly tries to get back up but in a sprawl, Gracie is able to grab the leg lock!!! Sang rolls over and pushes against Gracie to get out but Gracie is holding onto the leglock with all his strength!!! Eventually Sang taps out screaming in pain, unbelievable!!! Roger Gracie is the new One-Championship Light-Heavyweight Champion in one of the greatest upsets in the history of MMA wow!!!

Rogers dedicates this moment to his family while having the One-Championship belt on his right shoulder he talks about how Gracie jiu-jitsu is the best in the world as well as shouting out Kron Gracie mentioning how he is the next big superstar in MMA. When asked if he’ll defend his title he deflected the question thanking everyone for coming out, ending the interview. Sang ever the gentlemen stayed behind to do the post-fight interview he congratulated Gracie on the victory and thanked fans saying he intends to move back down to Middleweight to defend his title.

OFFICIAL RESULTS:

Roger Gracie def. Aung La N Sang via SUB [Leglock] R1 (4:10) to win One-Championship Light-Heavyweight title

Gracie wins Light-Heavyweight Title

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Critical Rating: 76% / Commercial Rating: 75%

Attendance: 3,686 ($598,054)

Venue: National Taiwan University Sports Center (Taiwan)

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Main-Event

[NEW-C] Roger Gracie def. Aung La N Sang via SUB [Leglock] R1 (4:10) to win One-Championship Light-Heavyweight title

[Fight Rating: Great]

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Co-Main

[C] Martin Nguyen def. Jadambaa Narantungalag via KO [Punches] R2 (2:28) to retain One-Championship Featherweight title

[Fight Rating: Decent]

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Main-Card

Irina Mazepa def. Ann Osman via KO [Punches] R1 (0:59)

[Fight Rating: Good]

Tilek Batyrov def. Riku Shibuya via UD

[Fight Rating: Good]

Leandro Ataides def. Luis Santos via SUB [Guillotine] R2 (0:45)

[Fight Rating: Fantastic]

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Predictions:

vladjarca - (2/5) correct predictions

CageRage - (4/5) correct predictions

rodrigoviolim - (5/5) correct predictions

**perfecton x2 (rodrigoviolim don't miss 2nd time now he has gotten 5/5)**

Majster_93 - (2/5) correct predictions

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A fantastic card for One with a candidate for both upset of the year and fight of the year. Starting off with the main event Roger Gracie is the new Light-Heavyweight Champion defeating Sang with a 1st round leg lock 4 minutes into the first round. It was a rough fight for Gracie the majority of the entire bout he was probably losing nearly every second of them until he found success on his 2nd takedown after getting reversed on the 1st one. Will Gracie defend his title this time around or will he retire before getting a defense to his name? Hard to say as he only really came back due to One promising him a title-shot with a lot of money attached to it but taking out a fighter to the caliber of Aung La N Sang is undeniably impressive as the Gracie name is nearly as hot as it's ever been in years with many eyes now waiting to see what becomes of Kron Gracie the son of Rickson Gracie as well as Roger himself and if he’ll retire or not. For Sang like he said he’ll be moving down to Middleweight to defend his title with only one fight left on his contract, he definitely has lost some negotiating power but with a big win in a sport like MMA it can turn your career around relatively fast or put you down a downwards spiral in record-breaking time. Martin Nguyen’s vicious knockout sequence of Jadambaa Narantungalag in which he landed combo after combo after combo then knocked him out with ruthless ground n’ pound has made a pretty decent splash on social media with the official One-Championship Twitter account getting close to a million views after posting the knockout sequence. Narantungalag announced his retirement 3 days after the event on Instagram thanking Nguyen for the opportunity, his family for the support, and the higher-ups at One for his tenure with the company.

Irina Mazepa showed some shocking knock out power for the Women’s Flyweight division as a single looping right-hook put Ann Osman lights out after missing a set-up uppercut with her left hand. Mazepa has demanded she fights for the inaugural Women’s Flyweight Championship bout against “whoever they put in front of me” in hopes of becoming the first Women’s Flyweight Champ in One’s history. Tilek Batyrov out-pointed Riku Shibuya for the UD decision one of the key factors was leg kicks and takedown defense, the two landed similar amounts of punches as the fight was mostly paced at long range with straight punches with the occasional looping hooks and overhands. Shibuya showed a lack of interest in defending leg kicks which allowed Batyrov to unload with them without any real concern of it being checked and even countered at times. Shibuya in rounds 2 and 3 sensed the fight was getting away from him so he attempted to take the fight to the ground but Shibuya would stuff 5 out of 5 takedowns from Riku Shibuya on the night keeping the fight standing to get him the win. Finally, Leandro Ataides and Luis Santos put on a fantastic barn burner to start the main card both took turns battering each other with combos by the last minute of the 1st round Santos started finding some success with leg kicks which lead to him going to it to finish every combo as well as using them as counters for whenever Ataides misses on a strike. This opened the door for Ataides to time an excellent counter jab then straight to hurt Santos after he missed on a leg kick while he was staggered Ataides grabbed a standing Guillotine to submit his opponent early in the 2nd round. With the success of tonight's event as well as announcing the promotional debut of Demetrious Johnson and rumored to be looking to also booked the promotional debut of Eddie Alvarez in April or May, there is a lot to be excited about with One-Championship this year.

McDojoDelux · April 14, 2021

February Week 3 (2019) Recap

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MMA News

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UFC 234: Whittaker vs. Gastelim

[Preview]

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Main-Event

Middleweight: [C] Robert Whittaker (#11P4P, 20-4) vs. Kelvin Gastelum (#2, 16-3-1NC)

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Co-Main

Middleweight: Israel Adesanya (#7, 15-0) vs. Anderson Silva (#9, 34-8-1NC)

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Main-Card

Lightweight: Beneil Dariush (#14, 15-4-1) vs. Francisco Trinaldo (23-6)

W-Featherweight: Megan Anderson (7-3) vs. Felicia Spencer (6-0)

Heavyweight: Tai Tuivasa (#8, 8-0) vs. Walt Harris (#14, 11-7)

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Preliminary-Card

Flyweight: Jussier da Silva (#1, 22-5) vs. Alexandre Pantoja (#9, 20-3)

Flyweight: Kai Kara-France (#13, 18-7-1NC) vs. Brandon Moreno (#10, 14-5)

Featherweight: Deigo Pereira (5-2) vs. Manny Bermudez (13-0)

Heavyweight: Jairzinho Rozenstruik (6-0) vs. Justin Ledet (9-1-1NC)

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Early Fight Pass Prelims

Bantamweight: Frankie Saenz (12-5) vs. Kyung Ho Kang (14-8-1NC)

Strawweight: Nadia Kassem (5-0) vs. Juliana Lima (9-5)

Featherweight: Shane Burgos (11-1) vs. Alex Caceres (14-11-1NC)

