Bellator 238: Budd vs. Cyborg Full Coverage

Bellator’s first event of 2020 was a big one, welcoming former UFC Champion Cris Cyborg to the promotion with a championship fight. Facing Julia Budd in the main event, Cyborg got the fight for the Bellator Featherweight Championship. The card also saw many other Bellator debuts, returning prospects and the continuation of the Featherweight Grand Prix.

Quick Results

Bout 1: Miguel Jacob def. David Pacheco via Decision, Unanimous

Bout 2: Anthony Taylor def. Chris Avila via Decision, Majority

Bout 3: Curtis Millender def. Moses Murrietta via Decision, Unanimous

Bout 4: Jay-Jay Wilson def. Mario Navarro via Submission, Armbar (RD 2, 2:48)

Bout 5: AJ Agazarm def. Adel Altamimi via Submission, Armbar (RD 3, 1:22)

Bout 6: Aaron Pico def. Daniel Carey via KO, Punch (RD 2, 0:15)

Bout 7: Joshua Jones def. Brandon Bender via Decision, Unanimous

Bout 8: Emilee King def. Ava Knight via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 2:18)

Bout 9: Raymond Daniels def. Jason King via TKO, Punches (RD 1, 3:07)

Bout 10: Sergio Pettis def. Alfred Khashakyan via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 1, 3:00)

Bout 11: Juan Archuleta def. Henry Corrales via Decision, Unanimous

Bout 12: Darrion Caldwell def. Adam Borics via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 2:20) (Bellator Featherweight Grand-Prix Quarter-Finals)

Bout 13: Cris Cyborg def. Julia Budd via TKO, Punches (RD 4, 1:14) (Bellator Featherweight Championship)

Bout 14: Ricardo Seixas def. Dominic Clark via TKO, Punches (RD 1, 0:34)

Bout 15: Tony Bartovich def. Jarett Conner via Decision, Unanimous)

Full Coverage

Bout 1: Miguel Jacob (3-0) vs. David Pacheco (1-0) (Welterweight)

The preliminary card started with someone’s undefeated record being put to an end. David Pacheco fought Miguel Jacob in a welterweight competition. The fight started with quite active striking from both fighters. Jacob was connecting more often. Jacob put the fight in a clinch against the cage in the second minute. They went back to stand-up about a minute later.

An eye poke happened to Jacob early in the second round, causing a pause. When they resumed, Jacob continued to be the more active striker. A cut around Pacheco’s right eye became apparent. Jacob was constantly moving to the side or backwards. While Jacob was benefitting more from the exchanges, both fighters were fighting a very fast pace.

That previously mentioned pace picked up right where it left off when the final round started. The round was practically the same as the two before, going the distance. When heading to the scorecards, it was Miguel Jacob who kept his undefeated record, with a unanimous decision victory (30-27, 30-26 & 30-27).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Jacob	10	10	10	30
Pacheco	9	9	9	27

Bout 2: Anthony Taylor (6-5) vs. Chris Avila (6-8) (Lightweight)

Coming in on a four-fight winning streak, Anthony Taylor returned to Bellator to battle Chris Avila. Taylor countered a kick with a punch early which tripped Avila. Taylor was backpedalling throughout the round but found success as a counter-striker. In the fourth minute of the round, Avila scored a good overhand right. They went in a clinch for a little before going back to striking. Taylor got a single leg takedown before the round ended. After the bell, Avila shoved Taylor off of him with his leg. Taylor clearly was offended by this.

Taylor continued to counter-strike in the second round. He did an interesting thing a few times, finishing a combination by pushing Avila away.

In the second minute of the final round, Taylor tried for another takedown. Avila was able to avoid it, with Avila getting some strikes in from close range. He scored a takedown a minute later. Avila tried for an armbar, getting top position in the process. Taylor escaped the armbar, and they both stood back up. 30 seconds later, Taylor shot for another takedown. They went to the ground, but on the way down Avila started to try for a kimura. They stood back up, where Avila was on Taylor’s back for a moment. Avila then tried for a guillotine as Taylor shot for another takedown. They stood back up with one minute left in the fight. Avila got on Taylor’s back, then switching to a normal clinch before separating. Both fatigued, Taylor and Avila were swinging wildly in the closing seconds. Needing judges to decide who won, it was Anthony Taylor who won through a rare majority decision (28-28, 29-28 & 29-28).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Taylor	10	10	9	29
Avila	9	9	10	28

Bout 3: Curtis Millender (17-5) vs. Moses Murrietta (8-3) (Catchweight 180 lbs)

The next preliminary fight saw former UFC fighter Curtis Millender making his Bellator debut against Moses Murrietta. At the very start, Millender looked to try to do a glove touch but was punched. Both fighters were throwing hard and fast strikes right off the bat. Millender’s jab was lightning fast. A combination of punches had Murrietta backing up in the final minute of the first round.

A left hook dropped Murrietta in the first minute of the second round. Millender wasn’t in any rush to finish the fight, slowly walking towards Murrietta as he was recovering. A right cross from Millender 30 seconds later made Murrietta’s legs shake a little. It was clear that Millender had gotten into a groove. Millender got a double leg takedown in the final minute of the round. He tried for a darce choke before the bell went.

Murrietta continued to take shots, mostly jabs, in the final round. His movement implied he had injured his lead left leg. Murrietta shot for a takedown with over two minutes left in the fight, although Millender stayed against the cage and eventually returned to striking. As the fight was nearing it’s end, it felt like Murrietta was the less fatigued fighter. Millender landed a german suplex takedown in the final 20 seconds of the round. The fight went all 15 minutes, going to the scorecards to find a winner. Putting an end to his two-fight losing streak, Curtis Millender got a dominant unanimous decision victory in his Bellator debut (30-27, 30-26 & 30-26).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Millender	10	10	10	30
Murrietta	9	9	9	27

Bout 4: Jay-Jay Wilson (4-0) vs. Mario Navarro (4-5) (Featherweight)

Still undefeated as a professional, Jay-Jay Wilson was pitted against fellow featherweight Mario Navarro in the next bout. Wilson shot for a takedown in the first minute, putting Navarro up against the cage instead. Wilson threw some good knees in the clinch, getting a trip takedown after a minute. Wilson went wild with ground and pound, throwing dozens of punches. They stood up in the final minute, with Navarro throwing down Wilson and taking top position. Overall a great first round for Wilson.

Wilson threw an overhand right and then scored a takedown to start the second round. Wilson transitioned to Navarro’s back, trying for a twister. Navarro escaped and took the top position in side control. Wilson was able to get on Navarro’s back. He threw some punches before trying for a rear naked choke. He switched to an armbar, which got fully extended, causing the referee to step in and end the fight. After one and a half rounds of one-sided competition, Jay-Jay Wilson extended his record to five in a row.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Wilson	10
Navarro	8

Bout 5: AJ Agazarm (2-1) vs. Adel Altamimi (8-6) (Featherweight)

The next matchup saw AJ Agazarm and Adel Altamimi fight in a featherweight battle. Agazarm shot for a takedown early on, eating two punches after failing to get to the ground. He did not succeed to get the fight to the ground two more times. Altamimi caught a leg kick, throwing a punch and tripping Agazarm. Altamimi landed a loud kick to the body in the second minute. Agazarm tried again for a takedown, failing to get it there. The crowd booed when Agazarm paced around the cage for a moment. Agazarm came in with a combination in the final minute that seemingly shaking Altamimi with one. There was many more takedown attempts throughout the round which did not work for Agazarm. The fighters got in eachother’s faces after the bell

Agazarm got dropped in the second minute of the second round with a left hook. Agazarm was hit with hammerfist punches on the ground and a few hooks on the feet. He shot for a takedown which gave him time to recover. Agazarm finally got a takedown halfway through the round. Altamimi tried for an armbar, but Agazarm escaped. Agazarm tried for his own armbar on the ground. Agazarm tried for a rear naked choke, then went into full mount landing some strikes. Altamimi flipped on his stomach again where Agazarm threatened the rear naked choke. It was put in, although Altamimi slipped out of it. The second round was quite the turn of events, going from a near stoppage in favour of Altamimi to a dominant ground game from Agazarm.

Altamimi got shook by punches at the start of the final round. Altamimi shot for a single leg, maybe what was his first takedown attempt of the fight. Agazarm threw some punches while Altamimi still had ahold of one of his legs. Agazarm was able to look for an armbar, which made Altamimi tap out. Altamimi protested the stoppage despite tapping. After two very back and forth rounds, AJ Agazarm didn’t have to worry about the scorecards by making Adel Altamimi tap out.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Agazarm	9	9
Altamimi	10	10

Bout 6: Aaron Pico (4-3) vs. Daniel Carey (7-3) (Featherweights)

In the next fight, Aaron Pico attempted to end his two-fight losing streak by facing Daniel Carey. Pico got a well-timed double leg takedown a minute into the fight. He threw some elbows from half guard. Pico kept in control on the ground with ground and pound until the final few seconds of the round.

