Bellator 208 Full Report: Fedor To Meet Bader In Bellator Heavyweight GP Finals

The Preview

After Bellator put on Bellator 208 the previous night, they come back with Bellator 208 on Saturday. The main event of this show was Chael Sonnen (30-15-1) fighting Fedor Emelianenko (37-5) in the second semi-final match of the promotions Heavyweight Grand Prix. Last night was the first part of the round, with Ryan Bader beating Matt Mitrione in a very decisive bout. The angle of the advertisements leading up to this show was Chael Sonnen being very patriotic and wanting to fight a Russian. Sonnen very much carried the promotion for this show, even dressing as Uncle Sam for the ads and promotional photos.

Alongside the main event, the main card had four other bouts. The co-main event is Saad Awad (23-9) versus Benson Henderson (25-8). Awad is on a four fight win streak heading into this bout. Henderson won his last fight but has had a very 50/50 tenure in Bellator so far. Another Heavyweight bout besides the main event that is booked is Cheick Kongo (28-10-2) versus Timothy Johnson (12-4). Johnson is making his Bellator debut, but not against an easy opponent. Kongo hasn’t lost since 2015, picking up 6 wins since then. The other two bouts on the main card are Alexander Shlemenko (57-11) versus Anatoly Tokov (26-3) in a battle of the Russians, and Henry Corrales (15-3) versus Andy Main (12-3-1). That’s the fight that started the card.

A Recap of The Show

  1. The Featherweight fight between Henry Corrales and Andy Main began the main card. The whole first round was stand up fighting. Both fighters were slow and methodical with Corrales starting to pick up the pace in the final 40 seconds. The crowd booed with two minutes left in the round out of disapproval. With just over two minutes left in the second round Main landed a trip, but it was all for nothing since they were both back on their feet seconds later. Commentator Big John McCarthy had it 2-0 Corrales at this point, but on my scorecard I had it tied. The scorecards ended up not mattering once Corrales dropped Main with a left hook in a combination.

My Scorecard:

Fighter Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Total
Corrales 10 9
Main 9 10
  1. The battle of the two Russians was next on the card in the Middleweight class. Anatoly Tokov fought Alexander Shlemenko. Tokov kept control in the first round, being dominant against the cage and on the ground. Early in the second round the fight was paused after Tokov got kicked between the legs. It did not take him long to be ready to resume the bout. The rest of the second round seemed very much like the first. It felt like both of these guys had clocked out at this point. The fight went the distance with the judges all scoring it 30-27 for Tokov.

My Scorecard:

Fighter Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Total
Tokov 10 10 10 30
Shlemenko 9 9 9 27
  1. The first of two Heavyweight bouts on the main card was Cheick Kongo versus Tim Johnson. This fight was ended with just over a minute gone by. Johnson got rocked by a shot which made him fall into Kongo’s arms. Kongo finished the fight on the ground shortly after.

My Scorecard:

Fighter Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Total
Kongo
Johnson
  1. The co-main event was Benson Henderson versus Saad Awad. In the first round Awad showed good defense on the ground. He almost got caught in a rear naked choke when trying to complain to the ref about Henderson grabbing gloves. Henderson had better stand up (predominantly kicks) and ground game. There was a close call at the end of round two where Awad had to survive a chokehold for 15 seconds. He was very much saved by the bell. In the final round, the fight was paused because of Henderson grabbing the cage. The rest of the round was much like the two before.

My Scorecard:

Fighter Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Total
Henderson 10 10 10 30
Awad 9 9 9 27
  1. The main event of the evening was Chael Sonnen versus Fedor Emelianenko in the semi-finals of Bellator’s Heavyweight GP. When they were given the opportunity to touch gloves in the middle they didn’t, but once asked a second time did. Only seconds into the bout Sonnen got dropped by a punch. Fedor refused to go to the ground until Chael landed a takedown. Fedor was absolutely all over Chael for the first three minutes. Sonnen seemed to gain some control in the fight when he landed a takedown with two minutes to go. With 30 seconds left in the first round Fedor would not stop throwing punches down on Sonnen who was shelling up on the floor. The ref intervened and that ended the fight.