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For the first time since 2017, the UFC Middleweight Champion will defend his belt against a contender not named Yoel Romero as he takes on Kelvin Gastelum in the main event of UFC 234 at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia. Gastelum has always hung around the Top 10 to 15 range at Middleweight but a sensational 1st round knock out of former champ Michael Bisping plus a split decision win over the #4 ranked Middleweight Ronaldo Souza has seen Kelvin climb the Middleweight ladder making it as high as the #2 Middleweight in the UFC rankings. Whittaker meanwhile is undefeated at Middleweight ever since moving up from Welterweight, ‘The Reaper’ hasn’t lost since 2014 and is (9-1) in his last 10 fights looking to make it (10-0) with his first official title defense since Romero missed weight for his original first defense at UFC 225. Both had a stint as coaches on the newest season of The Ultimate Fighter, with both showing huge amounts of respect for each other now only one sleep away from their scheduled bout that respect is still there as the two shook hands and promised fireworks. The two set the tone for the rest of the card as almost every fighter has had anything disrespectful to say making this probably the most respectful UFC card in quite some time. Looking at this fight analytically Whittaker should have the advantage from longe range with his in and out karate base style while Gastelum should have the advantage close range as he is one of the better fighters in the UFC when it comes to boxing at a close range example being his 1st round knockout over Bisping the mid-range could be a defining factor who will have the striking advantage in this fight. It’ll also be interesting to see who’s faster as both like to blitz opponents with fast strikes as for the wrestling side Whittaker’s two fights with Romero show he can stuff takedowns of an Olympic wrestler and is also a very good scrambler for when he was taken down. Kelvin has actually said he learned a lot from the two Romero fights on how to “correctly wrestle” Whittaker so it’ll be interesting to see what he means come tomorrow night. The breakthrough fighter of the year Israel Adesanya looks to stay undefeated one of better up-and-coming strikers the UFC octagon has ever seen Adesanya looks to defeat who many consider the great MMA fighter of all time Anderson Silva. Adesanya has admitted to Silva being a huge inspiration to him expressing the utmost respect for the former Middleweight Champion, “He [Anderson Silva] as the first skinny guy I saw come go in there and kick these big buff athletes *** It was straight-up shocking for me. I always thought you needed muscles to be able to fight but Anderson paved the way for me and many fighters like me. I’m a huge fan and I can’t think of a better opponent than me for him to be his last fight, the old legend makes way for the new legend to take his place at the top of the sport”.

While Anderson has not confirmed or denied that’ll be his last fight it seems rather likely that UFC 234 will be a fitting end for Silva’s career, when asked about Adesanya he told reporters “I’m very impressed with what I see, definitely a future Champion. This is a fight I love to compete in to truly test myself. I feel great, come tomorrow I think we put on a good show for the fans”. Most likely this fight will be a chess match as neither likes to really force the action too much, but as expected the younger more athletic, and like mentioned before undefeated Adesanya is the betting favorite (-220). Lightweight Beneil Dariush has had a rough go of it going (2-2-1) in his last 5 fights with his two losses coming via brutal knockouts especially when he lost in 42 seconds to the serging Alexander Hernandez on short notice. He’s hungry to get his career back on track in the process hopefully ripping off the “glass cannon” label some fans have given him, Dariush despite the losses should rightfully not be overlooked a high-level boxer and muay-thai fighter he’ll face Brazilian Francisco Trinaldo a powerhouse striker who has constantly stayed between the 10-15 rank but never been able to crack the top 10 officially he looks to jump back into the rankings with a huge knockout win as “people love knockouts and I’m a fan favorite so I gotta do what the fans want me to do”. A possible title-contender for the Women’s Featherweight Championship could be crowned with two former Invicta Featherweight Champions facing off tonight. Australian Megan Anderson is a tall long striker whose wrestling is slowly coming around, the undefeated Felicia Spencer is a strong durable ground n’ pound specialist if Anderson has made the adjustments to her game like she has claimed she should be able to outstrike Spencer over the course of the fight if not then we could see a repeat of her bout against Holm where she was completely dismantled by a dynamic game-plan that centered around wrestling.

Tai Tuivasa returns to action after suffering a stomach injury that forced him out of his main event against JDS in December last year he admitted he was relieved to be fighting for 3 rounds instead of 5 calling himself “too fat and out shape for 5 rounds f*** that”. His opponent Walt Harris provides a very interesting clash a fast starters "The Big Ticket" has some fastest hands ever seen for a Heavyweight combined with his insane knock out the power we could be in for a war as Tuivasa is very durable slow start who likes to start head hunting near the end of fights when his opponents are usually fatigued which if Harris can’t find a way to get the undefeated Australian out of there quick could spell trouble. To the prelims, we go two interesting Flyweight bouts are at the top of it the main-event prelim being the #1 Flyweight contender Jussier da Silva a very sound technical fighter high-level everywhere fights #9 Alexandre Pantoja a more boxing orientated fighter with a solid rubber guard. Kai Kara-France makes a quick turn around after practically running right through his last opponent with ease training out the same gym as Israel Adesanya his striking has been crisper over the past few fights and unlike the Nigerian-born New Zealand raised Middleweight Kara-France is always keen to mix it up with wrestling. Mexico’s Brandon Moreno is on a 2-fight skid and is dangerously close to being possibly cut from the company if it becomes 3 straight losses. Moreno has expressed he intends to start “fighting smart” as in past fights he use to deviate from his coaches game-plan in favor of making an entertaining brawl while Moreno is one of the most durable Flyweights in the UFC the fact that he keeps getting outclassed by superior strikers shows he needs to start clinching up and wrestling more which he very much intends to do with Kara-France, “You don’t really see those City Kickboxing fighters get tested on the ground so I’m interested what one of them will do once they find themselves there”.

Now let’s cover some prospects to keep your eyes on a 25-year-old Jamaican born Austrian raised Deigo Pereira versus Manny Bermudez, an excellent grappler his ability to turn the fight into a grappling match is very high-level for a non-ranked fighter he also has a knack for sinking in any submission from any position both on the ground and standing. Pereira meanwhile is a fast combination striker with some decent power he has started to add in more leg kicks plus the thai-clinch in some of his more recent outings this’ll be the Australian UFC debut. Jairzinho Rozenstruik is a former Heavyweight kickboxer with power that supposedly rivals the UFC’s heaviest hitter Francis Ngannou according to Rozenstruik’s team at least. Justin Ledet is his opponent, a fundamentally sound boxer who could rival the best boxers in the division with a little more time. He also has a granite chin for the division which could be tested if a powerhouse like Rozenstruik is able to land clean. Finally, the opening bout of the entire card sees Shane Burgos a man all about offense with little no if any all defense, Burgos has been compared to Justin Gaethje minus the leg kicks which is a fair comparison as the New York native loves to brawl it out with his opponents creating pure violence without a care in the world for his own well being. But against a veteran like Alex Caceres who has fought against some of the top UFC fighters in Urijah Faber, Sergio Pettis, Yair Rodriguez, and many others will he be able to exploit Burgos pure violence style? We’ll all find out tomorrow night stay tuned folks.