In the opening seconds of the second round, Pico landed a left hook which knocked Carey out cold. Getting back into the winning column, Aaron Pico put on a highlight-reel knockout.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Pico	10
Carey	9

Bout 7: Brandon Bender (12-1) vs. Joshua Jones (9-5) (Catchweight 160 lbs)

The final preliminary fight was a catchweight fight between Brandon Bender and Joshua Jones. Jones came flying at Bender with a flying knee at the start, although it did not connect. Jones caught a kick and countered with one of his own in the second minute. Bender scored a right hook that made Jones grin. Slipping while coming forward, Bender pulled guard on the ground. Bender got on Jones’ back. A cut below Jones’ left eye started to bleed. Jones started to stand up, although Bender started to squeeze for a rear naked choke. Bender landed on his back on the ground. Jones did ground and pound from top position. Bender almost got a heel hook in as the round ended.

Jones got a double leg takedown in the first minute of the second round. Bender was able to flip over into top position halfway through the round. Bender was quick to flip the position back over. Jones started with ground and pound more in the final minute of the round.

They went into a clinch at the start of the third round. Both fighters were clearly tired in the final round. Bender had some good punches coming forward. Jones got the fight to the ground with just over half the round left. After the fight ended, Jones told the broadcast that wrestling is better than jiu-jitsu. When going to decision, Joshua Jones added his win count to double digits (30-26, 30-27 & 29-27).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Bender	10	9	9	28
Jones	9	10	10	29

Bout 8: Ava Knight (1-0) vs. Emilee King (3-3) (Strawweight)

Former boxer Ava Knight had her second pro MMA fight to kick off the main card, fighting Emilee King. Knight opened with hard punches. King brought the fight to the ground, pulling guard. King put in a guillotine choke, which had Knight in trouble quickly. She popped out of the choke, with King trying for an armbar next. That didn’t work either, with Knight taking top position. King was able to get on Knight’s back, slipping in a rear naked choke, flattening Knight out. She kept with the choke until Knight went cold, ending the fight. In her Bellator debut, Emilee King made headlines about her, stopping Ava Knight within one round.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Knight
King

Bout 9: Raymond Daniels (1-1) vs. Jason King (8-5) (Welterweight)

After his wife won in the last fight, Jason King fought kickboxer Raymond Daniels. Daniels landed a side kick to the body at the start which dropped King. He got back up and they continued. They traded knees in the clinch, although a pause came after King was hit in the groin. Daniels landed a two-punch combination in the second minute which dropped King. Daniels waited for King to get back up. He dropped King again, this time right a left hook. King fell again, seeming tired and hurt. King shot for a takedown, trying for a leg lock. Daniels went to ground and pound from top position, landing punches until the referee stepped in. Showcasing his brutal striking skills yet again, Raymond Daniels stopped Jason King in a round.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Daniels
King

Bout 10: Sergio Pettis (18-5) vs. Alfred Khashakyan (11-4) (Bantamweight)

Before the next fight, Ryan Bader versus Vadim Nemkov for the Bellator Light Heavyweight Championship was announced for May 9th at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, USA. The next matchup saw former UFC fighter Sergio Pettis have his first Bellator fight, facing Alfred Khashakyan. Pettis landed a good counter-right in the first minute. Halfway through the round, Pettis landed a punch that dropped Khashakyan. He landed many more punches before putting in a guillotine choke that put Khashakyan out cold. In what could only be described as a brutal debut, Sergio Pettis added another win to his pro record.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Pettis
Khashakyan

Bout 11: Henry Corrales (17-4) vs. Juan Archuleta (23-2) (Featherweights)

After failing to dethrone Patricio Pitbull, Juan Archuleta returns to fight Henry Corrales. The first minute of the fight was somewhat inactive striking. As the round continued on, they both started to throw more punches but nobody connected cleanly with much. The crowd became a little restless near the end of the round. Archuleta shot for the takedown in the final seconds of the first round.

Archuleta was on the outside of the cage for most of the second round, coming in for combinations. Archuleta avoided punches and grabbed Corrales for a takedown with two minutes left. They got back up moments after. Corrales got a takedown in the last 10 seconds of the fight, starting ground and pound but not getting started until the round ended.

Corrales landed a good right hook in the second minute of the final round which clearly hurt Archuleta. He did not get to follow up with much more. The crowd started to boo again with a minute left in the fight. They had a good exchange of punches as the fight ended. Archuleta got on the cage and flipped off the disapproving crowd after the bell. When going to the scorecard, Juan Archuleta got the unanimous decision win (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Corrales	10	10	9
Archuleta	9	9	10

Bout 12: Darrion Caldwell (13-3) vs. Adam Borics (14-0) (Featherweight Grand Prix Quarter-Final)

The co-main event of the evening saw a quarter-final fight in the Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix between Darrion Caldwell and undefeated Adam Borics. Caldwell got a takedown a minute into the fight. Borics went to the cage and tried to get up. While they were on their knees, Caldwell got on the back of Borics. Caldwell put in a rear naked choke eventually which made Borics tap out quickly. Ending the undefeated record of Borics and advancing to the semi-finals, Darrion Caldwell made quick work of this fight.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Total
Caldwell
Borics

Bout 13: Julia Budd (13-2) vs. Cris Cyborg (21-2) (Bellator Featherweight Championship)

In the main event of the evening, Cris Cyborg made her Bellator debut, challenging for Julia Budd’s Bellator Featherweight Championship. Cyborg landed body punches early on. They went into a clinch in the first minute. Budd had Cyborg against the cage. They separated after Cyborg threw a knee to the head and a punch. Cyborg got a takedown in the second minute, with Budd getting up moments after still in the clinch. Cyborg landed lots of knees to the body in the clinch. They went back to striking with two minutes left. Cyborg slipped while throwing a kick, allowing Budd to take top position on the ground. Budd went into side control after avoiding an armbar. She switched to north-south. Budd was holding Cyborg by the head and landed a knee strike, which made the referee step in as it was a grounded knee. They resumed in stand-up. Cyborg dropped Budd with a punch, then took top position on the ground. Cyborg got some hammerfist strikes in as the round ended.

Cyborg caught a leg and dumped Budd at the start of the second round. Cyborg threw punches to Budd when she got up, then held her against the cage. They switched between stand-up striking and clinch work over and over. Budd landed a good elbow when they went back to stand-up. Budd seemingly was doing better in stand-up in this round. Cyborg scored good knees in the clinch. Budd shot for a takedown in the closing seconds of the round, but did not get it and ate a knee to the head for her troubles.

Just like in the rounds before, they went into a clinch very quickly. They went back to stand-up around halfway through the round. Cyborg got a takedown with two minutes left. Cyborg got up while Budd was still grounded. After avoiding some upkicks, Cyborg got back to the ground in side control. Cyborg got in full mount and did fast ground and pound for the final few seconds of the round.

In the fourth round, Cyborg started to throw strikes like crazy. Mixing together strikes to the head and body, Cyborg dropped Budd to win the fight. After three dominant rounds, Cris Cyborg turned up the intensity in the fourth round to become the new Bellator Featherweight Champion.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Total
Budd	9	9	9
Cyborg	10	10	10

Bout 14: Ricardo Seixas (8-2) vs. Dominic Clark (14-9) (Lightweight)

After the main event, there was two postlim fights. The first of the two was between Ricardo Seixas and Dominic Clark. Seixas landed a front kick which dropped Clark in the first minute. After a few more strikes on the ground, the referee stepped in to end the fight. Ending his two-fight losing streak, Ricardo Seixas stopped Dominic Clark in quick time with a rare front kick.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Seixas
Clark

Bout 15: Tony Bartovich (0-0) vs. Jarett Conner (0-0) (Featherweight)

The final fight of the evening was between debuting fighters Tony Bartovich and Jarett Conner. While Bartovich kept trying for clinches, Conner was throwing more strikes. Conner came in for a clinch, but Bartovich got a takedown from it. They stood back up still in the clinch. When they separated, Bartovich put together a combo of punches that connected. He shot for another takedown, landing it after a little resistance. Bartovich kept on Conner for many minutes. They returned to striking for the final 10 seconds of the fight.

Bartovich shot for a takedown in the first minute of the second round, although Conner stopped it. Upon second attempt, Bartovich was successful. Conner got top position for the final minutes of the round.

The fighters went into a clinch as the final round started. Bartovich got a takedown in the second minute. They got up with under two minutes left in the round still in a clinch. Bartovich threw some strikes in the clinch. Conner left the clinch in the final minute and charged forward with punches. After getting hit by some punches, Bartovich shot for a takedown. Conner took top position on the ground as the fight ran out of time. All three judges were in agreement that Tony Bartovich won, earning his first victory as a pro (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28)

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Bartovich	10	10	9
Conner	9	9	10

Bellator will return in February, with two events in one weekend, starting on the 21st with Bellator 239 and then Bellator Dublin on February 22nd.

Laying Down Leather #10: Bellator 238, RIZIN, and Special Announcement!

Good morning and welcome to another edition of Laying Down Leather, the casual blog post discussing my thoughts on events throughout the past week. There’s a lot to discuss this week so let’s jump in.

