Tag: California

Richard Commey Gets Eighth Round Stoppage Over Ray Beltran

Richard Commey picked up an eight round stoppage against Ray Beltran on Saturday in Temecula, California, USA at the Pechanga Resort & Casino. Commey retained his IBF Lightweight Championship, in what was his first appearance since defeating Isa Chaniev in February to win it.

Commey had the edge from the start, scoring two knockdowns on Beltran in the first round, and yet another in the fifth. In the eighth round, it was a left hook from Commey that sent Beltran to the floor. Despite his willingness to continue, the referee made the decision to end the bout.

Ray Beltran’s battle started early this week when he didn’t make weight the day before. Despite not making weight initially, by Saturday, Richard Commey weighed more due to rehydration.

The fighters clashed heads twice in the fight, with the right eye of Commey swelling because of this. Upon both collisions, it looked like Commey got the worse of the exchange.

In the co-main event in Temecula, Carlos Adames defeated Patrick Day in a 10 round bout to retain his NABO and NABF Super Welterweight Championships. The scorecards favoured him unanimously (97-93, 97-93 & 98-91).

Nate Diaz set to face Anthony Pettis at UFC 241

Nearly two years after his last MMA fight, Nate Diaz will compete against Anthony Pettis at UFC 241. Reported by Ariel Helwani at ESPN, the news of the matchup came Saturday evening. The fight is scheduled to take place on August 17th at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, USA.

“Showtime” Anthony Pettis is coming off a main event victory over Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, getting his second round victory from a superman punch. Before that he lost to Tony Ferguson after a hand injury made his corner call the bout in-between rounds.

Nate Diaz last fought in 2016 against Conor McGregor, with McGregor tying the rivalry between them after a five round decision victory. The bout before that was his first meeting against “Mystic Mac,” getting a second round rear naked choke victory as a +350 underdog. Diaz originally set to make his return back in November at Madison Square Garden facing Dustin Poirier. The fight was cancelled after Poirier pulled out with an injury.

The August show is scheduled to include Daniel Cormier defending his Heavyweight Championship in a rematch against Stipe Miocic. Their first fight was in July of last year, with Cormier getting a KO victory to become champion. Since then he has defended the belt once, defeating Derrick Lewis in the aforementioned November event at Madison Square Garden, UFC 230. Yoel Romero versus Paulo Costa is also currently scheduled to be on the card.

WWE Survivor Series 2018 Results and Review

Survivor Series underwent many changes in its final week. Becky Lynch was replaced by Charlotte due to injury, and AJ Styles being replaced with Daniel Bryan after Bryan won the WWE Championship.

The New Day, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson, The Colons, Sanity & The Usos (Team Smackdown) vs. The Revival, Lucha House Party, The Ascension, B-Team & /Bobby Roode & Chad Gable (Team RAW) (20-man Tag Team Survivor Series Match)

On the kickoff show a backstage segment revealed that Mandy Rose would be the fifth Smackdown Women’s team member. The first match happened on the kickoff show with the Smackdown tag division facing the RAW tag division. Smackdown’s New Day came out and introduced their team. Kofi Kingston sat out this match for the New Day with Alexander Wolfe doing the same for Sanity. A rule in this match that sets it apart from the traditional Survivor Series match is that if someone gets pinned their teammate is eliminated as well. Kalisto started against Epico. Dash Wilder eliminated The Colons after hitting a Shatter Machine. Something happened where Kalisto landed awkward then got replaced by Lince Dorado. Anderson took out the B-Team next, evening the matchup. There was a good spot between Roode and Gable where Roode did a Backbreaker while Gable frogsplashed onto Eric Young. This eliminated Sanity. Big E took out The Ascension by pinning Viktor. Lince Dorado took out Gallows & Anderson after a combination of moves including a Moonsault. The Usos did a double team to take out Lince Dorado for the pin. Dorado got dropped on his head during that spot.

The final four teams were New Day, The Usos, Roode & Gable and The Revival. Big E got a hot tag from Woods and did three Belly-to-belly Suplexes to Dash Wilder. Big E’s thunder was taken once Gable tagged in while Big E was going off of the ropes. Gable did an impressive Deadlift German Suplex into a Neckbreaker with the help of Roode. After a few more moves later everyone did a dive to the outside spot. Roode got Superkicked by Jey Uso, then Jey did a dive of his own. Gable did a German Suplex to Jey off of the top rope to everyone on the outside. As everyone laid wasted outside of the ring, Xavier was fighting off Gable and Roode. Gable did a flip off of the top rope because he assumed that Xavier was hurt, but instead went into the arms of Big E for an Up Up Down Down. This eliminated the RAW captains. Woods went off the top rope for a dive but instead got caught in a Shatter Machine to eliminate New Day. The final two teams were The Usos and The Revival. Dash Wilder did a Superplex with Scott Dawson hitting a Splash right after. Jey Uso came in to split up the pin. The Usos gave both guys a Superkick. After that Jimmy Uso hit a Frogsplash onto Dawson to end the match.