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MMA Twitter

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vladjarca · April 14, 2021

Main-Event

Middleweight: [C] Robert Whittaker (#11P4P, 20-4) vs. Kelvin Gastelum (#2, 16-3-1NC)

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Co-Main

Middleweight: Israel Adesanya (#7, 15-0) vs. Anderson Silva (#9, 34-8-1NC)

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Main-Card

Lightweight: Beneil Dariush (#14, 15-4-1) vs. Francisco Trinaldo (23-6)

W-Featherweight: Megan Anderson (7-3) vs. Felicia Spencer (6-0)

Heavyweight: Tai Tuivasa (#8, 8-0) vs. Walt Harris (#14, 11-7)

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Preliminary-Card

Flyweight: Jussier da Silva (#1, 22-5) vs. Alexandre Pantoja (#9, 20-3)

Flyweight: Kai Kara-France (#13, 18-7-1NC) vs. Brandon Moreno (#10, 14-5)

Featherweight: Deigo Pereira (5-2) vs. Manny Bermudez (13-0)

Heavyweight: Jairzinho Rozenstruik (6-0) vs. Justin Ledet (9-1-1NC)

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Early Fight Pass Prelims

Bantamweight: Frankie Saenz (12-5) vs. Kyung Ho Kang (14-8-1NC)

Strawweight: Nadia Kassem (5-0) vs. Juliana Lima (9-5)

Featherweight: Shane Burgos (11-1) vs. Alex Caceres (14-11-1NC)

McDojoDelux · April 22, 2021

UFC 234: Whittaker vs Gastelum

Date: February Week 3 (2019) Saturday

Event posts will be a mixture of both fight play-by-plays as well as quick bullet points to summarize the event as a whole, only key fights like the fight of the night or fights, the performance of the night as well as fights that have a lot of significance like the main event, co-main, or key bout on the main-card or prelims will be covered. These play by plays are romanticized for dramatic effect but the results are legitimate, if the play-by-plays are too long or you don’t feel like reading them I’ll have a more brief summary of what happened plus the full card results at the bottom.

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FIGHT PLAY-BY-PLAYS:

A very quick turnaround for the New Zealand Flyweight Kai Kara-France after 2nd round TKO victory in December last year which was only 2 months ago Kare-France faces the #10 Flyweight Brandon Moreno who finds himself on a 2-fight skid but looks to turn it around with a new training camp focused on a more well-rounded game-plan which Moreno said is “key to victory” in a brief clip on the UFC’s embedded Youtube series. Kara-France a teammate of Israel Adesanya who fights in the co-main this evening, ‘The Last Stylebender’ expressed how he expects himself, Kara-France, UFC Lightweight Dan Hooker, and UFC Featherweight Alexander Volkanovski all to be Champions by the end of the year he said on the 3rd episode of Embedded during a sparring day at Citykickboxing, “They just don’t know the intensity that we train with here, along with all the minds behind the madness I don’t see anyone out coaching us. This is an exciting year. I think everyone here who fights in the UFC will be Champion come 2020 just watch”.

Round 1

Kai Kara-France's quick jab is ducked by Moreno who proceeds to block Kara-France’s follow-up body-kick while Kara-France attempts to gather himself Moreno lands with two left hands that he slings out. Kara-France perfectly fakes a level change by going under then up with a clean jab he then fakes a right-hook only to actually throw the right hook after feinting it however, Moreno quickly grabs the left leg. See the opportunity Moreno puts in a lot of effort for the single-leg takedown after a struggle with Kai-France doing well to put all his weight forward which intentionally prevented the takedown at first wasn’t enough as Moreno grabs side-control while the two are on the mat. Moreno grabs a quick Kimura but it’s easily blocked, Moreno slows down the pace of the fight with his wrestling mostly looking for more dominant positions transitioning from side-control to full-guard firing off some solid ground n’ pound to the body. After some more transitioning plus a few solid elbows from the back from Kara-France, see’s Moreno back in side-control again going for the Kimura submission!!! This time around Moreno is able to lock in the submission this time!!! Kara-France tries sprawling out of it but Moreno keeps a hold of the Kimura as he continues to extend it!!! It looks like Kara-France arm is about to be broken but in a last-minute sprawl Kara-France is able to shake off the submission and nearly got back to his feet but Moreno grabs a hold of the body lock to drag back down Kara-France to the ground as he grabs his back but can’t get any hooks so the fight goes back to Moreno keeping Kara-France on the ground with his superior positional wrestling spending most of the round in full-guard reigning down punches to the body.

Unofficial Scorecards:

MMAJunkie: 10-9 Moreno

Sherdog: 10-9 Moreno

Burlcat: 10-9 Moreno

Round 2

Moreno shows slick movement ducking under the two hooks from Kara-France then slips backwards to avoid the incoming one-two then straight he then moves out of the way of the roundhouse body-kick before stepping back in with a set-in jab which lands. Moreno starts using quick short shuffle steps to go back in and out of range which he uses to grab a hold of Kara-France while the New Zealander was pressured up against the cage. Moreno lands a few knees to the body while then goes for the double-leg takedown, Kara-France uses the cage excellently to defend it at first but eventually, Moreno shows superior strength being able to just pick up Kara-France then slam him down to the ground. It’s a repeat of the first round with Moreno using brilliant positional wrestling which prevents Kara-France from throwing that many strikes off his back as well as attempting to sprawl to get back up. With a minute left in the round, Moreno attempts to gather full-mount but Kara-France is just able to prevent ‘The Assassin Baby’ from ever grabbing the position leaving Moreno in side-control for most of the dying seconds of the round in which he attempts a late armbar in which Kara-France defends it.

Unofficial Scorecards:

MMAJunkie: 20-18 Moreno

Sherdog: 20-18 Moreno

Blurcat: 20-18 Moreno

Round 3

The two exchange in the pocket with short-range boxing exchanges with most of the strikes bouncing off each other's shoulders although Moreno is able to briefly grab the collar tie and unload with a couple of bus driver uppercuts. Some lighting speed in then out footwork from Kara-France backs up ‘The Assassin Baby’ that opens up Kara-France to swiftly land a jab he finds his cross parried but unleashes a high kick that lands cleanly on the chin which Moreno eats!!! Moreno fires back with a couple of jabs while Kara-France retracts his leg, Moreno presses forward running into a set cross from Kara-France in which Moreno responds with a right-cross of his own then a flurry of 4 hooks to the body that all land. Kara-France lands two leg kicks to the lead leg of Moreno who misses with a counter overhand Kara-France slips to the left in which he lands a flush counter left hook then a clean uppercut right under the chin!!! Moreno quickly unleashes another flurry of hooks to the body landing 2 out of 4 this attack to the body forces the New Zealanders guard down seeing this Moreno fakes a double-leg takedown attempt going upstairs with a clean right overhand to the chin of Kara-France!!! Moreno ducks under two hooks as Kara-France follows that up with a lead uppercut then right hook to which Moreno slips backwards to dodge then pulls on a counter straight then he flurries again with hooks this time all of them are aimed at the head he lands 3 out of 5 as Kara-France covers up!!! Kara-France throws out a vicious body kick but Moreno catches it easily!!! Moreno doesn't waste time quickly getting a fast single-leg takedown in a flash!!! In half-guard Moreno seems content to ride out the rest of the round on top throwing ground n’ pound to the body then the head, Kara-France knowing he’s down on the scorecards is able to sweep Moreno out of his top position leaving him on the bottom as Kara-France grabs his back the New Zealander however quickly disengages telling the Moreno to “stand up and trade”. Kara-France lands a clean jab then slips a counter-right hook from Moreno allowing Kara-France to score with a hard kick to the ribs then a swift leg kick that pulls the chair right from under Moreno. Both fighters start trading as Moreno leaps in with a flurry of hooks exclusively to the head but only lands the first out of 3 hooks as the following 2 are ducked by Kara-France who lands a clean overhand as he ducks under the 2 hooks from “The Assassin Baby”. The jab again lands for Kara-France who feints a cross upstairs going to the body with a spinning back kick to the ribs, Kara-France follows it up with an array of jabs in which most of them land after eating a few Moreno ribs the body with a deflating hook to the liver!!! Kara-France slightly clinches his body in which Moreno gets in close, landing an elbow to the forehead in the clinch as the two separate. Kara-France fires off a straight right but a brilliant slip of the pull counter with a right hook to the body lands for Moreno. Kara-France’s one-two is off to the left allowing for another right hook to the body followed by a straight right to the center of that body as well, Kara-France lands a quick leg kick then blitzes in with a quick shuffle forward then jab right cross both land clean. Moreno fires off a counter overhand from long range. It's a little too short of Kara-France's chin as he slipped his head to the right just in time!!! A jab straight to the nose forces Moreno backwards a nice straight right sees him covering up against the cage!!! Kara-France flurries with hooks as Moreno continues to cover up 2 out of 5 lands!!! Kara-France backs up but then rushes back in attempting to finish the fight with a flying knee!!! But Moreno recovers just in time to circle away from the cage to the center of the octagon with only 20 seconds left the two stand then trade Kara-France starts it off with a set-in leg kick then jab follows up with the one-two. Moreno overhand clips Kara-France to the forehead once he ends his combo then a right cross splits the guard of Kara-France the two both throw overhands that miss, Kara-France while he misses attempts to switch it up mid-strike with a spinning heel kick to the head that’s off to the right as the fight ends!!!