My Scorecard:

Fighter Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Total
Sonnen
Emelianenko

Looking Ahead

Walking away from this Bellator show the promotion has a championship match set up. In January Ryan Bader will battle against Fedor Emelianenko to crown a new Bellator Heavyweight Champion. This is a wish come true for Bader, who said on Friday that he wants to face Fedor. Bellator takes some time off after a doubleheader weekend. Bellator returns on November 15th for Bellator 209. A championship bout in Patricio Freire versus Emmanuel Sanchez main events that card.

Bellator 207 Full Report: Ryan Bader Moves On To Heavyweight GP Finals

Preview

Bellator began their first event of their two this weekend with Bellator 207. Like 208, which takes place tomorrow, 207 is headlined by a semi-final match in Bellator’s Heavyweight GP. The Friday card had Matt Mitrione fighting Ryan Bader. The Saturday night card is scheduled to have Fedor Emelianenko versus Chael Sonnen. The final four in the tournament are definitely all fan favorites. Below the main event, there are four other main card bouts. In the co-main event spot is what should be only another explosive Heavyweight clash besides the main event. Roy Nelson fights Sergei Kharitonov. Nelson was booked for the main event of Bellator 200 against Mirko Cro Cop. Due to an injury from Cro Cop before the fight, sadly this bout did not happen. Kharitonov returns to Bellator after fighting for M-1 and Russian Cagefighting Championship for a year.

Also on the main card is Kevin Ferguson Jr. versus Corey Browning. Both fighters are still somewhat new to MMA, with Ferguson Jr. holding a 3-1 record with all fights being under Bellator. Browning is making his Bellator debut, coming into the promotion with a 3-2 record. Below them is two veterans in Lorenz Larkin (19-7) versus Ion Pascu (18-8) in a Lightweight fight. That fight is the alternate fight for the Welterweight GP. Starting off the main card was Carrington Banks (7-1) and Mandel Nallo (6-0) fighting to protect their very clean win/loss records so far.

Rundown Of The Card

  1. Carrington Banks and Mandel Nallo fought with Bellator having no hesitation on starting the main card. After a minute in the first round of uneventful stand-up, Nallo showed great takedown defense. Banks tried for a takedown, with his second attempt being reversed into a takedown from Nallo. Nallo seemed near to putting in a chokehold but eventually stopped trying for it. With under two minutes left in the first Banks landed his first takedown, but took many elbow strikes to the head while on top. These two both battled on the ground as the first round ended. In the first minute of the second round Nallo landed a perfectly timed right knee to the head to absolutely put Banks to sleep. When the camera was in his face after the fight, all he had to say to the camera was “come to Tri Star” (the MMA gym that he trains at).

My Scorecard:

Fighter Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Total
Banks 9
Nallo 10
  1. The next fight on the card was Corey Browning versus Kevin Ferguson Jr. A.K.A Baby Slice. When Browning did his walkout, the commentators talked about how Browning felt stress going into this fight. While Baby Slice had dominance for the most of round one, the final minute went in favour of Browning. Browning tried for a crucifix, then landed a handful of elbows until the round ended. The two fighters traded at the start of the second round, with Browning dropping Baby Slice after being hit by a combo. Browning looked like he was in trouble early in the second round, but somehow stood up seconds later. Browning was landing strikes from above onto Baby Slice until the ref stopped the fight. This was quite the turnaround as only moments before Baby Slice was inching close to a submission win. Browning got his hand raised without Baby Slice present. It was reported by Mike Bohn that he was stretchered out of the venue.

My Scorecard:

Fighter Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Total
Browning 9
Baby Slice 10
  1. Lorenz Larkin and Ion Pascu fought each other in the Welterweight GP alternate bout. Most of the first round was stand up with Pascu trying to a takedown in the final minute of the round. In the second round Larkin showed dominance with his striking. With two minutes left in the final round Pascu landed a clean single leg takedown. While Pascu had good ground game for the remaining time, it wasn’t enough to win him the round on my scorecard. The judges gave Larkin the fight Unanimously (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28).