This match had lots of botched spots. Kalisto also might have hurt himself? I don’t understand why it had to be 10 people for each team. Couldn’t it just be 5 from each brand? When it became the final four wrestlers, the match became much more entertaining. The first half of the match was hurrying through pinfalls. Why not just not do this match in the first place? Because there were some teams in this match that we hadn’t seen in months on TV. Despite the majority of the crowd being present it felt like nobody was there.

Carmella w/ R-Truth, Naomi, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville & Asuka (Team Smackdown) vs. Mickie James, Tamina, Nia Jax, Sasha Banks & Bayley w/ Alexa Bliss (Team RAW) (Women’s Survivor Series Match)

The first match on the actual show was the women’s RAW versus Smackdown match. When Nia Jax came out she was welcomed with a massive amount of boo’s because she sidelined Becky Lynch on Monday. Banks and Bayley replaced Natalya and Ruby Riott after a brawl happened backstage earlier. Early in the match everyone was brawling in the ring. Naomi got roll-up pinned to be the first elimination. Carmella responded with a roll-up pin to Tamina to eliminate her. Carmella had a dance break to celebrate this elimination. Deville was on a roll against James, but Mandy tagged herself in and did nothing except land a pin, taking credit for the work that Deville put in. Deville was offended by this. Carmella was eliminated by Bayley after a Bayley-To-Belly Suplex.

The crowd started out loud for this match but was sitting on their hands at this point. Rose tapped to a Banks Statement from Sasha. When Nia finally got involved in the match the hate came back to her. Asuka got a pop for going after Jax. Outside the ring Asuka was hit with a Meteora from Banks off the ring apron. Bayley and Sonya Deville were brawling to the outside with both of them being counted out and eliminated. Asuka was the final member for Smackdown and fought Banks first. As Sasha went to the top rope Nia pushed her off, making her fall into an Asuka Lock to eliminate her. Nia was the last one left for RAW. Nia hit a Samoan Drop to win the match.

I can only assume that they want to reap the benefits of the heat that Nia got from actually injuring Lynch, but this finish didn’t seem right. She beat Asuka clean? Did something happen to Asuka recently that made her a very weak wrestler? After the match a scoreboard appeared showing that team RAW was up 1-0, so maybe the match on the Kickoff show just didn’t count.

Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

The first of many Champion versus Champion matchups of the evening was Seth Rollins versus Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura came out in nearly all-blue attire. This match was also the first time that these two fought each other. Mid-way through the match Rollins dumped Nakamura to the outside then did three Suicide Dives in a row. Later on Rollins got put in a Triangle Choke but escaped by throwing Nakamura into a Buckle Bomb. Rollins did a Superplex and then a Falcon Arrow for a two count. After a Reverse Exploder, Nakamura tried for a Kinshasa but instead Rollins responded with his Rainmaker Knee move. Rollins went to the top for a Frogsplash but Nakamura dodged then hit a Kinshasa. Rollins kicked out. A combo of moves ended with Rollins hitting the Curbstomp for the win. Good match with the crowd waking up near the end. I didn’t like how the Kinshasa was a throwaway move in this match.

The Bar (Sheamus & Cesaro) w/ Big Show vs. Authors of Pain (Akam & Rezar) w/ Drake Maverick

The two tag teams who are champs on the main roster faced off next. As the match was starting former WWE employee Enzo Amore tried to hijack the crowd while sitting in the first few rows. He was escorted out of the building only moments later. Drake Maverick got put in a choke by Big Show after putting an AoP member’s leg on the rope during a pin. Big Show stopped choking Maverick after he peed himself. This distraction let AoP give Sheamus a double team move to win the match. From inside the ring to outside, this was a lame 10 minutes.

Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy (WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match)

The next match was the only brand neutral match. Mustafa Ali challenged for Buddy Murphy’s Cruiserweight Championship after he won the belt in Australia. This match was explosive from start to finish. Ali went to the top rope at one point for a Backwards 450 but got thrown to outside the ring. Outside the ring Murphy tore apart a commentary table. Ali regained control and did a Spanish Fly off the table onto the floor. When trying for another Reverse 450 in the ring Ali got a Superkick and then two Powerbombs for a two count. Murphy got the win with a Murphy’s Law. One of the shorter matches on the show but still a great match. Sad that the Cruiserweights remain the side show.