Unofficial Scorecards:

MMAJunkie: 29-28 Moreno

Sherdog: 29-28 Moreno

Blurcat: 29-28 Moreno

“Ladies and gentlemen after 3 rounds we go to the judges' scorecards for a decision,

All three judges score this contest 29-29, to the winner by unanimous decision….

Brandon ‘The Assassin Baby’ Moreno”

OFFICIAL RESULT:

Brandon Moreno def. Kai Kara-France via UD (29-28x3)

[Fight Rating: Great]

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A critical turning point for both fighters' careers whoever wins will probably face the upper competition at Heavyweight. Tai Tuivasa looks to keep his undefeated record afloat drawing high praise from UFC Middleweight champion Robbert Whittaker and Heavyweight legend Mark Hunt who said himself, “Tai [Tuivasa] reminds me a lot about me just more skilled and dedicated he has what it takes to be champion with a win I’d like to see him face Francis [Ngannou] next”. For Harris it’s been an up and down career currently (4-6) inside the UFC he’s recently managed to finally go on a run with two quick 1st round finishes his quick hands as probably the fastest the Heavyweight division has ever seen but he has been plagued with conditioning issues his entire career plus struggles with the label on being a one-dimensional average kickboxer to casual and even hardcore fans. Tuivasa while a bit of a slow starter in comparison to ‘The Big Ticket’ who likes to start fights guns blazing has promised the 3rd round finish saying, “after he [Walt Harris] is done kicking my ass for 2nd rounds hopefully I’ll get him out of there in the 3rd” which drew the laughter of all reporters present during media day.

Round 1

Referee Dan Miragliotta in charge of action here tonight as he signals for the fight to start. Tuivasa starts us off with a cross that particularly lands to the forehead. Harris doesn't connect with a counter jab but Tuivasa moves right when he should have gone left as he runs straight into a right hook from ‘The Big Ticket’. Harris swings out two more hooks but they come up short as Tuivasa backs up. The two fient from a distance, neither wanting to gas themselves early. Tuivasa offers a few jabs then follows one of them up with a left hook that lands right behind the ear. Tuivasa pushes forward in doing so he runs into another hook from Harris to the chin which forces him to back off. Harris slips under the jab from Tuivasa cracking him again with a left hook then he lands a calf kick, Tuivasa fires off with some more jabs but Harris again ducks under the straight punches to nail a right cross to the chin of Tuivasa. ‘Bam Bam’ starts glancing at his corner looking for some instructions. His nose is bleeding and the punches to the chin have left a solid red mark. Tuivasa again throws out the jab but it's off to the right as Harris dips his head to the right then cracks him again with a right hook to the chin then lands another calf kick. The fight is now in a bit of a stalemate as Tuivasa has started to shell up defensively meanwhile Harris seems to be waiting until ‘Bam Bam’ opens up to counter with another big hook as he feints that he’ll let his hands go but only really throws a few quick leg kicks. Tuivasa finally opens up as the two exchange hooks ‘Bam Bam’ lands a set-in left hook while Harris lands a right hook but it seems Harris had more pop on it as Harris keeps up the pace landing a double-jab then fakes the leg kick to mask a huge head kick with his foot slamming against the chin of Tuivasa!!! Harris misses on the set-in jab but lands a vicious right cross to the chin then a right hook then wows the crowd with a huge flying knee all strikes land directly on the chin!!! Tuivasa is hurt as he backs up against the cage!!! While covering up he is able to block the jab but a right hook clips him behind the ear which forces Tuivasa to go down up against the cage as he hits the canvas referee Dan Miragliotta waves off the fight!!!

OFFICAL RESULT:

Walt Harris def. Tai Tuivasa via TKO [Punches] R1 (3:46)

[Fight Rating: Great]

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Dariush looks to get back to back wins for the first time since 2016 leading up to this fight Dariush has expressed some frustrations with how stagnant his career has been in the Lightweight division over the last 3 years especially his 42 second loss to Alexander Hernandez last year that has been in the headlines again recently as Hernandez continues to rise through the Lightweight rankings. Although he hasn’t expressed his frustrations in terms of trash talk towards Trinaldo he has talked about what's ahead of him moving forward calling out Alexander Hernandez for a rematch as well as a possible match-up with former Lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos. Trinaldo during media day said, “Respect to him but he acts like the fights are already done, man. I’m right in front of you and I know you have to talk to get the fans engaged more nowadays but I’m a problem, a force you can’t think you’ve beaten me already”.

Round 1

Dariush starts us off by landing a few jabs but misses on when he tries a one-two allowing Trinaldo to dip his head right then land his own counter right hand. Dariush starts jabbing to the body now then just like before attempts a one-two which lands he follows it up with a right hook as well that lands but leaves himself open for the uppercut that snaps his head straight up. Bouncing around a little he fires the one-two off to the head this time but Trinaldo covers up well landing a kick to the lead leg of Dariush. The two both exchange jabs but it’s Trinaldo who faster on the trigger landing a right hook then uppercut as Dariush moves back, Trinaldo keeps up the pressure landing another jab but this time it’s Dariush who’s faster as while the Brazilian attempts an uppercut he is blasted with a flurry of 3 clean hooks then a swift head kick lands clean on the dome of Trinaldo but he shows he’s okay by responding with a right hand that splits the guard of Dariush who responds with a leg kick to the lead leg of Trinaldo. Dariush doges the right hand then slips back on the jabs from Trinaldo he then pulls with the right cross then leg kick finishing his combination with question mark kick to the head which particularly lands behind the ear as the Brazilian just gets his hands up in time block the majority of the kick but still he stumbles backwards a bit!!! Dariush moves in for the kill blasting Trinaldo with a set-in overhand to the right of the head of the Brazilian then a cross but after wobbling to the cage he dodges a front kick to the face from Dariush which more than likely would of ended the fight as the Brazilian continues to circle right as he is trapped against the cage as Dariush is using some excellent footwork to keep him there. Dariush unloads with a one-two slips his head back to dodge the counter overhand right from Trinaldo allowing Dariush to land a front kick then grabs ahold of the wrist of Trinaldo in which he uses that to slice open a cut on the side of Trinaldo head with an elbow. While the two are clinched Trinaldo dives under for the double-leg but after a long struggle an excellent sprawl see’s Dariush on top of Trinaldo taking his back throwing off some ground n’ pound until the end of the round.