Before the MMA thoughts, I have a very special announcement. On February 3rd, I will launch my new MMA news site, Knockdown News! This will be my final week doing MMA coverage on JackWannan.com, with the coverage switching next week.

It feels like a new chapter to me. One where I can continue to do what I love and hopefully reach more people. Also, I have many new ideas for the site. Some I’ve already unveiled at KnockdownNews.com, and some will be rolled out in the coming months.

Anyway, no more about me…

MMA

I did not catch much MMA this week due to my work. But, I am slowly working through the week.

Cris Cyborg had a successful Bellator debut on Saturday, stopping Julia Budd in the fourth round. The fight was amazing to me as it was another example of the nonstop pace that Cyborg can work. To say it’s impressive is an understatement.

Read: Cris Cyborg Claims Bellator Featherweight Championship, Stopping Budd In Four Rounds

I’m happy that Darrion Caldwell advanced into the next round. It sucks to see Adam Borics take his first loss as a pro, but obviously, we will see him again. Caldwell versus McKee in the next round should be really fun. I wonder how long we’ll have to wait to see that. Hopefully enough time for me to decide who I think will win.

Read: Darrion Caldwell Advances In Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix With First Round Stoppage

Um, I think many expected Sergio Pettis to have a good debut in Bellator, but did many expect that? That was pretty, well, uh, brutal for his opponent.

Unrelated to Bellator, but I watched CES on Friday and quite enjoyed it. I have not followed CES closely in the past, but they put on some good fights and had a pretty good television product for a regional MMA promotion. I’ll check them out again soon.

Read the full coverage of CES 60

RIZIN announced many fights for RIZIN 21, and I have a few thoughts.

The elephant in the room is that it’s a weak card. And while this could change, it currently lacks any of the promotion’s major stars. This wasn’t a shocker to me since everyone just fought a month ago.

With that being said, I’m happy to see Roque Martinez and Kyle Aguon on the card. The representation of Guam in JMMA is such an interesting crossover.

What’s Ahead

This week I’ll have my late full scouting reports of UFC on ESPN+ 24 and Bellator 238 out on the site. Before switching over to Knockdown News on Monday, I’ll have live coverage of ONE Championship on Friday morning.

Laying Down Leather will continue as a Monday morning series on Knockdown News.

Have a great week!

Cris Cyborg Claims Bellator Featherweight Championship, Stopping Budd In Four Rounds

Cris Cyborg stopped Julia Budd in the fourth round with strikes, becoming the new Bellator Featherweight Champion at Bellator 238, from The Forum in Inglewood, California, USA.

After three dominant rounds, Cyborg upped the intensity at the start of the fourth round, scoring head and body strikes which overwhelmed Budd. After Budd was dropped by strikes, referee Mike Beltran stepped in to end the fight.

The fight was the Bellator debut for the Brazilian fighter.

Cyborg fought in the UFC from 2016 to 2019, being the UFC Featherweight Champion for four fights, losing her belt to Amanda Nunes in late 2018.

Coincidentally, her loss to Nunes also came at the venue of Saturday’s Bellator event.

“This is new era. I am very happy to be Bellator champion,” said Cyborg after the fight.

Budd had defended her Bellator Featherweight Championship three times before losing it on Saturday.

“I’m so disappointed … It’s hard,” reflected Budd after the fight.

In the co-main event of the show, Darrion Caldwell stopped Adam Borics within a round, advancing to the semi-finals of the Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix.

Bellator returns with a back-to-back weekend of events on February 21st and 22nd.

Darrion Caldwell Advances In Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix With First Round Stoppage

Darrion Caldwell advanced to the semi-finals of the Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix on Saturday, making Adam Borics tap out in the first round at Bellator 238 at The Forum in Inglewood, California, USA.

The win for Caldwell advanced him to 14-3 as a pro, ending the undefeated record of Borics.

Caldwell earned a takedown after a minute of stand-up. He got on Borics’ back and put in a rear naked choke, which made Borics tap out quickly.

With this win, Caldwell will fight AJ McKee in the semi-finals of the tournament. The other side of the bracket is still yet to be determined, with Patricio Pitbull vs. Pedro Carvalho and Daniel Weichel vs. Emmanuel Sanchez set for March 13th.

Caldwell’s last win prior to this fight was over Henry Corrales, going to decision after three rounds. In the fight before that, Caldwell lost to Kyoji Horiguchi, losing his Bellator Bantamweight Championship.

The main event of Bellator 238 was Cris Cyborg challenging Julia Budd for the Bellator Featherweight Championship.

Bellator 238: Budd vs. Cyborg Preview

Bellator will kick off it’s 2020 schedule on Saturday with the promotion debut of Cris Cyborg. Fighting for the first time outside of the UFC since 2016, she will challenge for Julio Budd’s Featherweight Championship in a five-round fight. The stacked card features many returning Bellator names, many other former-UFC fighters debuting and the continuation of the Featherweight Grand Prix. In the promotion’s return to The Forum in Inglewood, California, USA, this is Bellator 238.

Click here to jump to the main card.

Prelims

Bout 1: Tony Bartovich (0-0) vs. Jarett Conner (0-0) (Featherweight)

The preliminary portion of the card features a matchup between two debuting featherweights. Conner had a 2-4 record in amateur MMA, with Bartovich going 2-1. It’s worth noting that some of the preliminary fights could be bumped to the postlim spot, depending on how they go about scheduling the card.

Bout 2: Miguel Jacob (3-0) vs. David Pacheco (1-0) (Welterweight)

Undefeated welterweights Miguel Jacob and David Pacheco will be put against each other in the next prelim fight. Pacheco’s pro debut was in Bellator nearly a year ago, stopping Jorge Juarez. Jacob will be making his Bellator debut, picking up all three of his previous wins in the regional MMA promotion Fight Club OC.

Bout 3: Anthony Taylor (6-5) vs. Chris Avila (7-8) (Lightweight)

Anthony Taylor will see his return to Bellator this weekend, after fighting elsewhere for seven fights. Taylor made his debut in Bellator, going on a 1-3 run before going to other promotions. All three losses came via rear naked choke, with notable losses over James Gallagher and Adam Borics (who fights later on this card). He has since fought in high-level regionals like BAMMA and Combate Americas, currently riding a four-fight winning streak. His opponent, Chris Avila, will try to break even on his MMA record with this fight. He is 1-1 in Bellator, most recently losing to Brandon Faumui in April.

Bout 4: Brandon Bender (12-1) vs. Joshua Jones (9-5) (Featherweight)

After disappearing from the MMA scene for nearly six years, Brandon Bender will make his return against Joshua Jones on this undercard. Bender has an impressive 12-1 record, with his most recent (if you want to say recent) fight being a win over Mario Navarro at Bellator 116 in 2014, bouncing back from his sole loss. Around the same time, Jones debuted as a pro. He is 2-2 in his Bellator career so far, having two fights outside of the promotion within that timespan.

Bout 5: Curtis Millender (17-5) vs. Moses Murrietta (8-3) (Catchweight 175 lbs.)

Similar to Cris Cyborg’s fight, Curtis Millender will be having his first fight after his UFC run. Millender’s UFC career ended at 3-2, after losing to Belal Muhammad in April. He faces Moses Murrietta, who will also be debuting in Bellator. Murrietta has fought in LFA recently, although his last two fights were losses, including a 24 second stoppage.

Bout 6: AJ Agazarm (2-1) vs. Adel Altamimi (8-6) (Featherweight)

California-based Bellator fighters AJ Agazarm and Adel Altamimi are booked against eachother for the next preliminary matchup. Agazarm has had his short pro career fully in Bellator, going 2-1. Altamimi made his Bellator debut in 2019, defeating Brandon McMahan with an armbar. He recently lost a scorecard battle against Salim Mukhidinov, and will attempt to bounce back from that loss on Saturday.

Bout 7: Aaron Pico (4-3) vs. Daniel Carey (7-3) (Featherweight)

In 2018, Aaron Pico was known as one of Bellator’s biggest rising stars. However, back-to-back losses in 2019 have made people skeptical if Pico was actually worth what he was made out to be. He will be put against Daniel Carey on Saturday, with a loss extending the longest losing streak of his short career. All of Pico’s fights, win or loss, have all ended via stoppage. His last two losses came to Henry Corales and Adam Borics. Carey is 3-2, recently winning over Gaston Bolanos in September with a guillotine choke.

Bout 8: Ricardo Seixas Filho (8-2) vs. Dominic Clark (14-9) (Lightweight)

Also on the preliminary card, Cali fighters Ricardo Seixas Filho and Dominic Clark will battle. Both are coming off of losses, with Clark’s in Bellator against Joshua Jones. Filho’s last two fights were losses in LFA in 2018.

Bout 9: Jay Jay Wilson (4-0) vs. Mario Navarro (4-5) (Featherweight)

Undefeated Bellator fighter Jay Jay Wilson will bring Mario Navarro back to the cage in the next fight. Wilson had an explosive 2019, getting three wins, two of them in Bellator. Navarro has fought in Bellator before, but his last match was over three years ago, being a loss to Chinzo Machida.

