My Trip To Bellator Dynamite

Row six. That’s where my friends and I sat for Bellator Dynamite. Section 102, row six, five wide and loving it. Maybe it was the chance to get together with a group of friends that I rarely see these days, maybe it was the grand feeling of the event, but either way I was caught up in the hype and for me Bellator Dynamite was a home run.

There was an undeniable excitement in the air that Saturday afternoon. As my friends and I began walking toward the San Jose Arena, I noticed that people outside had already begun to chant for Tito Ortiz. The atmosphere definitely had the big fight feel I was hoping for and the kid in me was jumping for joy. As we worked our way into the arena and down to our seats the massive set had me taken aback; the brightly lit Glory ring to my left, the Bellator cage to my right. After taking it all in, I was immediately greeted by an undercard fight in the Glory ring. If you haven’t watched a lot of kickboxing, you might not realize just how exciting it is. A quick right jab, straight left combination finished off by the thunderous slap of an outside leg kick is a thing of beauty. No fear of the take down here, just pressure, movement and striking. Dynamite was giving me my moneys worth right out of the gate.

Within a few minutes, my friends and I started to notice some big name fighters working their way towards some cageside seats. No one you wouldn’t expect to be there (not yet anyway) just a few guys with close ties to Bellator like Randy Couture, Douglas Lima and Frank Shamrock. As the night went on, however, we began to notice some stars had come out for this event. Former NFL linebacker Shawn Merriman was in attendance as was San Francisco Giants outfielder Angel Pagan.

Soon the undercard was complete and as the opening video package for the main card began to play, I grew anxious. Bellator and Glory had built this card for the old school MMA fan like myself. Back in 2002, Japanese based fight promotion Pride FC held the first ever “Dynamite!” card when they teamed up with K-1 Kickboxing to put on an event that would bring kickboxing and mixed martial arts together on one card. The event was massive and this is undoubtedly what Bellator president Scott Coker was trying to bring to San Jose. Coker pulled out all the stops for this card and even flew in former Pride FC ring announcer Lenne Hardt to introduce the fighters. If you have never heard of Lenne Hardt, you are really missing out. Many only know her as the “Crazy Pride Lady,” and her ring announcing is legendary in the world of mixed martial arts. To have her there at Bellator Dynamite was incredible. As Hardt began introducing the fighters, they came out onto a stage and stood shoulder to shoulder, many barely able to hold still. With all the fighters in place, the pyrotechnics went off and the arena erupted.

The Bellator side of the card did outshine the Glory portion for most it seemed. The four-man light heavyweight tournament featured many of the top draws for Bellator and the fights actually lived up to the hype. For me, the kickboxing portion of the card was very exciting. However, I am a bit of a mark for combat sports. I am a smart mark but a mark nonetheless. The Glory promoters could have brought in some of their top-tier fighters and really gotten the attention of the crowd but instead opted to bring in some local talent and a few lesser-known fighters. With the crowd a little calmer during the kickboxing matches, people sitting cageside were up and out of their seats more often and before too long the floor was littered with MMA stars. BJ Penn, Kazushi Sakuraba, Cain Velasquez, “Cyborg” Justino, Nate Diaz, and even recent Ronda Rousey challenger Bethe Correia were all in attendance.

The night was coming to a close. Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis had won the four-man tournament like almost everyone had expected and the crowd was thrilled with his knockout of Francis Carmont. Josh Thompson (a San Jose resident) made a successful promotional debut and pleased his hometown crowd by finishing off his opponent in the third round. And former Pride FC heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko even made an odd appearance that got a good pop from the crowd. The only thing that was left was the main event and this crowd was ready for it. The main event featured former UFC champion Tito Ortiz taking on Bellator light heavyweight champion Liam McGeary. From the word go, the crowd was clearly on the side of the challenger. Chants of “Tito” filled the arena as the two fighters circled each other. The fight made its way to the mat mid-round, where Ortiz took control but with just nineteen seconds left in the round, McGeary secured an inverted-triangle choke that immediately forced the tap from the challenger. Section 102, row six had five guys on their feet cheering for the amazing submission.

This night was special for me. Being there with my friends and being able to touch the remnants of an era gone by was amazing. The Pride era may be gone, but it certainly isn’t forgotten and guys like Scott Coker aren’t going to let it die. Before leaving, I even had the chance to take a picture with Kazushi Sakuraba, one of my all time favorite fighters and a Pride FC superstar. There is something special about attending a live fight card and this night was no exception. Whether it is kickboxing or mixed martial arts or both, there is a special feeling that only seems to exist in that environment. Bellator Dynamite had that feeling in spades and I feel lucky to have been a part of it.