Unofficial Scorecards:

MMAJunkie: 10-9 Dariush

Sherdog: 10-9 Dariush

Blurcat: 10-9 Dariush

Round 2

Dariush picks up where he left off scoring with two jabs then scores a left cross then right hook but ‘Massaranduba’ telegraphs a spinning back kick to the body moving to the right and as Dariush spins Trinaldo blasts him with a counter right hook instead of backing up Dariush fires off a one-two then roundhouse kick to the body all strikes land but Trinaldo also doesn't back down landing a huge looping right hook right on the forehead of Dariush!!! Dariush doesn't let that back him up hitting a nice roundhouse to the body then a right hand to the chin!!! The two continue to fight in a phonebooth Dariush flurries with hooks with circling right landing 3 out of 7 as Trinaldo covers up. Dariush lands a set-up jab to the right hook to the body looking to again flurry with them as he goes up but before he has even lifted his head full up Trinaldo lands a lighting quick uppercut that literally takes Dariush off his feet!!! Dariush lands hard on his back and he is stiff out cold!!!

OFFICAL RESULT:

Francisco Trinaldo def. Beneil Dariush via KO [Punch] R2 (2:27)

[Fight Rating: Fantastic]

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2019’s International fighter of the year the undefeated Israel Adesanya has been touted as possibly the next great Middleweight champion in the division but to get the top he has a killer road at 185 before he can challenge for the undisputed title. Tonight he faces what many consider one of the great fighters ever Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva, Israel has said over and over again that Anderson is his MMA model who inspired him to take up the gloves and fight for a living. Meanwhile, Silva has praised Adesanya as a future champion, this very much an old face as both are elusive strikers with highlight-reel knockouts although neither are known for pushing the face so it’ll be interesting to see what type of fight will play out tonight.

Round 1

The Australian crowd gives a huge warm welcome to Anderson Silva as the fans are blowing the roof off the arena. You could be mistaken for Silva fighting in front of his home crowd of Brazil if you didn’t know the fight was taking place in Australia. Silva uses erratic hand fighting to start allowing him to parry the jabs from Adesanya but his counter straight is too slow as ‘The Last Stylebender’ ducks under circles right then fires and lands a hard leg kick to the lead leg of Silva. Adesanya waits for Silva to start letting his hands go as ‘The Spider’ is using his erratic hand fighting movement to take away the jab of Adesanya that being said but Silva steps in then surprise everyone with a quick spinning back kick to the chest of Adesanya that backs him up to the cage. Anderson goes on the attack grabbing a hold of Adesanya as he was up against the cage Silva lands a few uppercuts and knees to the body before he decides to disengage as he goes so ‘The Spider’ fires a hard right hand that lands. Adesanya tries to respond with a one-two but Silva’s erratic hand fighting again parries both the punches Silva lands a jab to the body as well as a roundhouse kick. The crowd smells a potential upset even UFC commentators are getting into as former Middleweight champion turned UFC commentator Michael Bisping says “Silva looks amazing right now, this is the best he’s looked in years”. Adesanya launches a quick head kick that Silva barely ducks in time with Israel open Silva is able to land a clean counter jab then lead leg kick. Adesanya starts mixing it up with feints faking the one-two as well as a leg kick which opens up the body to a devastating kick to the ribs. That stops the erratic hand fighting of Silva as he goes back to a more traditional style of covering up, displaying quick fast hands ‘The Last Stylebender’ blats Silva with a lead right hook then an uppercut followed by a one-two then lands another kick to the ribs that make a cracking sound as it lands!!! Silva moves in to strike but his straight right then left hook can’t find the mark due to the slick head movement of Israel Adesanya who’s check right hook catches Silva as he comes in. Adesanya is now starting to find his jab landing a couple of them as well as leg kicks to the lead leg, Adesanya taunts Silva with the Ali shuffle then poses to the crowd blowing a kiss. His psychological warfare is stopped by a one-two that gets past the guard of Adesanya as the two-circle Silva again lands the one-two with some perfect timing finding just the right angle as the round ends to a surprisingly very competitive round.

Unofficial Scorecards:

MMAJunkie: 10-9 Silva

Sherdog: 10-9 Adesanya

Blurcat: 10-9 Adesanya

Round 2

Silva steps in on the attack ready to unload which he, of course, does his jab, and the right hook misses as Adesanya slips to the right he counters ‘The Spider’ with a quick short right hook to the chin that staggers Anderson Silva!!! A cross then straight right lands directly on the chin that forces Silva to the cage!!! Silva tries to fire an uppercut to back up Adesanya but he is too slow as ‘The Last Stylebender blasts Silva with a spinning back fist!!! Another straight-right land that forces the end of the fight!!!!

OFFICAL RESULT:

Israel Adesanya def. Anderson Silva via TKO [Punches] R2 (0:43)

[Fight Rating: Decent]

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It’s been a long night but we arrive at the main event of the evening five rounds for the undisputed UFC Middleweight championship of the world. Robert ‘The Reaper’ Whittaker is undefeated ever since his move up from Welterweight to Middleweight gaining UFC gold after two wars against Yoel Romero he holds wins over the top contenders at Middleweight with victories over with two victories over the previously mentioned Yoel Romero, Ronaldo Jacare, Derek Brunson, Brad Tavares, and Uriah Hall. Although Kelvin Gastelum has started to find his stride after a hiccup loss to Chris Widemen the Mexican, American would get a big-time 1st round knockout over former champion Michael Bisping and a split decision win over Ronaldo Jacare. The build-up has been very respectful in an era of intense trash talk which is refreshing for some as the skills of both fighters have been at the main stage for the marketing of the fight.

Round 1

To no one's surprise the two fighters touch gloves as referee Dan Miragliotta has the assignment for the main event tonight, Whittaker of course gets a huge round of applause that is somehow louder than the cheers Anderson Silva got during his introduction. The two start the bout with stellar head movement Gastelum slips back to dodge the jab and right hook as well as getting out of the way of a 3 punch combination of straight punches plus a swift head kick. Gastelum tries to open up with the one-two but Whittaker seems to have the timing on it as Whittaker continues to bob and weave. Gastelum is the first to land a strike after a lengthy stalemate of no strikes landing as he slips to the left of the right hook of Whittaker leaving him open to a one-two then looping left hand to the forehead. Gastelum uses the set-up jab then goes all-in on a right hand the same combination which knocked out Bisping and much like the highlight the jab misses only to mask a clean hard right hand straight to the chin!!! Whittaker eats it though and keeps going to shock of many. The two exchange combos but Whittakers cross is parried and his leg kick checked to allow Gastelum to rip the body with a hook but leaves himself open to a clean straight to the head. ‘The Reaper' misses on a spinning back kick to the body allowing Gastelum to hit two counter left hands. Whittaker blitzes in on Gastelum with a jab that is a little too far to the right and his devastating overhand just misses the chin. Kelvin Gastelum calmly hits a clean check right hook to the chin of Whittaker forcing the champ backwards. Gastelum fires a one-two that doesn't trouble Whittaker his massive head kick is read easily by Whittaker who dodges by circling left landing two quick jabs then a leg kick.