Main Card

Bout 10: Ava Knight (1-0) vs. Emilee Gettys (3-3) (Strawweight)

The main card begins with former boxer Ava Knight had a successful MMA debut three months ago, stopping Shannon Goughardy with body strikes on a Bellator card. In her second match, Knight will be paired against Emilee Gettys. Knight has a 19-2-5 record as a professional boxer, with her career spanning from 2007 to 2019. Gettys is on a three-fight winning streak, taking her career from a 0-3 record to an even record. The fight will be the debut of Gettys in Bellator.

Bout 11: Raymond Daniels (1-1) vs. Jason King (8-5) (Welterweight)

Experienced kickboxer Raymond Daniels will return to MMA in a fight with Jason King on the main card. Daniels has 35-3 kickboxing record, fighting in Bellator Kickboxing and GLORY in the past few years. His most recent MMA fight was a knockout of Wilker Barros with a flash right hook which made the rounds online. King is seemingly a good matchup for Daniels, having most of his wins and losses from striking battles. King has fought quite a bit in Valor FC, getting a first-round stoppage over Brian Jackson in November.

Bout 12: Juan Archuleta (23-2) vs. Henry Corrales (17-4) (Featherweight)

The next main card fight sees two eliminated fighters from the featherweight grand prix fight. Juan Archuleta, who lost to Patricio Pitbull, will fight Henry Corrales, who lost to Darrion Caldwell. The loss for Archuleta broke his impressive 18-fight winning streak. Corrales was riding a five-fight streak, not being favoured on the scorecards when fighting Caldwell.

Bout 13: Sergio Pettis (18-5) vs. Alfred Khashakyan (11-4) (Bantamweight)

As part of the trio of debuting former-UFC fighters on this card, Sergio Pettis will fight Alfre Khashakyan. Pettis fought in UFC 14 times, going back to 2013. While not having fought in the UFC in the past, Khashakyan will also be making his Bellator. In 2019, he on three in a row in 2019 in newly formed regional promotion LXF. Khashakyan’s most well-known fight is a loss to Sean O’Malley, on the series premiere episode of Dana White’s Contender Series.

Bout 14: Darrion Caldwell (13-3) vs. Adam Borics (14-0) (Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix Quarter-Finals)

The co-main event of the evening sees Darrion Caldwell and Adam Borics battle in the quarter-finals of the Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix. Borics debuted in Bellator in 2017, going 5-0 since then, all via stoppage. He stopped Pat Curran with ground and pound in September to advance through the first round of the tournament. Caldwell’s round-of-16 win over Henry Corrales was his first win in a year, losing twice to Kyoji Horiguchi before. The second of the two losses saw Caldwell lose his Bellator Bantamweight Championship. Caldwell has fought all but three of his pro bouts in Bellator (including a fight in RIZIN which was co-promoted by Bellator).

Bout 15: Julia Budd (13-2) vs. Cris Cyborg (21-2) (Bellator Featherweight Championship)

The main event of the evening will is Cris Cyborg taking a shot at the Bellator Featherweight Championship against the current champion Julia Budd. Cyborg’s last UFC fight was a win over Canadian prospect Felicia Spencer. Before that, she lost her UFC Featherweight Championship to Amanda Nunes in under a minute via strikes. The matchup was one which many argued deserved a rematch, but was not made as Cyborg’s departure from the UFC was one that was not on good terms.

Budd has been the promotion’s featherweight champ since 2017, capturing the belt by defeating Marloes Coenen. Since then she has made three defences, most recently against Olga Rubin. Budd’s two career losses come to the prolific Amanda Nunes and Ronda Rousey, although those losses were in 2011. Vegas currently has Cyborg as a heavy favourite, sitting at -450 currently.

Bellator’s next event after this one will be on February 21st, presenting Bellator 239 from the Winstar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma, USA. Headlining the card currently is Ed Rush and Yaroslav Amosov.

Bellator 237: Fedor vs. Rampage Preview

Concluding their 2019 season, Bellator heads to Japan for the first time on Saturday. The card is a co-promoted event with Japanese MMA organization RIZIN Fighting Federation. Many of the fights on the card see representatives from both promotions face off. The two promotions have collaborated in the past, most notably with Kyoji Horiguchi facing former Bellator Bantamweight Champion Darrion Caldwell twice.

Headlining this card is two well-known heavyweights in Fedor Emelianenko and Rampage Jackson. Deep into his career, Emelianenko is recognized as one of the most accomplished mixed-martial artists to never compete in the UFC. A good part of his career took place in Japan, as he competed in now-defunct promotion Pride FC many times. Prior to his UFC and Bellator run, Jackson also had a stint in Pride. While both fighting under the same banner, the two heavyweights never clashed before. Along with the main event is a quite stacked Bellator card, with many fights on it.

Main Card

Bout 1: Goiti Yamauchi (24-4) vs. Daron Cruickshank (22-12) (Lightweight)

In one of the truest Bellator versus RIZIN matches, Goiti Yamauchi faces Daron Cruickshank. What makes it a true promotional clash is the amount of experience each fighter has in their territory. Yamauchi is now 10-3 in Bellator, with Cruickshank being 5-4 in RIZIN. Cruickshank will try to break a two-fight losing streak, as he recently lost to Damien Brown and Tofiq Musaev. Yamauchi fought in October, defeating Saad Awad with a first-round armbar. Yamauchi came in at 157.8 lbs, missing the lightweight limit.

Bout 2: Ilara Joanne (9-4) vs. Kana Watanabe (8-0-1) (Flyweight)

The second women’s bout of the evening will see undefeated Kana Watanabe battle Bellator’s Ilara Joanne. Watanabe has fought primarily in RIZIN and DEEP JEWELS. In RIZIN, she defeated Shizuka Sugiyama twice, once in very brief fashion. She has won three times in 2019, most recently beating Hee Eun Kang on a DEEP JEWELS card. Joanne debuted in Bellator back in October, prevailing over Bec Rawlings with a second-round kneebar. While that was her only win in Bellator, it was over a notable name.

Bout 3: Lorenz Larkin (21-7) vs. K-Taro Nakamura (35-10-2) (Welterweight)

In the next bout of the evening, two former-UFC fighters who now represent different promotions will collide. Lorenz Larkin, who is on a three-fight winning streak in Bellator, will face K-Taro Nakamura, who just won his RIZIN debut back in October. Larkin is coming off of a split decision over Andrey Koreshkov at Bellator 229. Nakamura’s win was a brief and dominant one over Marcos Yoshiop de Souza at RIZIN 19. This marked the end of his UFC run, going 4-4 while with the promotion. Larkin missed weight by two-and-a-half pounds, although his fight will go on. It was reported by MMAJunkie that the comission will force Larkin to fight at middleweight in his next bout “unless doctor provides not that drop to 170 is safe.”

Bout 4: Michael Page (16-1) vs. Shinsho Anzai (11-3) (Welterweight)

Bellator’s walking highlight reel Michael “Venom” Page will return on this card, facing former UFC fighter Shinsho Anzai. Page has gotten two dominant wins on recent Bellator shows, making a turnaround from his first pro loss, a brutal knockout at the hands of Douglas Lima. This fight is a quick turnaround for Page, who’s last fight was under a month ago. Anzai finished his UFC career with a 2-2 record, returning to DEEP Impact in September with a win against Yoichiro Sato.

Bout 5: Michael Chandler (19-5) vs. Sidney Outlaw (14-3) (Lightweight)

The co-main event of the evening is a strictly Bellator collision, as Michael Chandler will face Sidney Outlaw. Originally, Chandler was meant to fight Benson Henderson in what would be a rematch from 2016. Henderson was pulled from the fight due to injury, with Outlaw being named the new opponent. The fight is Chandler’s return after losing his Bellator Lightweight Championship to Patricio Pitbull. Outlaw made his Bellator debut just last month, defeating Roger Huerta at Bellator 234.

Bout 6: Fedor Emelianenko (38-6) vs. Quinton Jackson (38-13) (Heavyweight) 44

In the main event, two MMA legends will collide. Fedor Emelianenko and Rampage Jackson will add another fight to their extensive MMA records on Saturday, which currently sits at 95 fights combined. Both fighters have deep ties in Japan. Some of Emelianenko’s best known work comes from his days in Pride FC, being undefeated during his run. Jackson also fought in Pride, although his record was not flawless. Despite both fighting in Pride, they never faced each other. Jackson’s last win was over fellow JMMA superstar Wanderlei Silva, stopping him in the second round at Bellator 206. That was just over a year ago. Since then, Emelianenko has fought twice. He stopped Chael Sonnen in one round at Bellator 208, and recently saw an abrupt loss to Ryan Bader at Bellator 214. While in the main event slot, the fight is only set for three rounds.

Postlims

Bout 7: Sergey Shemetov (9-6) vs. Shoma Shibisai (5-2) (Heavyweight)

After the main event, Saitama Super Arena will see post-lims which feature a mixture of RIZIN and Bellator fighters. It is still up in the air whether the international broadcast will be able to see these fights. One of the first preliminary bouts of the evening is Sergey Shemetov facing Shoma Shibisai. Shemetov is a relative to viral king Vitaly Shemetov, who made his RIZIN debut back at RIZIN 17. Shibisai has competed in Ganryujima pit fighting in the past, winning many times in that promotion. His last RIZIN fight was an openweight victory over Chang Hee Kim, landing in armbar to win in just over a minute.

