As I was tweeting last night, this could be an excellent thing for Bellator.
Listen, Bellator is never going to have more stars or more recognizable stars than the UFC. They also lack the mainstream presence and exposure that the UFC has to even make stars. Guys like Michael Chandler, Pat Curran, and Shlemenko should be major stars, but Bellator lacks the household name that the UFC has.
But what Bellator does have is the tournament. Bellator needs to make THAT the biggest star on its roster. Especially in the wake of the UFC cutting out-and-out winners like Fitch, Volkmann, Russow, etc…, the tournament stands alone. Promoters can’t shield and protect fighters like Dana and Joe Silva do with their precious TUF winners. There’s no promoter hand-picking one person over another for a title fight because it’s better “business” (sorry, Johny). It’s eight men that fight until there’s one left and that man attempts to vanquish the champion. Advertise that even King Mo, former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion, is not bigger or better than the tournament. It’s the purest form of the fight game we have and Bellator needs to take that ball and run with it.
Contributor: Dan Galvan
- Emanuel Newton v Muhammed Lawal – This one’s a no-brainer.
- Ben Saunders v Raul Amaya – What was better, the head kick itself or Amaya’s near Flair flop?
- Shahbulat Shamhalaev vs Rad Martinez – Shamhalaev is so awesome. He’s everything I want a Russian fighter to be. He’s emotionless, looks like just an average guy, and he destroys men with his fists. It’d be great if I could hire ol’ Shabby to knock out people that annoyed, especially those on social media. What’s that? Time to do some rankings inside of rankings?
a. Internet Trolls
This is what happens when MMA makes me happy.
Contributor: Josh Hall
Bellator 90 is in the books, and I personally have not enjoyed any of their events as much as this one. The prelims had their moments, but the main card was as entertaining as a fan could ask for. Let’s get to it.The main event was the featherweight tournament finale between Shabulat Shamhalaev and Rad Martinez. Shamhalaev came in to the fight with an 11-1 record, his only loss to rising UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov in his 3rd pro fight. Rad Martinez is one of the good guys in this sport, his story having even been documented by mainstream media. Unfortunately for Martinez, the power and speed in the hands of Shamhalaev was too much, and he was knocked unconscious in the 2nd round in front of his hometown crowd. Shamhalaev now receives a title shot against reigning FW champion Pat Curran.
The most talked about man on the card was no doubt “King” Mo Lawal. The Bellator/TNA product was the heavy favorite to win the 205 pound tourney, but those plans were thwarted in 1st round of his semifinal bout by a glorious spinning backfist from the left hand of the unheralded Emmanuel Newton. Lawal was unconscious before he hit the ground, falling softly into the arms of Newton, who now holds the best case for upset of the year in MMA, while advancing to the tournament final.
In the other light heavyweight semifinal, Jacob Noe was totally outclassed by Mikhail Zayats. Zayats hurt him fairly early in the standup, and then went to work on the ground. After a sneaky pass to the mount, Zayats snapped off an armbar for the submission victory in the 1st round. He advances to the finals to take on Emmanuel Newton. So much for the King Mo/Babalu final that was expected at the beginning of the tournament.
There was also WW tourney action on the card, as Douglas Lima opened the main card against Brian Baker in one semifinal. Baker was stepping in for the injured Brent Weedman, and he looked tentative and uncomfortable throughout the fight. Lima sized him up through the first round before landing a devastating overhand right that put Baker out quickly. Lima secured his place in the WW finals, now only a fight away from a chance to gain a rematch with champion Ben Askren.
The other WW semifinal was the main event of the prelims, and it was a rematch between former UFC fighter Ben “Killa B” Saunders and Raul Amaya. Their previous fight was a grappling battle, but Saunders had a different plan in mind in this fight. He controlled the range with left kicks to the body and big knees, before finally landing a massive high kick in the 1st round that folded Amaya up like a piece of cheap lawn furniture. Saunders advances to the WW finals in a rematch against his training partner Douglas Lima, who knocked him out cold in their last fight.
There were a few other interesting moments on the prelims as well. Lionel Lanham knocked out Joe Rodriguez roughly 3 times in the first 45 seconds of their fight before the referee mercifully stepped in and stopped it. Sean Powers and David Allred had an entertaining but sloppy, scrap, ending in the 3rd round when a gassed Allred gave up a rear naked choke. Jesse Juarez and Jordan Smith put on what I think was a very entertaining fight, but it was marred by technical difficulties with the stream and arguably the worst ref stand up I have ever seen. Juarez had back mount and was looking for a second hook when the referee stepped in inexplicably and stood them up. The fighters did a great job here though; the problems with the fight were not them. It ended, of course, in a fitting split decision. And we saw the Harlem Shake by a man wearing what looked like a Barney head. Yes, the dinosaur from the kids’ show. Don’t ask me why.
Contributor: Chris Groves
First and foremost it was a fantastic card. Brief, but fantastic.
Ben Saunders, Mikhail Zayats, and Douglas Lima all made quick work of their opponents. There isn’t much else that needs to be said. Saunders landed a great headkick, Zayats scored a nice submission win after a fairly thorough beatdown, and Lima proved once again just how much power he has in his hands.
What the heck was King Mo thinking? Before the fight he talked a lot of smack about leaving his opponents numb or in pain. He was the heavy favorite to win this whole tournament. He goes in there and plays around with keeping his hands down and elects to do nothing but box. Even after getting the worst of some of the early exchanges, Lawal didn’t adapt. Newton took full advantage of the opportunity and pulled off a huge upset tonight, landing a somewhat awkwardly–timed spinning backfist that saw Mo fall to the canvas like a chopped tree.
The main event was a solid scrap between Shamhalaev and Martinez. Shamwow’s power was an ever present threat throughout the fight, and it was the ultimate difference maker that saw him put Martinez away in the 2nd round.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