My Scorecard:

Fighter Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Total
Larkin 10 10 10 30
Pascu 9 9 9 27
  1. In the co-main event was Roy Nelson versus Sergei Kharitonov. In the first round Nelson went for a takedown but was stopped. Kharitonov landed an illegal knee to the top of Nelson. The fight was resumed, but a point was taken away from Kharitonov. Nelson started to take hard shots as the round was coming to a close. With under 10 seconds left, Kharitonov finished the fight with standing strikes and (legal) knees with Roy against the cage.

My Scorecard:

Fighter Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Total
Nelson
Kharitonov

5. Before the main event they played a pretty good promo video for this fight. Matt Mitrione fought Ryan Bader to see who moves onto the finals of the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix. In the promo it was mentioned by Mitrione how he’s not a good wrestler, but “every round starts standing”. Well, Bader landed a takedown only seconds into the first round. Bader started to land shots from above with two minutes to go. He continued like this until the end of the round. At the start out round two Mitrione came out swinging, until he got caught with another takedown. Bader was all over him once again on the ground. He nearly got a submission finish halfway through but did not get it. In the final round Bader landed another takedown only maybe 4 seconds in. The official scorecards had it in favour of Bader of course Unanimously (30-25, 30-24 & 30-25).

My Scorecard:

Fighter Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Total
Mitrione 8 8 8 24
Bader 10 10 10 30

Looking Ahead

Now that Bellator 207 is in the books, one half of the puzzle has been solved. Ryan Bader said in his post fight interview that he’d like to fight Fedor in the finals, but now it’s just up to Fedor to do the job. Tomorrow from New York, Chael Sonnen fights Fedor Emelianenko, with the winner challenging Bader in the finale of the Grand Prix. After these two events are done Bellator will be gone until mid-November.

Bellator 206 Full Report: Mousasi Stops MacDonald In The Second Round

Bellator put on maybe their biggest event of the year on Saturday, live from the SAP Center in San Jose. The card is very stacked, with the new champion Gegard Mousasi facing fellow champ Rory MacDonald in the 185 weight class. In the co-main event slot two absolute veterans of MMA face each other. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson faces Wanderlei Silva in a Heavyweight bout.

On a promotional scale this is also a big show for Bellator as it is their debut on sports streaming network DAZN (pronounced “The Zone”). DAZN had recently broadcasted the Anthony Joshua versus Alexander Povetkin boxing bout. The preliminary part of the show started on Bellator’s website.

  1. Kicking off the preliminary coverage was Josh San Diego facing Joe Neal in the 140lbs Catchweight. Neal went for a takedown only a minute into the first round. San Diego was dominant in the first round with strikes, getting a takedown in the final seconds of the round. In the second round San Diego out-striked Neal by a margin. The final round was close. Neal started to land good strikes. San Diego got two more takedowns once Neal started to step up his strikes. A significant amount of blood came from San Diego’s head due to an unintentional contact of heads. The fight went the distance, bringing everyone’s attention to the judge’s scorecards. The judges had scorecards that were near opposites to each other, but still giving San Diego the win (29-28 Neal, 30-27 San Diego & 29-28 San Diego).

My Scorecard:

Fighter Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Total
San Diego 10 10 10 30
Neal 9 9 9 27

 

  1. Featherweight Jeremiah Labiano faced Justin Smithley in the second bout. Labiano landed a takedown in the first minute. After that they were battling on the ground for the whole round. At one point Smithley was getting hit over and over with hammer strikes, only to respond with a taunting smile. Labiano started to really rain down the strikes while on top, triggering the ref to stop the fight.

My Scorecard:

Fighter Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Total
Labiano
Smithley

 

  1. Continuing on the prelims was Amber Leibrock versus Arlene Blencowe in another Featherweight bout. Early in the first round Leibrock landed a knee that had Blencowe in trouble. Blencowe recovered and kept it to kickboxing for the final minutes. The second round was much closer with Blencowe being able to match or even do better than Leibrock’s boxing. While the majority of the second round was standing a takedown was done with 20 or so seconds left. Blencowe opened the third round with a takedown. Leibrock tried for an armbar, but Blencowe escaped it with a slam, putting Leibrock right on her head. This really hurt Leibrock, giving Blencowe the win after a few more strikes. Blencowe was weeping out of joy after the fight.