Bout 8: Ryuichiro Sumimura (14-7) vs. Jon Tuck (10-5) (Lightweight)

Former UFC fighter Jon Tuck was meant to make his Bellator debut in September against Brandon Girtz. Unfortunately, that plan fell through for him. Instead, his debut will come against Ryuichiro Sumimura on this card. Tuck finished his UFC run with a 4-5 record, most recently losing to Drew Dober in 2018. Sumimura has fought mostly in regional promotion DEEP Impact, although has appeared once in RIZIN. In that fight, Sumimura tapped out to now-Bellator fighter Kiichi Kunimoto.

Bout 9: Andy Nguyen (6-8) vs. AI (5-1) (Strawweight)

2019 has been a breakout year for Krazy Bee’s AI. She got noticed by most eyes when she beat underground J-pop idol Nanaka Kawamura on New Year’s Eve with a dominant performance. She then went on to win twice more in promotion DEEP Jewels, then returned at RIZIN 18 to have a very close fight with Tabatha Watkins. Now being dubbed the “Princess Bee,” which follows the lineage of Miyuu Yamamoto being the “Queen Bee,” AI is seen as one of the prospects in JMMA. AI doesn’t have a blood-relation to the Yamamoto family, but like Yusuke Yachi is very representative of the Krazy Bee brand. She will face Andy Nguyen on this Bellator card. Nguyen has a 1-2 record in RIZIN, fighting twice against the previously mentioned Yamamoto.

Bout 10: Yusaku Nakamura (16-6-1) vs. Makoto Shinryu (9-1-1) (Flyweight)

Two experienced JMMA fighters in Yusaku Nakamura and Makoto Shinryu will fight in the next bout. Nakamura’s last fight was a decision win over Topnoi Tiger Muay Thai at RIZIN 16. Before then, he was winless in Bellator, losing to Manel Kape and Tenshin Nasukawa. Shinryu has never fought in RIZIN or Bellator, but has attained an impressive record in DEEP Impact.

Bout 11: Ren Hiramoto vs. Takahiro Ashida (Catchweight 150 lbs) (Kickboxing Rules)

The next fight on the post-lims is the card’s sole kickboxing bout. After being vacant from the kickboxing scene for nearly two years, Ren Hiramoto returns to face MMA fighter Takahiro Ashida. Hiramoto fought in Japanese kickboxing promotion K-1 World, getting 10 wins in his time there. Ashida has been an MMA fighter for his career, fighting all around Japan’s regional scene. He has two wins in 2019, prevailing over Isao Sakiyama and Tatsunao Nagakura.

Bout 12: Jarred Brooks (15-2) vs. Haruo Ochi (19-7-2) (Flyweight)

Back at RIZIN 18, Jarred Brooks and Haruo Ochi were set to face off in a strawweight matchup. The competition ended abruptly however, as a head collision early cut Ochi on the head, making the fight a no contest. They’ll run it back on this Bellator card, this time under the flyweight class. Brooks got a regional American win before this event, defeating Victor Altamirano at WXC 83. Ochi is currently on an impressive seven-fight win streak. Most wins came from the promotion DEEP Impact, with one win being against former-Pancrase Champion Mistuhisa Sunabe at RIZIN 13.

Bout 13: Kanna Asakura (15-4) vs. Jayme Hinshaw (4-3) (Atomweight)

A year ago, Kanna Asakura found herself high on the card of RIZIN 14, attempting to beat Ayaka Hamasaki with the RIZIN Super Atomweight belt on the line. That didn’t go her way, as she lost with a second round armbar ending Hamasaki’s dominant performance. She has went 2-1 in 2019 so far, recently winning over Alesha Zappitella at RIZIN 18. She now faces Jayme Hinshaw, who will be making her debut in Bellator. She had previously fought in King of the Cage for all of her pro-career. While having just slightly more wins than losses, Hinshaw is currently riding a three-fight winning streak.

Bout 14: Hiroto Uesako (16-8) vs. Yusuke Yachi (20-9) (Lightweight)

In an all-RIZIN affair, Hiroto Uesako and Yusuke Yachi face-off in the next preliminary bout. Uesako and Yachi are one of the more well-known lightweights in the promotion. While Yachi has name recognition, he is currently on a three-fight losing streak that dates back to RIZIN 12. Uesako debuted in RIZIN earlier this year, defeating Yves Landu to secure his spot in the Lightweight Grand Prix. He lost in the first round of that tournament to Luiz Gustavo in October.

After this event, Bellator will return in late January with Bellator 238. Headlining the card will be Cris Cyborg, making her Bellator debut against Featherweight Champion Julia Budd. However, before the year concludes, some Bellator talent will be seen on RIZIN’s New Year’s Eve card at Saitama Super Arena.

Bellator 235: Barnett vs. Markes Full Report

In Bellator’s first of two evenings in Honolulu, Hawaii, they presented Bellator 235. Set to main event the card was MMA veteran Josh Barnett and Ronny Markes. During the show, people found out that Barnett was not cleared to fight, making the new main event Toby Misech and Erik Perez. Partnering up with the United Service Organizations, the theme of the show was “Salute The Troops.” Before the four-fight main card, Bellator 235 had three preliminary bouts.

Quick Results:

Prelims:

Bout 1: Cass Bell def. Pierre Daguzan via Unanimous Decision

Bout 2: Joseph Creer def. Ty Gwerder via Unanimous Decision

Bout 3: Hunter Ewald def. Brysen Bolohao via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 1:42)

Main Card

Bout 4: Joey Davis def. Chris Cisneros via TKO, Hammerfists (RD 1, 3:55)

Bout 5: Tywan Claxton def. Braydon Akeo via Unanimous Decision

Bout 6: Alejandra Lara def. Veta Arteaga via Unanimous Decision

Bout 7: Toby Misech def. Erik Perez via KO, Ground and Pound (RD 1, 0:54)

Bout 1: Cass Bell (4-0) vs. Pierre Daguzan (5-3) (Bantamweight)

Kicking off the preliminary card, undefeated Cass Bell fought Pierre Daguzan. The fight was the Bellator debut for Daguzan. Bell threw many kicks early on, including one which Daguzan caught. When another kick was caught in the second minute, Daguzan got a takedown from it. They got back up almost right after. While Daguzan didn’t get hurt too much, Bell did more work in the first round. There was some odd error where the first round was only three minutes long as opposed to five.

Daguzan caught another kick in the second round, getting his second takedown of the fight. He swept Bell by holding one leg while kicking the other. As they were getting back up, Bell landed a spinning back fist which hurt Daguzan. Bell landed a good counter-left straight halfway through the second round.

Daguzan caught another kick early in the final round. He took Bell down with it, but never got to the ground himself. They stood back up shortly after. Bell shot for a takedown, eventually securing it and getting on Daguzan’s back. Bell had a ton of time to work on the ground, starting to look for a rear naked choke. Daguzan got up, eventually returning to stand-up. Bell shot for another takedown halfway through the round, with Daguzan completely stopping it this time. On the way back to the feet, Bell landed another spinning back fist. They threw strikes for the rest of the round, although nothing landed clean besides a couple of punches from Bell at the end of the round. Getting the first decision victory of his young career, Cass Bell defeated Pierre Daguzan via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 & 30-27).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Bell	10	10	10	30
Daguzan	9	9	9	27

Bout 2: Ty Gwerder (4-0) vs. Joseph Creer (6-1-1) (Middleweight)

In the next fight, undefeated Ty Gwerder made his Bellator debut against Joseph Creer. The two fighters went into a body lock after a minute of striking. Gwerder tried for a takedown but couldn’t get it. A pause came after Gwerder was hit in the groin while up against the cage. They resumed after a short break. They resumed in stand-up as opposed to back up against the cage. Creer landed some good knees in the clinch. Both fighters had their moments with striking. Creer got a body lock takedown as the first round ended.

Heading into the second round, this fight become the longest one yet with Gwerder’s professional career. Creer went for a single leg takedown in the first minute after coming forward with punches. He eventually secured it. Both fighters did ground and pound. Creer got on Gwerder’s back. Gwerder stopped throwing punches and prioritized fighting off a rear naked choke attempt. The choke never got under Gwerder’s chin, but he spent a long time fighting it off. Gwerder eventually flipped over, taking top position before standing up and returning to striking. Creer tagged Gwerder with a straight. As expected, both fighters were fatigued. Creer threw Gwerder back to the ground and got on his back again.