Unofficial Scorecards:

MMAJunkie: 10-9 Gastelum

Sherdog: 10-9 Gastelum

Blurcat: 10-9 Gastelum

Round 2

Whittaker starts the round by blitzing in close unleashing an overhand left then one-two ending his combo with a swift head kick but Gastelum excellently covers up as all strikes are either blocked or come off the shoulder. Gastelum after backing off comes back into range firing a straight that Whittaker slips to the left and counters with a straight of his own to the head. Gastelum leaps in with a superman jab that just comes up short but he also uses the jab to set up a huge looping left hook catching ‘The Reaper’ while he was attempting an uppercut. Gastelum grabs a hold of Whittaker by using his superior strength to back him up to the cage unleashing some short hooks to the body. Gastelum tries to get wrist control but Whittaker surprises him with some slick grappling. He opens a cut under the left eye of the challenger with a very short elbow. Gastelum decides to disengage bringing this fight back to the center of the octagon. Gastelum lands the jab but his head kick is again easily read by Whittaker slipping backwards then he pulls on a counter jab to the body then follows it up with two hooks. Gastelum responds by snapping ‘The Reaper’ head up with an uppercut while also landing a one-two then straight, Whittaker backs on near the cage who misses on a right hand which Gastelum dodges to the right countering with a straight right to the chin then a lead knee to the body. Now Whittaker is up against the cage Gastelum unloads with 3 quick punches with a jab then two hooks the jab and 1st punch lands but Whittaker blitzes forward blasting Gastelum backwards with a powerful one-two that lands right on the chin. Whittaker circles away from the cage. The two seem a little gassed by the end of the round with the two getting a little sloppy after a brief exchange in which Gastelum landed a short right hook he is able to clinch up quickly get underhooks and get a double-legged takedown near the last 20 seconds of the round.

Unofficial Scorecards:

MMAJunkie: 20-18 Gastelum

Sherdog: 20-18 Gastelum

Blurcat: 20-18 Gastelum

Round 3

Whittaker swings out a looping right hook to get in close; it's just short as Kelvin slips back and counters with a jab then straight the two engage with ‘The Reaper' swiftly firing off a head kick that barely misses the forehead of Gastelum who again counters Whittaker with a jab then a quick leg kick. Gastelum leaps right at Whittaker again with a superman jab that’s too short this is to again mask his true attack as he swings out a devastating set-up jab then straight again the same combination that knocked out Michael Bisping!!! ‘The Reaper’ ducks under both punches blasting Gastelum on the chin with a counter ducking overhand. Whittaker follows it up with a jab and right hook to the body; he also grazes Gastelum’s side of the head with a switch head kick!!! This opens another cut on Gastelum this time on the left side of his head!!! Whittaker lands two consecutive kicks to the rib cage Gastelum attempts a one-two but Whittaker is too quick with the leg kick as the punches are too far to the right. The champion is starting to find his groove here in the 3rd as he continues to attack the lead leg of Gastelum with side and oblique kicks making the challengers attack slower and easier to read. Whittaker dodges the left hand and overhand right of Gastelum by slipping to the right countering with a sidekick to the body then a quick left hand. Whittaker starts putting his foot off the gas though to converse some energy for the championship rounds allowing Gastelum to get off a few jabs Whittaker mostly dodges anything else the challenger follows up with as he continues to attack the body and leg with sidekicks. With 10 seconds left in the round Gastelum looking shattered throws out the jab without much form at all, Whittaker ducks under then come up with a thunderous lead elbow straight to the chin of Gastelum!!! The shot stuns him right as the round comes to an end!!!

Unofficial Scorecards:

MMAJunkie: 29-29 Gastelum

Sherdog: 29-28 Gastelum

Blurcat: 29-28 Gastelum

Round 4

Gastelum shows some serious confidence as well as heart, taunting Whittaker to meet him in the middle and trade to start the round. ‘The Reaper' smiles happily granting his wish as the two trade in the middle. Gastelum surprises Whittaker by landing a left cross then a looping right hook with bad intentions just misses the chin as the champ slips backwards while retracting the punch to cover up in case of a counter-attack Gastelum doesn't see the huge looping overhand right that Whittaker lands directly on the chin of Gastelum crushing it in the process!!! Gastelum’s mouthpiece falls out as he stumbles backwards while hitting ass first to the canvas he’s down!!! Whittaker quickly gains full-guard raining down punches on a stunned Gastelum referee Dan Miragliotta gave the challenger as many opportunities to survive perhaps a bit too many but after taking repeated blows cleanly to the head the fight is called off!!!

OFFICAL RESULT:

[C] Robert Whittaker def. Kelvin Gastelum via TKO [Punches] R4 (0:32)

Whittaker’s 1st title-defense

[Fight Rating: Good]

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Critical Rating: 77% / Commercial Rating: 98%

Attendance: 13,745 ($2,419,120)

Venue: Rod Laver Arena (Melbrone, Australia)

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Main-Event

[C] Robert Whittaker def. Kelvin Gastelum via TKO [Punches] R4 (0:32)

[Fight Rating: Good]

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Co-Main

Israel Adesanya def. Anderson Silva via TKO [Punches] R2 (0:43)

[Fight Rating: Decent]

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Main-Card

Francisco Trinaldo def. Beneil Dariush via KO [Punch] R2 (2:27)

[Fight Rating: Fantastic]

Megan Anderson def. Felicia Spencer via TKO [Head Kick & Ground N’ Pound] R1 (4:46)

[Fight Rating: Great]

Walt Harris def. Tai Tuivasa via TKO [Punches] R1 (3:46)

[Fight Rating: Great]

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Preliminary-Card

Jussier da Silva def. Alexandre Pantoja via TKO [Punches] R2 (2:16)

[Fight Rating: Good]

Brandon Moreno def. Kai Kara-France via UD (29-28x3)

[Fight Rating: Great]

Manny Bermudez def. Deigo Pereira via SUB [D’Arce Choke] R1 (1:59)

[Fight Rating: Good]

Jairzinho Rozenstruik def. Justin Ledet via UD (30-27, 29-28x2)

[Fight Rating: Decent]

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Early Prelims

Kyung Ho Kang def. Frankie Saenz via UD (29-28x3)

[Fight Rating: Decent]

Nadia Kassem def. Juliana Lima via TKO [Punches] R1 (4:44)

[Fight Rating: Good]

Shane Burgos def. Alex Caceres via UD (30-25x2, 30-26)

[Fight Rating: Decent]

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Fight of the Night:

Francisco Trinaldo vs. Beneil Dariush

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Performance of the Night:

Francisco Trinaldo, Megan Anderson, Walt Harris, Manny Bermudez

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Predictions:

vladjarca - (7/12)