My Scorecard:

Fighter Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Total
Leibrock 10 9
Blencowe 9 10

 

  1. In a Bantamweight fight, Ty Costa battled against Cass Bell. Bell has a very distinct golf course green dyed hair. Bell went to the first round on my scorecard. Costa found himself in a similar situation to the last bout in an Armbar. He tried to slam Bell but didn’t get the same result as what Blencowe got. Costa eventually submitted after Bell really locked in the Armbar.

My Scorecard:

Fighter Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Total
Costa 9
Bell 10

 

  1. We went to another Catchweight bout, this time at 160lbs. Adam Piccolotti faced James Terry. Piccolotti won the first round but was even more prominent with his jab in the second round. This whole fight was an absolute war between these two. Terry became bloodied in the final round. The fight went the full 15 minutes, with the judges giving Adam Piccolotti the win unanimously (29-28, 30-27 & 30-27).

My Scorecard:

Fighter Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Total
Piccolotti (R) 10 10
Terry 9 9

 

  1. The main card began after the last fight. The show started with the competitors of the top three bouts tonight coming out to do faceoffs on the stage. The first fight on the main card was Gaston Bolanos versus Ysidro Gutierrez in a Featherweight bout. After being a nearly even first round, Bolanos floored Gutierrez with a left. He landed many strikes from on top to close out the fight and give him the victory.

My Scorecard:

Fighter Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Total
Bolanos (R) 10
Gutierrez 9

 

  1. Keri Melendez faced Dakota Zimmerman. The first round was explosive right out of the gates with Melendez slamming Zimmerman in an attempt to escape a hold. Zimmerman was trying for a Triangle with over a minute left. It was turned into an Armbar that Melendez was able to endure until the end of the round. The second round was fought mostly up against the cage. Melendez was dominant with striking while Zimmerman was possibly better on the ground. The fight went all three rounds. Keri Melendez won via Split Decision (29-28 Melendez, 29-28 Zimmerman & 29-28 Melendez).

My Scorecard:

Fighter Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Total
Melendez (R) 9 10 10 29
Zimmerman 10 9 9 28

 

  1. The up and comer in MMA Aaron Pico competed against Leandro Higo. Quick in the first round both guys were throwing hands. Higo was even throwing some knees when in clinch. Higo got dropped with punches and got back up quickly. Pico kept up the intensity and took down Higo once again. Higo stayed standing but took numerous unanswered shots. While the Pico put on a good performance, the ref really let this go too long. Pico continues to never leave the first round in his MMA career.

My Scorecard:

Fighter Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Total
Pico
Higo

 

  1. Bellator has had lots of news swirl around about their Welterweight tournament. News broke days ago that of all people, 50 Cent will put forward $1 Million Dollars that goes to the winner of the tournament. It begins tonight with Douglas Lima versus Andrey Koreshkov in a quarter-final fight. This fight is scheduled for five rounds. Round one was primarily against the cage. The second round found itself in a similar position after very methodical stand up. Lima was able to get more strikes in the third round, giving him the round on my scorecard. In between round three and four the broadcast showed that UFC 2-division champion Daniel Cormier is in attendance. Koreshkov got stunned at the 10 second warning of round 4. In the fifth round, Lima put in a Rear Naked Choke after strikes to get the win.

My Scorecard:

Fighter Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Total
Lima 9 10 10 10
Koreshkov 10 9 9 9

 

  1. In the co-main event slot tonight, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson faced Wanderlei Silva for the fourth time in their career. If Jackson gets the win, he ties the rivalry 2-2. When the two fighters met in the middle before the bell there was no glove touch. At the start of the first round Jackson taunted Silva, signalling to try to hit him. A minute and a half into the first round, Silva was pushed to the cage after being rocked by some strikes. These two both had great combinations after what was a slow first half of the first round. The first round came to a close with both fighters taunting each other. At the start of round two both guys were teeing off. With three minutes left Silva went into a clinch after being shook by a left-right combination. With 30 seconds left in the second round, Jackson dropped Silva with a left and right hook then continued to hit him on the ground until the ref called off the fight. After the fight Rampage said that everyone should respect Wanderlei because nobody else is like him.