The first two minutes of the third round saw somewhat slow-paced striking. Creer got another takedown, being dominant on the ground for three minutes. He tried for a kimura, but didn’t get much progress on it before the fight clock ran out., Ending the undefeated professional MMA record of Ty Gwerder, Joseph Creer got a unanimous decision victory (30-27, 30-27 & 29-26).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Gwerder	9	9	9	27
Creer	10	10	10	30

Bout 3: Hunter Ewald (0-0) vs. Brysen Bolahao (0-1) (Catchweight 180 lbs)

In the final fight of the brief preliminary card, Hunter Ewald made his pro debut against Brysen Bolahao. Ewald was putting on the pressure early, backing Bolahao up against the fence. He shot for a takedown after 30 seconds of stand-up. Still standing up, Ewald got on Bolahao’s back. He eventually got a takedown, then started to search for a rear naked choke. It didn’t take long for Ewald to secure the choke, making Bolahao tap out. Getting a quick and fast win, Hunter Ewald had a successful professional MMA debut.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Ewald
Bolahao

Bout 4: Joey Davis (6-0) vs. Chris Cisneros (19-10) (Welterweight)

Kicking off the main card, Joey Davis attempted to stay undefeated, facing the much more experienced Chris Cisneros. Davis got a double leg takedown in the first 10 seconds of the fight. Davis landed lots of strikes from top position, but not enough in succession to end the fight. Cisneros was cut on the forehead, bleeding quite a bit from it. Davis turned up the intensity of strikes with about a minute to go, eventually doing enough for the referee to intervene. With a dominant and bloody performance, Joey Davis advanced his record to seven wins.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Davis
Cisneros

Bout 5: Tywan Claxton (5-1) vs. Braydon Akeo (3-0) (Featherweight)

Returning from his first loss as a pro, Tywan Claxton fought the still undefeated Braydon Akeo in the next bout. The first few minutes of the fight were slow, with both fighters turning up the head with two minutes to go. They went into a clinch after Claxton whiffed a wailing punch.

Akeo caught a leg early in the second round, trying to trip the other leg of Claxton. He couldn’t do it however, as Claxton recovered and went into a clinch. They returned to striking with three minutes to go.

Akeo tried for a takedown early in the third round, putting a body lock on Claxton. Going up against the fence, Claxton took control of the fight, landing strikes periodically. They got off the fencing halfway through the round. Akeo shot for a takedown, which Claxton stopped, putting Akeo up against the fence before dumping him to the floor. They got back up, but Claxton kept Akeo up against the cage. Claxton got another takedown in the final minute of the fight. He got on Akeo’s back and tried for a rear naked choke, but ran out of time before being able to finish the fight. Bouncing back from his September loss, Tywan Claxton put on a dominant performance (30-27, 30-27 & 30-27).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Claxton	10	10	10	30
Akeo	9	9	9	27

Bout 6: Alejandra Lara (8-3) vs. Veta Arteaga (5-3) (Flyweight)

In the co-main event slot of the evening, Alejandra Lara and Veta Arteaga faced off in a potential fight to find the next Flyweight Championship challenger. Right as the fight started, both fighters didn’t waste time to throw fists. Lara was landing good kicks to the body early on. Lara put Arteaga up against the cage for a minute or so. The next time that Lara put Arteaga up against the cage, she landed some elbows. Lara connected with many punches late in the round. Arteaga slipped and fell, which allowed Lara to take the fight to the ground.

Lara picked up where she left off at the start of the second round, landing more punches. With under two minutes left in the second round, Lara landed a head kick which dropped Arteaga. Lara stayed on her up against the cage, landing tons of punches.

Halfway through the final round, Lara had another good attack, landing elbows and punches in close range. With just over a minute left, Arteaga was cut open on the forehead by a cut. She was bleeding quite a bit. Despite being hit with everything for three rounds, Arteaga still fought like a well-conditioned fighter in the closing seconds of the bout. After 15 minutes of domination by Alejandra Lara, she got a unanimous decision win, possibly putting her next in line for another title shot (30-26, 30-26 & 30-26).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Lara	10	10	10	30
Arteaga	8	9	9	26

Bout 7: Toby Misech (11-7) vs. Erik Perez (19-6) (Bantamweight)

Just as the last fight wrapped up, former UFC fighter Liz Carmouche came to the stage to announce that she has signed with Bellator. Later on, we got a backstage report that Josh Barnett was not cleared to fight, meaning the next fight would be the main event. Obviously a disappointing result for Barnett, who last fought in 2016. In what was now the main event of the evening, Toby Misech and Erik Perez faced off in a bantamweight fight. Before the fight, the national anthem was performed. Misech came in over the bantamweight limit, being 141 pounds. This fight was the Bellator debut for Perez. Early in the fight, Misech landed a left hook that dropped Perez. He scored two more punches on the ground which knocked Perez out. Showcasing powerful one-shot hands, Toby Misech closed the show for Bellator 235.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Misech
Perez

Bellator 236 Live Coverage

Wrapping up their two-night events in Honolulu, Hawaii, Bellator returned with Bellator 236 on Saturday night. Headlining the card, Bellator Flyweight Champion Ilima-Lei MacFarlane attempted to defend her belt against Kate Jackson. Also in the co-main event was a quarter-final fight in the promotion’s featherweight grand prix. The fight was between A.J. McKee and Derek Campos.

Quick Results:

Keoni Diggs def. Scotty Hao via Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 2:23)
Kai Kamaka III def. Spencer Higa via Unanimous Decision
Dustin Barca def. Brandon Pieper via Rear Naked Choke (RD 1: 0:58)
Ben Wilhlem def. Keali’i Kanekoa via Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 2:24)
Swayne Makana Lunasco def. Kaylan TKO, Unanswered Strikes (RD 3, 3:29)
Zach Zane def. Nainoa Dung via Unanimous Decision
Raufeon Stots def. Cheyden Leialoha via Unanimous Decision
Juliana Velasquez def. Bruna Ellen via Unanimous Decision
Jason Jackson def. Kiichi Kunimoto via Unanimous Decision
A.J. McKee def. Derek Campos via Armbar (RD 3, 1:08)
Ilima-Lei MacFarlane def. Kate Jackson via Unanimous Decision
Nate Yoshimura def. Chas Dunhour via Knockout, Elbow (RD 2, 2:46)

Bout 1: Keoni Diggs (7-0) vs. Scotty Hao (4-2) (Lightweight)

The first fight of the evening saw undefeated Keoni Diggs face Scotty Hao. Diggs got a takedown in the first minute of the fight. He landed some punches from the top position. Hao started to bleed from his nose in the final minute of the round. Diggs stayed in the dominant position until the round ended.

Diggs came forward with punches at the start, then got a takedown from a bodylock. Halfway through the round, Diggs got on the back of Hao and put in a rear naked choke to get the win. Moving to 8-0 as a pro, Keoni Diggs put on a ground game clinic for one-and-a-half rounds.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Diggs	10
Hao	9

Bout 2: Kai Kamaka III (5-2) vs. Spencer Higa (7-10) (Featherweight)

In the next fight, Kai Kamaka III and Spencer Higa competed. After two minutes of a fast-paced striking battle between the two, Kamaka landed a double leg takedown. Kamaka kept ground and pound going for a few minutes before they got up against the cage in the closing seconds of the fight.

Kamaka got a very well timed double leg takedown early in the second round. He stayed in half guard on the ground while throwing punches. Just like the round before, Kamaka was dominant throughout.

Kamaka landed a good head kick in the first minute of the final round. Becoming more aware of Kamaka’s playbook, Higa stopped a takedown attempt and kept it in stand-up. Kamaka got a takedown in the second minute of the round. Kamaka put in a choke with a minute left in the round, but let it go. They stood up with under a minute left in the round. Higo landed knees to the body in the clinch. Kamaka went into a clinch, trying for another takedown, finishing it just as the round ended. Going to the decision, all three judges were in agreement that Kai Kamaka III was the winner (30-27, 30-27 & 30-27).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Kamaka III	10	10	10	30
Higa	9	9	9	27

Bout 3: Dustin Barca (3-0) vs. Brandon Pieper (11-13) (Lightweight)

Early in his pro-MMA career, undefeated Dustin Barca fought the much more experienced Brandon Pieper next. Early into the fight, the fighters got into a body lock on the cage. Barca took down Pieper with a rear naked choke. Pieper tried to fight out of it, but tapped out eventually. With a very quick win, Dustin Barca moved to 4-0 as an MMA pro.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Barca
Pieper

Bout 4: Ben Wilhelm (3-0) vs. Keali’i Kanekoa (2-2) (Welterweight)

In another fight that showcased an undefeated fighter, Ben Wilhelm faced Keali’i Kanekoa. They were swinging hard right out of the gates. Kanekoa got a takedown quite quickly. They stood up only moments later, fighting in a clinch. Wilhelm caught a leg and tried for a takedown, but couldn’t get uit. They really enjoyed fighting in the clinch, throwing lots of knees from the position. Rolling onto the ground, Wilhelm put in a rear naked choke. It got under the chin, with Kanekoa eventually tapping out. With a very flashy takedown and choke, Ben Wilhelm continued his undefeated career after a fast and chaotic fight.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Wilhelm
Kanekoa

Bout 5: Swayne Makana Lunasco (0-0) vs. Kaylan Gorospe (0-0) (Bantamweight)

In a double debut, Swayne Makana Lunasco and Kaylan Gorospe fought next. This was a rematch, as these two have faced off as amateurs in the past. Lunasco got a takedown after a minute or so of inactive striking. Lunasco got on Gorospe’s back, trying to join the club of rear naked choke winners on this card. They got back up, where Gorospe landed a couple of good punches. Lunasco got a double leg takedown that didn’t have much setup. Lunasco tried for a guillotine choke, but Gorospe’s head popped out of it. He tried for an arm triangle with a minute left in the fight. After enduring the choke for quite some time, Lunasco eventually lost the choke. He landed a couple of punches before the round clock expired.