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And still the Middleweight champion of the world as well as undefeated at Middleweight Robert Whittaker has defeated Kelvin Gastelum he is now (10-0) in his last 10 fights with the victory tonight. Gastelum looked good early on winning rounds 1 & 2 on all three judges scorecards the most surprising was how his head movement was constantly dodging most of the champion's strikes early on. But Whittaker after making the adjustment to change up his striking rhythm with an emphasis on sidekicks to the body and leg plus oblique kicks, eventually, Gastelum legs and body was as red as humanly possible making his strikes easier to read plus with his movement compromised it eventually led to a jaw breaking overhand right finish as the two exchanged early on in the 4th. It was a good showing for both fighters. The most surprising development of the night was Whittaker’s ability to take some of Gastelum’s huge punches, the same punches that knocked out Michael Bisping he said post-fight, “He hits very hard but everyone hits very hard at Middleweight. It’s nothing new to me I guess I’ve just become used to it at this point”. Gastelum thanked all of his fans, friends, family, and Whittaker himself in a Twitter post saying he was devastated but was still on a mission for UFC gold. During the UFC’s ever so popular Thrill and Agony, we got to see how devastating the loss was for Gastelum who left the arena with a towel over his head but in later clips, we got to see Whittaker come find him behind stage before he was taken to the hospital to thank him for the fight. Israel Adesanya is demanding for his “overdue” title-shot after his 2nd round TKO over Anderson Silva the fight was much more competitive with some giving Silva the first round ‘The Spider’ used erratic hand fighting to take away most of Adesanya’s punches early on allowing Anderson to win the early exchanges but being the dynamic striker Israel is he incorporated some thunderous body kicks that stopped the erratic hand fighting of Silva which led to Adesanya picking the older Silva apart on the feet with dynamic striking which got him the early 2nd round TKO. “Sure not my best fight but look at what I did to the greatest fighter ever, I’ve defeated him easily and it’s not a fluke win like [Chris] Wideman's or a bull**** decision like with [Michael] Bisping’s who 100% lost that fight. It was a surgical tactical victory, something that’s never happened to Silva before because no one else can do it. It’s me next for sure Yoel [Romero] will knockout that inflated balloon [Paulo Costa] and he’s lost twice, no one else deserves it more than so don’t f*** around I’m next”. Some are understandably are iffy on if a victory over Silva who is only ranked #9 in the division is worthy of granting Adesanya a title shot one person who doesn't think so is the champion himself, “When you look at that fight I watched all of it backstage after warming up he is a fantastic striker who can mix up the game-plan well but, [Anderson] Silva was able to exploit all the holes that I already know are apart of his game if Silva at 43 can blitz in on him how do you think I’ll fair?”. Adesanya has quickly framed Whittaker as an unworthy scared champion who doesn't want to defend his belt over the top competitors of the division suggesting Robert should be stripped, Whittaker hasn’t yet and likely won’t respond to ‘The Last Stylebender’ comments as like he said many times before trash talk ain’t really his thing.

It was an exciting main-card as Francisco Trinaldo and Beneil Dariush won fight of the night in a barn burner, Trinaldo also has an early knockout of the year candidate as his devastating uppercut that lifted Beneil off his feet has gone viral on Youtube, Twitter, and Instagram. Unfortunately for Dariush who looked to climb back up the Lightweight rankings with a victory will in all likelihood be dumped off to make way for Francisco Trinaldo his thoughts on the contest and his now curious position being (1-3-1) in his last 5 fights are unknown he hasn’t yet been released but his next fight being the last on his contract will be very interesting. Walt Harris and Megan Anderson both put on the best performances of their careers starting with Anderson she showed how much she’s improved showing excellent takedown defense stuffing 3 out of 3 of Spencer’s takedowns she also showed devastating muay-thai landing slicing elbows that cut Spencer around her right eye. After stuffing the 3rd takedown of an elbow while the two separated rocked Spencer then a sensational question mark head kicks to the left side of the dome of Spencer put her down. From full-mount Anderson rained down elbows until the referee said stop, with Nunes, booked to fight at UFC 237 against Holly Holm, Anderson said during his post-fight interview with Jon Anik a fight with Cyborg “made a lot of sense” since the two were originally booked to fight back in 2017 at UFC 214. Walt Harris has derailed Tai Tuivasa hype train to the shock of the Australian crowd who cheered for Harris in his victory but still, there was a stunning atmosphere to the whole finishing sequence but it was no fluke knockout. Harris had some of the best crisp boxing ever seen in the Heavyweight division constantly catching ‘Bam Bam’ on the chin with hooks in fact Harris only missed 2 punches the entire fight landing at an impressive 95%+ clip. Credit to Tuivasa he probably should have been finished early with how clean Harris was landing to his chin, Harris has credit to victory finally taking the sport seriously as previously he only would swing and pray for a knockout to win now he is taking the sport seriously.

Let's move onto the prelims a number #1 Flyweight contender has been crowned with Jussier da Silva who dominated with leg kicks and uppercuts he showed footwork never showcased by him before as it’s clear he has worked on his boxing footwork. The question is will Cejudo give da Silva a shot as ‘The Messenger’ does have a split decision win over him already and the way the Flyweight champ is talking on Twitter makes it seem like he is angling for a rematch with TJ Dillashaw at Bantamweight. It was an awesome night for prospects tonight Manny Bermudez, Shane Burgos, and Australian native Nadia Kassem all displayed that their possibly ready for a rise in competition one prospect that had a rough night despite winning was Jairzinho Rozenstruik who showed some promising boxing but despite his god gifted power being his main marketing tool despite landing clean he never able to hurt Ledet who was game for the entire fight. In fact, the fight is an early robber of the year candidate right belong side Alex Perez vs. Joseph Benavidez as Ledet outstruck Rozenstruik in every single round taking him down in rounds 2 and 3 going 2/4 for takedowns on the night. Rozenstruik did land some clean looping hooks but like mentioned before nothing that rattled Ledet who was puzzled as to why he didn’t get the nod when the scorecards was read. Not a great UFC debut for Rozenstruik but if he can deliver on the power that the UFC marketing team promised one big KO will make most MMA casual all but forget about this fight in due time.

McDojoDelux · April 25, 2021

February Week 4 (2019) Recap

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MMA News

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UFC Fight Night: Cruz vs. Rivera

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Main-Event

Bantamweight: Dominick Cruz (#2, 22-2) vs. Jimmie Rivera (#6, 22-2)

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Co-Main

Featherweight: Cub Swanson (#12, 25-10) vs. Michael Johnson (19-13)

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Main-Card

Middleweight: C.B. Dollaway (17-9) vs. Trevin Giles (11-0)

W-Flyweight: Nicco Montano (#1, 4-2) vs. Liz Carmouche (#3, 12-6)

Bantamweight: Matthew Lopez (10-3) vs. Marlon Vera (14-5-1)

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Preliminary-Card

Flyweight: John Moraga (#10, 19-7) vs. Yuta Sasaki (21-6-2)

Welterweight: Sabah Homasi (11-8) vs. Nathan Coy (15-7)

Flyweight: Artur Bagutinov (5-1-1) vs. Azamat Pshukov (4-0)

Middleweight: Joe Gigliotti (7-2) vs. Keith Berish (5-1-1NC)

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Early-Prelims

Middleweight: Karl Roberson (7-1) vs. Dan Kelly (13-4)

Featherweight: Yaotzin Meza (21-11-1NC) vs. Bharat Kandare (5-3)