My Scorecard:

Fighter Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Total
Jackson 10
Silva 9

 

  1. Finally, to cover the main event of the evening. In a champ versus champ bout, Gegard Mousasi fights Rory MacDonald. The first round was stand up only, with Mousasi winning it on my scorecard. In the second round MacDonald shot for a takedown but only later would he find out that it was very much to his detriment. Mousasi was able to land tons of shots on the ground and win the fight via stoppage. This ended the evening of fights.

My Scorecard:

Fighter Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Total
Mousasi 10
MacDonald 9

As Bellator now has this show in their rear view mirror, they look to their doubleheader weekend coming up in two weeks. The two cards decide the finalists in the Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix. Matt Mitrione battles Ryan Bader in Uncasville, CT on the 12th, and the next night Fedor Emelianenko fights Chael Sonnen. That bout takes place in Uniondale, NY. In the MMA world outside of Bellator, there’s a lot going on. This weekend isn’t even over, as RIZIN puts on RIZIN.13 in only a few hours from now. Next week Conor McGregor battles Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. Below them on the fight card is 12 other bouts.

Anthony Joshua Gets Stoppage Alexander Povetkin In The Seventh Round

It was a return to his old self for Anthony Joshua when he closed out his bout against Alexander Povetkin on Saturday. After getting a decision win for the first time earlier this year against Joseph Parker, Joshua was able to finish Povetkin at Wembley. This was Joshua’s third time fighting at the 90,000 capacity venue, last time was when he defeated Wladimir Klitschko in early 2017.

On my personal scorecard the first two rounds went to Povetkin. Joshua wasn’t showing any aggression while Povetkin already looked comfortable. While Povetkin definitely stayed active it was Joshua who took round three and four. Round five was a bit of a bump in the road with Povetkin winning it on my scoresheet. It was tied going into round seven, but because of the result none of this mattered.

In round 7 Joshua started to repeatedly rock Povetkin with strikes. The first time he fell was from a right hook. He had immense trouble standing back up, with half of his torso being out of the ring at one point. It would have been completely justifiable to end the fight here. The ref gave him another chance, only to be floored once again seconds later. Anthony Joshua stays undefeated coming out of the Wembley fight, and definitely stays on many people’s Pound For Pound lists.

My Scoresheet:

Fighter R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 R11 R12 Total
Joshua 9 9 10 10 9 10 W
Povetkin 10 10 9 9 10 9 L

Bellator 205 Full Report: McKee Wins In The First Round

This weekend’s Bellator event feels like a primer for what comes next week. In 8 days Bellator will pack the SAP Center in San Jose, California. The show will have a Heavyweight battle between Rampage Jackson and Wanderlei Silva, and also a Champion versus Champion bout in the Middleweight division when Gegard Mousasi faces Rory MacDonald. But until then, we have this card to view. Live from Boise, Idaho in the Centurylink Arena, the main event is a Featherweight battle between John Macapa and the still undefeated A.J. McKee. Below them on the main card was three other fights.

The main card began with Patricky Pitbull versus Roger Huerta in a Lightweight bout. Pitbull got rocked early in the first round, but recovered while answering back with strikes of his own. Pitbull really knew when to pick his spots when it comes to stand up fighting. Huerta really picked up the pace at the end of the round. With around 25 seconds left in the first, Pitbull got a takedown. At the start of the second round Huerta got dropped with strikes. Somehow, Huerta held on for 10 more seconds before the ref waved it off. By the time round one was halfway through you could tell that this fight would not be going the whole 15 minutes.

My Scorecard:

Fighter Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Total
Pitbull 9
Huerta 10

Continuing on with the main card was Veta Arteaga versus Denise Kielholtz in a Flyweight bout. Arteaga had the crowd behind her since she was billed from Boise. Kielholtz seemed to want to keep it standing up in the first round while Arteaga went for a takedown many times. In the second round Arteaga got her first significant battle on the ground. After Kielholtz unpredictably shot for a takedown, while getting back up Arteaga was able to get a Guillotine. After fully locking in the standing Guillotine, Kielholtz tapped to end the fight. After the fight Veta said that she thinks that she deserves a title shot.