Lunasco tried for another takedown early in the first round but did not get it. Gorospe landed a knee and some strikes Lunasco as he failed to secure his takedown. Lunasco got his first takedown of the round in the second minute. They got back up shortly after. While Lunasco was rolling around he got caught in some punches. Lunasco got a double leg takedown. Lunasco was dominant on the ground, trying for an arm triangle again. He let go of the hold, then landed a few more strikes from above. Lunasco started to let some elbows fly. Gorospe started to bleed from the nose. After Lunasco landed dozens of unanswered strikes, the round finally ran out of time.

Lunasco got a takedown to start off the final round. He stayed in the top position on the ground for a few minutes. After Lunasco continued with strikes for quite some time, the referee finally stepped in. With nothing short of a dominant performance, Swayne Makana Lunasco started his pro-MMA career with a win.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Lunasco	10	10
Gorospe	8	8

Bout 6: Nainoa Dung (3-0) vs. Zach Zane (13-9) (Lightweight)

Kicking off the main card, the experienced Zach Zane fought the up-and-coming Nainoa Dung. Zane got a single leg takedown in the first 30 seconds of the fight. He did minimal ground and pound from top position. They got up for a moment where Dung threw a head kick, but Zane was able to control the situation and bring it back to the ground. Zane continued to hold top position until the round ended.

In a body lock at the start of the second round, Zane got another takedown. Dung got up but was tossed right back down. Zane got on the back of Dung, where he tried for a rear naked choke. Both of them went into a combination of moveson the ground which was fast and ended with Zane back in top position. Zane tried for a guillotine choke as the second round closed out. In this round, Zane showcased his talent on the ground.

The two fighters traded punches to open the final round. Dung landed some good shots, keeping it in stand-up. He put in a guillotine choke while in stand-up, which was brought to the ground. Zane escaped the choke, but Dung got on his back and tried for a rear naked choke. Zane got Dung off of his back, getting into top position. They went back to stand-up with a minute and a half left in the round. Zane tried for a takedown but didn’t fully commit to it. Zane at a body kick, but used it to land a takedown. They switched positions many times, with Zane being in the controlling position most of the time. Zane held off Dung until the round ended. The fight went to the scorecards after the three rounds, with Zach Zane getting a unanimous decision victory (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28). After the fight, Zane praised Dung.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Dung	9	9	10	28
Zane	10	10	9	29

Bout 7: Raufeon Stots (12-1) vs. Cheyden Leialoha (7-1) (Bantamweight)

The seventh fight saw two experienced bantamweights make their Bellator debut against each other. Both only losing once prior to this meeting, Raufeon Stots and Cheyden Leialoha battled. Stots put Leialoha up against the cage in a body lock early on. Stots got a takedown halfway through the round, but Leialoha got up shortly after, still in the body lock. They went back to striking with two minutes left in the round. Stots reversed a takedown, getting his own.

Leialoha got a takedown in the second round, but not after lots of resistance from Stots. Stots reversed the position on the ground, taking top position and staying in control for most of the round. He didn’t do anything substantial, but he did keep active enough for the referee to keep them on the ground for the whole round.

Stots put Leialoha up against the cage early on in the final round. They went back to stand-up, although Stots landed a takedown shortly after. Leialoha tried for an armbar on the ground, but Stots slipped out of it eventually. Stots stayed on top of Leialoha. They got up and traded punches as the fight clock finished. After three rounds, it was Raufeon Stots who got the unanimous decision win (29-28, 30-27 & 29-28).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Stots	10	10	10	30
Leialoha	9	9	9	27

Bout 8: Juliana Velasquez (9-0) vs. Bruna Ellen (5-2) (Flyweights)

In the next matchup, undefeated fighter and potential title contender Juliana Velasquez faced Bruna Ellen. It was an all-Brazilian match. Velasquez had a clear height and reach advantage. After nearly two minutes of inactive standup, Velasquez dropped Ellen with a left straight punch. She took top position on the ground, where Ellen held a body lock to slow the momentum of Velasquez. They got back up and returned to stand-up. Ellen often came in with combinations but they hardly connected.

Ellen continued to be on the perimeter of the cage throughout the second round. Velasquez got some good jabs in throughout the round, often counter-punching. Velasquez turned up the head in the closing seconds of the round, coming forward with many strikes including a flying knee.

Velasquez had her best round in the third, connecting with tons of combinations. She landed tons of punches when in a clinch up against the cage. When finally going to the scorecards, Juliana Velasquez upped her wins to double digits (30-27, 30-27 & 30-26).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Velasquez	10	10	10	30
Ellen	9	9	8	26

Bout 9: Jason Jackson (10-4) vs. Kiichi Kunimoto (20-8-2) (Welterweight)

In the next fight, former RIZIN fighter Kiichi Kunimoto faced Jason Jackson, who took this fight on short notice. Jackson was quick from the start, throwing a head kick in the opening seconds. Jackson landed a right hook which cleaned Kunimoto’s clock, putting him on his back. Jackson made the referee stand Kunimoto back up, and they returned to striking. Kunimoto landed a takedown and got on Jackson’s back. Jackson turned the situation around, taking top position on the ground. From the bottom, Kunimoto tried for a kimura. Jackson rolled out of it. They got back up for the final minute of the round. Kunimoto put on a body lock, but was slammed in the end by Jackson.

The second round was mostly striking, with Jackson landing good shots. Kunimoto failed many times to get the fight to the ground. Jackson almost got roped into a takedown in the final minute, but avoided it and made the referee stand Kunimoto up.

Kunimoto shot for a takedown early in the final round, which Jackson reversed into a takedown of his own. He got up moments later. Jackson had some good striking throughout the third round., Jackson got in top position on the ground in the final minute of the round. Jackson tossed Kunimoto as the fight ran out of time. At the end of the fight, all three judges thought Jason Jackson pulled off the victory (30-27, 30-27 & 30-27).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Jackson	10	10	10	30
Kunimoto	9	9	9	27

Bout 10: A.J. McKee (15-0) vs. Derek Campos (20-9) (Featherweight World GP Quarter-Final)

In the co-main event of the evening, A.J. McKee and Derek Campos fought in the quarter-finals of the Featherweight GP. Right off the bat, McKee tried for a flying knee which did not connect. He slipped when throwing a punch, which allowed Campos to take the fight to the ground. They got back up, where McKee shot for a takedown. He got on Campos’ back and tried for a rear naked choke. He didn’t get it, but stayed on the back of Campos. He stayed there until the round ended.

Campos got dropped early in the second round, but it was hard to tell whether it was from a punch or not. McKee tried for a choke on the ground but couldn’t get it. When in stand-up, McKee got on his back on the ground. Campos took top position on the ground. Campos stayed in top position for quite some time, landing punches every once in a while.

McKee got a good takedown in the first minute of the third round. Campos was able to reverse the position, but from the bottom McKee put in an armbar while Campos transitioned. It made Campos tap out quite quickly. Continuing his undefeated record, A.J. McKee reached the halfway point of the Featherweight World Grand Prix, with the final destination possibly being a one million dollar prize.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Total
McKee	10	9
Campos	9	10

Bout 11: Ilima-Lei MacFarlane (10-0) vs. Kate Jackson (11-3-1) (Bellator Flyweight World Championship)

Finally, in the main event of the evening, Hawaii’s own Ilima-Lei MacFarlane attempted to defend her Bellator Flyweight Championship against England’s Kate Jackson. MacFarlane had quite the grand entrance, with 11 other people onstage with her doing a performance before her walk to the cage. As expected, the crowd was quite behind MacFarlane. Jackson tried to trip MacFarlane early on in a clinch, but it was avoided. MacFarlane landed a trip takedown later on. From the bottom, Jackson landed some good upkicks and punches. They stood up in a clinch with two minutes left in the round. MacFarlane landed knees to the head while in the clinch, which cut Jackson open. They stayed in the standing clinch until the last few seconds of the first round.

MacFarlane started the second round with a good two-punch combo. They went into another standing clinch, where Jackson landed some punches that made MacFarlane start to bleed as well. MacFarlane secured a takedown with under two minutes left in the round. MacFarlane landed elbows from top position. In the final seconds of the round, MacFarlane put in a hold, but didn’t have enough time to finish Jackson with it.

The third round included the most kickboxing from both fighters. MacFarlane landed some great punches coming forward in the fourth minute. MacFarlane got another takedown, this time in the final minute of the third round.