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The UFC returns to the scorching state of Arizona originally supposed to be headlined by a Heavyweight match-up between former UFC Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and title-challenger Francis Ngannou but Velasquez due to lingering knee injuries couldn’t make the late February date. So instead former two-time Bantamweight champ #2 Dominick Cruz and #6 Jimmie Rivera will fight in the 5-round main event. For the first time since December 2016, Dominick Cruz will be competing after a 2 year layoff after dropping the Bantamweight championship to Cody Cody Garbrandt at UFC 207. Cruz was born and raised mostly in the state of Arizona moving to California joining Alliance MMA to further his MMA career after recently falling out with the gym ‘The Dominator’ has moved back to the state to open his own MMA gym with Evolution MMA which he co-founded with UFC Featherweight Jeremy Stephens. That'll be the 2nd ever UFC fight an Evolution MMA will have inside the UFC as Stephens got the gyms 1st win in their 1st bout with a first-round knockout over Renato Moicano. The two gyms have thrown potshots at each other over social media with Bellator Bantamweight champion Darrion Caldwell calling Stephens and Cruz “self-centered egotistical dips****” while ‘Lil-Heaven’ fired back on Twitter calling Caldwell a “B-tech champion”. As for drama between Rivera and Cruz it’s mostly just been a respectful build-up as the two were both complimentary of their opponents while also confident they’ll get the win come tomorrow night. ‘The Dominator’ will hope to live up to his nickname with yet another tactical performance using angles, footwork, and feints to confuse his opponent while Rivera a fundamentally sound boxer and wrestler will look to use his crisp punches to hopefully outstrike Cruz as the former champ has had trouble in the past with high-level boxers like when he lost to Cody ‘No Love’ Garbrandt. The rest of the card has been plagued by injuries with the main event being the one fight that kept this entire card glued tougher, with such little name value the co-main was booked on two weeks' notice to help beef up the card. Two multiple-time winner fight of the night winners in Michael Johnson and Cub Swanson will compete in a Featherweight bout the two like mentioned only had 2 weeks of preparations but that wouldn’t detour either from taking on this fight. Only two years ago it seemed Swanson was on the cusp of a title-shot but after dropping 3 straight his rankings has slid all the way to #12. The same could be said for Michael Johnson who was once a Top 5 Lightweight but after going on 3 fight losing streak himself he’d move down to Featherweight where he has rattled 2 straight victories. It should be a very interesting clash of styles as Swanson a higher-level kickboxer who more accurate with his strikes plus a BJJ black belt will have to deal with the speed and volume of Johnson, ‘The Menace’ has yet to see his power transition over to Featherweight yet which attributes to adjusting to the new weight class promising a finish this time around.

Tonight’s card also has a slew of fighters from the desert state of Arizona tonight C.B. Holloway, Nicco Montano, Mathew Lopez, and John Moraga will look to get a win in front of their hometown fans, friends, and family. The inaugural Women’s Flyweight champion Nicco Montano was stripped last year due to inactivity after she failed to fight now champion Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 228. Montano looks to reclaim her champion, she found out she was stripped of her title on Twitter and has been complaining ever since, it was only a couple of months after her last fight when she won the title with a decision win over Roxanne Modafferi but still, the UFC saw a star in Shevchenko and since Montano would need some time to recover the UFC didn’t want to wait and like mentioned before stripped Montano while other champions who have been inactive longer than Montano weren’t stripped until it was absolutely necessary which the former champ has pointed out multiple times. With a win tonight she’ll definitely challenge Shevchenko to reclaim the title, Montano has talked a lot about ‘The Bullet’ saying she “isn’t really a legitimate champion until I’m beaten that undisputed belt is fake”. In her way is Liz Carmouche a pioneer for Women’s MMA she faced Ronda Rousey for the Women’s Bantamweight champion in the UFC’s first-ever female fight at UFC 157 (February 2013). With the move down to a new weight class, Carmouche looks to challenge for another championship with a possible win over a former champ of the division. Undefeated Middleweight prospect Trevin Giles looks to keep his zero tonight against a tough durable veteran in the ground n’ pound wrestling machine C.B. Holloway the biggest underdog of the night at (-500) as Giles overwhelming strength plus power is probably the tipping point for the bookies having him such a high favorite. The last two fights of notoriety on tonight's card are the firsts fight on the main card and the headliner of the prelims starting with the Bantamweight bout Mathew Lopez is on a knife's edge with the company coming off to brutal TKO losses to Raphael Assuncao and Alejandro Perez in fairness those two are high ranked Bantamweights, while Lopez lost brutally he did show promise in both bouts showing he isn’t that far off some of top talents at 145-pounds. An accomplished wrestler the question probably is if his chin has softened due to the damage the 1st and only UFC fighter from Ecuador Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera look to put that theory to the test. Hot off 2-straight victories with a 3rd he could very well find himself a ranked opponent as his next match-up a resilient well-rounded fighter the question is what really is Vera’s ceiling as a UFC fighter? John Moraga once considered the hardest hitter at Flyweight is looking to rebound after a 2nd round TKO loss to the undefeated Deiveson Figueiredo, prior to the loss he was riding a 3-fight win streak and is very much capable of climbing his way back up the Flyweight rankings. Yuta Sasaki recently found his way off the rankings due to no fault of his own he looks to regain a number next to his name a wildly creative striker a Japanese karate base style kickboxer his wild kicks can give anyone in the division a run for their money.

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Bellator 212: Freire vs. Curran III

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Main-Event

Featherweight: [C] Patricio Freire (28-4) vs. Pat Curran (23-7)

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Co-Main

Light-Heavyweight: Phil Davis (19-5-1NC) vs. Tito Ortiz (19-12-1)

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Main-Card

Welterweight: Javier Torres (10-5-1NC) vs. Kevin Ferguson Jr (3-2)

Heavyweight: Justin Wren (13-2) vs. Tyrell Fortune (5-0)

Featherweight: Revelina Berto (3-1) vs. Sinead Kavanagh (5-3)

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Patricio Freire has for weeks coming into his trilogy bout with Pat Curran proclaimed he is going to prove why he is “the greatest Featherweight of all time” with a possible win tonight. The two have traded wins, losses, and championship belts before. Tonight possibly for the final time to settle who is the greatest Featherweight in Bellator history Patricio Freire and Pat Curran will fight for the third time. Current champ Patricio Freire at his best can be considered one of the better Featherweights in the world a powerful puncher and kicker he has elite-level muay-thai and BJJ that can give anyone a run for their money his biggest flaw would be consistency when he is at his best he proclaims he is “unbeatable” to quote the champ,

“Jose Aldo is the greatest Featherweight of all time, but I’m right there not Max Holloway that’s bulls**** he isn’t on me or Aldo’s level but with him losing to Max two-times now I think with a win over Curran that makes me the best to ever do it at Featherweight. After that, I’ll claim the Lightweight title against [Michael] Chandler to prove I’m the greatest to ever do it”.

Very big talk but if he can pull it off with a win fair play to him, Pat Curran has been a model of consistency within Bellator’s Featherweight division for a very long time now being a former two-time champion for the organization a crisp fundamental boxer with a very solid wrestling base can absolutely give the champ a run for his money it might be why he is the (-120) favorite heading into tomorrow night. The co-main sees former Bellator Light-Heavyweight champion Phil Davis take on former UFC Light-Heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz in what many consider a classic Bellator fight. Ortiz is pushing 45 years old meanwhile Davis is 34 and only three fights removed from his close split decision loss to current champ Ryan Bader, but Tito has defended the match-up calling himself the clear “pound-for-pound greatest fighter on the planet” after his victory over Chael Sonnen. He compares this situation to UFC 132 when he submitted Ryan Bader in the 1st round after coming off 5 whole years since his last victory he called this situation “virtually the same” saying he would do the exact same thing promising a 1st round submission victory. The eldest son of the late Kimbo Slice in Kevin Ferguson Jr faces off against Javier Torres, both like to brawl but can mix it up with powerful wrestling the two are pretty evenly matched in terms of technique so this might just come down to who implements the better gameplan. Tyrell Fortune is one of Bellator’s most promising Heavyweight prospects a powerful national-caliber wrestler faces Justin Wren while not as an accomplished wrestler as Fortune is Wren is one of the better Heavyweights in wrestling inside MMA similar to how George St-Pierre was successfully able to utilize wrestling although his background was in karate. A very good night of fights with all but one fight being very hard to predict for some although who knows this is MMA and the MMA gods might just throw us a curveball in the air of an upset.

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