Bobby Lashley w/ Lio Rush, Finn Balor, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre & Braun Stroman vs. The Miz, Jeff Hardy, Samoa Joe, Rey Mysterio & Shane McMahon (Men’s Survivor Series Match)

The next match was the men’s RAW versus Smackdown Survivor Series match. Braun was very insisting on starting the match. Drew tagged himself in and took out Samoa Joe with a Claymore Kick. Very quick start to the match. This first pinfall caused Smackdown to strategize outside of the ring. After McIntyre tagged out Ziggler came in. Hardy was replaced with Shane McMahon moments after. This was a rematch from the World Cup finals from weeks ago. Ziggler gave Shane a Famouser for a close pin attempt. Ziggler landed a Zigzag after being thrown into the ropes. The Miz intervened to save Shane. The Miz tagged in a and tried for a Figure Four but Ziggler escaped. Ziggler landed a Dropkick at the end of an exchange with Braun tagging himself back in. He stood in RAW’s corner for a moment only to get tagged out by McIntyre. Stroman and McIntyre started brawling with the rest of the RAW teaming coming over in attempt to restore order. Mysterio landed a 619 on Stroman with the fight going to the outside afterwards.

McMahon took apart the middle commentary table, and then three Smackdown members put Stroman on the table. Shane did an Elbow Drop off of the top rope, through the table. On the replay it was funny seeing Baron Corbin scream “No!” as he saw Shane dive. Back in the ring now The Miz was fighting McIntyre. Balor tagged himself in and then kicked McIntyre in the head. Balor did a Stomp to The Miz and then a roll-up for a two count. Balor tried a Coup De Grace but Miz left the ring. Outside the ring Balor attacked Miz and Hardy. Mysterio came in the ring and gave Balor a Crossbody. Balor reversed a move and then scored a two count on Rey. Balor dodged a 619 and then landed a Swingblade. Mysterio avoided a Coup de Grace and then actually landed a 619 with the Frogsplash follow-up to eliminate Balor.

Minutes later Hardy tried for a Swanton Bomb but Ziggler reversed it by putting his knees up. Shane did a Coast To Coast onto Ziggler while heavily selling his table spot from earlier. This eliminated Ziggler. An even more fatigued Shane McMahon tried for another Coast To Coast, this time on Lashley, but Stroman hit him out of mid air to interrupt it. Shane kicked out of a pin by Lashley and tagged in Hardy. Stroman came in as well. Hardy tried for a Twist of Fate but got reversed into a Powerslam to eliminate him. Mysterio got a Powerslam shortly after to be eliminated as well. The Miz was given a Powerslam to be eliminated as well. The final Smackdown member was Shane McMahon.

McMahon was hit with a Running Powerslam to end the match. Although the same spot over and over from Stroman was a lame finish, this match in general was really fun. The constant chaos was what you like to see in a match like this. It felt like an all star game, which I’m surprised WWE doesn’t promote these matches as.

Backstage Seth Rollins is told that at TLC he will defend his IC belt against Dean Ambrose.

Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey

The second last match on the card was Charlotte versus Ronda Rousey. There was awkward “brawling” at the start where it looked like nothing was actually happening. Charlotte threw Ronda head first into the bottom turnbuckle. Ronda got cut open around the lip at some point in the match. Off the top rope Ronda rolled into an Armbar, which turned into a Triangle Choke. Charlotte reversed it into a Boston Crab which Ronda escaped. After doing a Fireman’s Carry Ronda shouted at the crowd. When she turned around Charlotte Speared her for a two count. Charlotte put in the Figure Four but Rousey escaped it. Rousey hit a move called the “Piper’s Pit” and then tried for a move but Charlotte fought it off. Outside the ring Charlotte hit Ronda with a Kendo Stick to end the match via DQ. She continued to tee off on Ronda after the bell.

The angle after the match made sense to me but the match itself wasn’t very good. It’s usually the other way around when I criticize a segment. Since the current program is to allegedly have Ronda face Becky at Wrestlemania, maybe these two can fight each other on another PPV in the future in the meantime. I know they are on different brands, but it’s not impossible. Charlotte fought off referees and then wedged a steel chair in between Ronda’s head and torso. She stomped the chair, with people finally pulling away Charlotte after this.

Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar

The main event of the evening was Daniel Bryan versus Brock Lesnar. As usual Heyman did the introduction for Lesnar. After about three minutes of the match Lesnar started to dominate Bryan. This happened for way too long, with Lesnar hitting all of his spots. Bryan got F5’d for like the 500th time, but hit the ref on the way down. After noticing this, Bryan kicked Brock in the groin then went for a pin, but only got a two count. After going in and out of the ring for spots Bryan caught himself in another F5 attempt but reversed it into a Yes Lock. Bryan turned it into a Triangle Choke that Brock turned into an F5 to end the match. After the match a scoreboard shows that RAW beat Smackdown 6-0. Oh, that’s why the pre-show match doesn’t count, because Smackdown won.

It felt somewhat uncharacteristic for Bryan to do a Triangle Choke. And hold on, didn’t Bryan turn heel on Tuesday? It’s nice to see that Brock worked hard in this match. By no means was this a night off for him. I don’t understand why I would cheer for either of these guys in this match. I thought it was a disappointing main event.

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.