MacFarlane opened the fourth round by landing some punches in clinch and then landing a takedown. After being in top position for a while, MacFarlane got up and took the back of Jackson. MacFarlane started to try for an armbar, but Jackson kept a hold of her arm. Jackson avoided the hold until the round expired.

The first two minutes of the final round was a close striking battle between two fighters who were clearly fatigued. MacFarlane landed a takedown in the closing seconds of the fight. She continued with strikes, nearly getting a stoppage win, with the bell stopping her. After fighting for 25 minutes, the fight went to the scorecards. When consulting the judges, Ilima-Lei MacFarlane pitched a shutout to defend her Flyweight Championship yet again (50-45, 50-44 & 50-44).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Total
MacFarlane	10	10	10	10	10	50
Jackson	9	9	9	9	9	45

Bout 12: Nate Yoshimura (0-0) vs. Chas Dunhour (0-1) (Flyweight)

Before the show completely wrapped up, they had one post-lim to present. In that fight, Nate Yoshimura debuted against Chas Dunhour, who had yet to win as a pro. Dunhour got dropped by a strike in the third minute of the fight. They were trading blows throughout the first round. Yoshimura got a takedown with a minute to go, but Dunhour got up quite quickly. Dunhour stopped a takedown in the final seconds of the round.

Yoshimura came forward with some hard punches early in the second round. Yoshimura got hurt halfway through the round. He was hit with a counter right which started everything. A left hook made Yoshimura retreat to the cage. With Yoshimura up against the cage, Dunhour landed an elbow which took Yoshimura out cold. After a loss when debuting in professional MMA, Chas Dunhour bounced back in explosive fashion, getting a knockout victory.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Yoshimura	10
Dunhour	9

Bellator wraps up it’s 2019 season next week when it heads to Japan for a co-promoted card with RIZIN Fighting Federation. Headlining the card will be Fedor Emelianenko and Rampage Jackson.

Bellator 235 Preview

On the same weekend that the UFC holds their last show of 2019, Bellator will hold two of their final three shows of the year. This weekend, Bellator travels to Honolulu, Hawaii for back-to-back nights of MMA action. In the first show of the evening, MMA veteran Josh Barnett faces Ronny Markes, along with many other fights on the card.

Bout 1: Hunter Ewald (0-0) vs. Brysen Bolohao (0-1) (Welterweight)

In the first preliminary bout of the show, Hunter Ewald will make his MMA debut against Brysen Bolohao. Ewald comes from a BJJ background, getting second place in the IBBJF 2019 American Nationals. He comes from the Longman Jiu-Jitsu gym in Kilauea, Hawaii. Bolohao made his MMA debut back in December of 2018, the last time that Bellator visited the state. He lost in that outing, getting choked out in the second round by Robson Gracie Jr. This time around he will try to get his first win as a pro.

Bout 2: Ty Gwerder (4-0) vs. Joseph Creer (6-1-1) (Middleweight)

Making his Bellator debut, undefeated Ty Gwerder will face Joseph Creer in the next bout. Previously fighting in well-known regional promotion LFA three times, Gwerder will look for his fifth win as a pro on his biggest stage yet. Creer has fought twice for Bellator, most recently losing to Austin Vanderford at Bellator 225.

Bout 3: Cass Bell (4-0) vs. Pierre Daguzan (5-3) (Bantamweight)

The brief preliminary card will conclude with undefeated Bellator prospect Cass Bell facing Pierre Daguzan. Bell has fought his whole career as a pro in Bellator, getting all four of his wins via stoppage so far. Daguzan hasn’t won since early 2018, recently losing to Federico Vento and having a no contest outing against Bill Takeuchi.

Bout 4: Joey Davis (6-0) vs. Chris Cisneros (19-10) (Welterweight)

Starting off the main card, Bellator’s undefeated Joey Davis will face the much more experienced Chris Cisneros. Davis has built his whole pro career in Bellator, earning four stoppage wins out of his six victories thus far. He’s coming off of a one-minute victory over Jeff Peterson at Bellator 229. Cisneros has fought in Bellator before, losing a bout in late 2018 to Maki Pitolo. He has recently won twice on the regionals, fighting his way back to the big stage.

Bout 5: Ty-wan Claxton (5-1) vs. Braydon Akeo (3-0) (Featherweight)

Coming off his first loss as a pro, Ty-wan Claxton will be matched up against debuting Bellator fighter Braydon Akeo. Claxton is another one of Bellator’s homegrown talent, having won his first five fights as a pro within the promotion, including four via stoppage. He tasted defeat for the first time back in September, losing to Emmanuel Sanchez in the first round of the Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix. His opponent, Akeo, is one of the many Hawiian fighters on the card. He debuted as a pro in late 2018, with this fight being his fourth in just over a year’s time.

Bout 6: Veta Arteaga (5-3) vs. Alejandra Lara (8-3) (Flyweight)

In the only women’s bout of the evening, longtime Bellator fighters Veta Arteaga and Alejandra Lara meet for the first time. Arteaga’s last fight was a loss to Bellator Flyweight Champion Ilima-Lei MacFarlane, who fights the day after her. The loss was a doctor’s stoppage due to a cut. Lara’s last fight was at Bellator 225, winning in the first round against Taylor Turner. Lara came in at 126.8 for the flyweight fight. Because of coming over the limit, she gave up 20% of her show purse for the fight.

Bout 7: Erik Perez (19-6) vs. Toby Misech (11-7) (Bantamweight)

The co-main event of the card sees former UFC fighter Erik Perez take on Hawaii’s Toby Misech. Perez is on a five-fight winning streak which dates back to his UFC run. He went 7-2 in the promotion before going to Combate Americas for two fights. However, coming off of a one-year layoff, Perez has something to prove in this matchup. Misech is 1-1 in Bellator, having last fought at Bellator 215, losing to Edurado Dantas via decision. Misech weighed in at 141 on Thursday, missing the 136 limit for bantamweight. Because of this, he lost 20% of his show money.

Bout 8: Josh Barnett (35-8) vs. Ronny Markes (19-7) (Heavyweight)

To say we haven’t seen Josh Barnett in a little while would be an understatement. Now at 42-years-old, Barnett hasn’t fought in over three years. Last time viewers saw him was at the end of his more recent UFC run, winning over Andrei Arlovski. Outside of MMA however, you may have seen Barnett doing pro-wrestling or grappling. After a 2016 battle with USADA while in the UFC, Barnett asked for his release in 2018. His contract signing with Bellator was announced in April, with this being his first fight for the promotion.

He meets Ronny Markes in the main event of Bellator 235. Markes is coming off of an unsuccessful 2019 PFL season, competing in the promotion’s light heavyweight division. He lost his first fight to Sigi Pesaleli, then missed weight for his fight at PFL #6, losing his final chance to score points before their playoffs. His career has also included a 2011 to 2014 UFC run, going 3-2 in the promotion. He has fought as light as middleweight in the past, but is going up to heavyweight for this contest.

Bellator will return on Saturday, finishing their double-header in Hawaii with a title fight between Ilima-Lei MacFarlane and Kate Jackson.

Benson Henderson Out of Rematch Against Michael Chandler At Bellator Japan, Replaced By Sidney Outlaw

News broke on Twitter late Wednesday night that Benson Henderson was pulled from his Bellator Japan fight against Michael Chandler due to injury. Replacing him will be Sidney Outlaw.

“I got an injury, and I will not be able to participate in the December 29th festivities in Japan,” said Henderson in a video announcement on Twitter. “I’m hoping that Bellator reschedules it for later on – Chandler and I.”

The new matchup between Chandler and Outlaw will be at a catchweight of 160 lbs.

Outlaw returned to Bellator last month, defeating Roger Huerta via unanimous decision. His previous fight in Bellator was in 2014, when he got a win over Mike Bannon.

He has fought in larger American regional promotions like CFFC, Island Fights and Ring of Combat.

Chandler’s fight against Henderson was meant to be a rematch, as they previously matched up in the UFC, where Chandler won via decision.

Chandler’s last fight was a loss to Patricio Pitbull in just over a minute via punches.

Bellator Japan will happen on December 29th at 10 PM EST on the Paramount Network and DAZN, live from Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Here’s how Bellator Japan, also known as Bellator 237 looks as of right now:

Fedor Emelianenko (38-6) vs. Rampage Jackson (38-13) (Heavyweight)
Sidney Outlaw (14-3) vs. Michael Chandler (19-5) (160 lbs Catchweight)
Lorenz Larkin (21-7) vs. K-Taro Nakamura (35-10-2) (Welterweight)
Ilara Joanne (9-4) vs. Kana Watanabe (8-0-1) (Flyweight)
Goiti Yamauchi (24-4) vs. Daron Cruickshank (22-12) (Lightweight)
Andy Nguyen (6-8) vs. AI (5-1) (Strawweight)
Ren Hiramoto vs. Takahiro Ashida (68 kg Kickboxing)
Ryuichiro Sumimura (14-7) vs. Jon Tuck (10-5) (Lightweight)
Jarred Brooks (15-2) vs. Haruo Ochio (19-7-2) (Strawweight)
Hiroto Uesako (16-8) vs. Yusuke Yachi (20-9) (Lightweight)