My Scorecard:

Fighter Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Total
Arteaga 9
Kielholtz 10

In the co-main event slot tonight, the undefeated Middleweight Rafael Lovato Jr. fought John Salter. The first round was purely stand up, which came as a shock because of how much the grappling of these two fighters was hyped up. In the second round, Lovato Jr. dropped Salter then went down for a Guillotine. Interesting how they stayed standing for so long with no desperation for ground game until there was a necessary moment to go there. The final few minutes of the round had the grappling that was billed for the bout. More than halfway into the third round, Lovato was wailing away on Salter while on the ground. Lovato Jr. got a submission in after repeated ground and pound to make Salter tap. After the fight, Lovato Jr. asked for a title shot after the fight. His post-fight interview/promo was very good.

My Scorecard:

Fighter Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Total
Lovato Jr. 10 10
Salter 9 9

The main event of the evening was John Teixeira versus A.J. McKee. It’s a 23 year old undefeated fighter in McKee versus Teixeira, a fighter at age 31 with much more experience under his belt. Early in the first round there was an amazing catch of a spinning back kick from Teixeira. Only moments later, Teixeira got dropped by a left hand to end the bout very early. McKee did not have to land any more strikes after just the one. McKee wins and improves his undefeated streak to 12-0. Like many others on this show, McKee asked for a title shot in his post-fight interview. This wrapped up Bellator’s final show before they make their DAZN exclusive debut on their Saturday night broadcast next week.

My Scorecard:

Fighter Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Total
McKee
Teixeira

 

Jon Jones Issued 15 Month USADA Suspension

This afternoon it was announced formally by USADA that UFC fighter Jon Jones has been issued a 15 month suspension due to his failed UFC 214 drug test. What was originally planned to be a 30 month suspension was shortened to half it’s length after Jon provided USADA with “substantial assistance.” Jones’ suspension is set to expire on October 28.

Jon has since then issued a statement on many social media platforms. He finished his Instagram post about the matter saying “Greatness is what I’m chasing and the path to reclaiming my throne is now officially open. Comeback Season begins now.”

NXT UK TV Taping To Include Women’s Championship Match This Weekend

Long-time British LAN/gaming convention Insomnia plays host to a NXT UK TV taping this weekend. Taking place on Saturday and Sunday, the tapings have gotten championship implications added to them, as a tournament to find the first NXT UK Women’s Champion has been announced by WWE. The talent announced for the tournament is Toni Storm, Jinny, Isla Dawn, Millie McKenzie, Nina Samuels, Dakota Kai, Rhea Ripley & Xia Brookside.

Erick Rowan Potentially Injured In Summerslam Match

Late Monday Night, Mike Johnson of PWInsider reported that Erick Rowan was injured in his Summerslam match. There has only been speculation as to what Rowan has suffered so far. Rowan did not appear at Monday Night’s house show for the Smackdown brand, although his partner Luke Harper did. Teaming with Luke Harper on Sunday night, Rowan fought The New Day, losing via DQ but retaining the belts.

List Of Wrestlers Announced To Be At ROH’s Death Before Dishonor TV Taping

Last week news broke that KUSHIDA would be at the Death Before Dishonor TV taping in Las Vegas. This week Ring Of Honor broke that fellow New Japan wrestler SANADA will be at the show as well. ROH released a list of names this week that will also be at the TV taping. Those names were: Jay Lethal, Cody, The Young Bucks, The Briscoes, Punishment Martinez, Sumie Sakai, Marty Scurll, Adam Page, KUSHIDA, SoCal Uncensored, EVIL, SANADA, Bully Ray, Silas Young, Flip Gordon, Kenny King & Chris Sabin. No matches have been announced for the show yet. The TV taping takes place on September 29th, the night after the Death Before Dishonor iPPV. The only match set for that so far is Bullet Club versus CHAOS in a 10-man tag team match.