Tag: Bellator News

Quinton Jackson Finishes Wanderlei Silva In Fourth Fight

After fighting each other four times, Jackson and Silva are tied up with two wins apiece.

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Quinton Jackson and Wanderlei Silva wanted to battle it out once again and it was granted by Bellator MMA President Scott Coker.

As seen in the co-main event of Bellator 206 that went down on Saturday night (September 29, 2018) at the SAP Center in San Jose, California on their new streaming service home, DAZN, Jackson defeated Silva in a heavyweight bout.

In round 1, Silva was cautious as he backs away pawing with the jab and eventually, Rampage connects and staggers Silva as he presses him against the cage. Rampage lands uppercut on the break. A big overhand from Silva gets telegraphed. Silva follows it with a head kick and looping hook that staggers Rampage. Silva attacks with another head kick leading to more clinch work from Rampage. Round one ends with some theatrics from Rampage asking to engage and Silva does it back.

Round two starts with a flurry from Silva leads to a crazy trading of bombs that Silva somehow survives. Rampage continues to back Silva up as he cracks Silva with a big shot that seemingly hurts him but Rampage clinches. The finish of the fight saw Jackson land a huge right hand that dropped Silva and then landed some strikes on the ground to end the fight.

Prior to this show, Silva and Jackson had faced off three times under two different promoters. By looking at the history books, Silva won the first two in the now-defunct PRIDE, while Jackson won the third in the UFC.

Jackson was recently active in the Bellator cage as he lost in the eight-man tournament quarterfinals by falling short to former title contender Chael Sonnen at Bellator 192. The former UFC light heavyweight champion Jackson has fought as a heavyweight for his past four bouts.

Silva returned to action from an extended layoff this past June but was defeated by Sonnen over three rounds on pay-per-view at Bellator NYC at Madison Square Garden. Before this fight against Sonnen, he had not competed since 2013, and with a long layoff like that, ring rust was no doubt a contributing factor in his mentality going into this fight.

Last year, the Viacom-owned promotion went in the direction of trying legitimate fights and no more “freak show” fights. At least for this event, the promotion went back to the more established names, which is not a bad idea as it will bring more eyeballs to their product.

Rampage Jackson def. Wanderlei Silva via TKO (punches) at 4:32 of R2

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Douglas Lima Taps Andrey Koreshkov To Advance In Welterweight Grand Prix

Lima surges past Koreshkov at #Bellator206 to advance in this tournament.

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The first fight in the Bellator welterweight tournament is in the books as the first opening-round bout was between Andrey Koreshkov vs. Douglas Lima.

As seen on the main card of Bellator 206 that went down on Saturday night (September 29, 2018) at the SAP Center in San Jose, California on their new streaming service home, DAZN, Lima defeated Koreshkov by fifth-round submission. This wasn’t a barnburner by any means, but it was the best fight out of the trilogy series between these two fighters, which wasn’t hyped much going into this bout.

In round 1, Koreshkov went for two big takedowns but Lima continued to stop them and turn it into clinching up against the cage, which led to the arena erupting in a chorus of boos as a result. Koreshkov was trying like crazy to take Lima down, but he’s unable to despite his best effort.

The second round starts with patience from each fighter with kicks still being exchanged before Koreshkov attempts a takedown that is defended. Just like the first round, the crowd was booing quite a bit for the lack of action. Not much action on the feet outside of a kick from each every now and then. Late in the round, Lima begins to open up with his punches as he goes to the body then the head. Koreshkov engages as he finds the clinch and pushes Lima to the cage.

Round three starts after Lima stumbles after a leg kick (that he threw) which leads to Koreshkov getting him tied up in the clinch. It was clear that Koreshkov was pursuing the takedown despite hearing the crowd’s annoyance. What was clear was the fact that Lima has neutralized Koreshkov’s offense with those nasty leg kicks. Koreshkov has a hematoma on his left leg. In round 4, Koreshkov nearly gets a takedown but the Brazilian stuffs him, and they go back to the clinch against the cage. Once the round hits the 10-second mark, Lima stuns Koreshkov with a right hook to the head.

The fifth and final round, Lima was the clear aggressor. Each land when they throw but Lima’s shots were more in bunches. Later in the round, A low single leg from Koreshkov leads to a sprawl, and Lima begins to land solid strikes, which would allow him to get his back and Lima locked in the rear-naked choke for the win.

Several months ago there were rumors that the Viacom-owned promotion was looking to capitalize on the depth of its welterweight division and thus, there was a ten-fighter welterweight grand prix created.

If you recall, coming into this fight, Lima suffered a unanimous-decision loss to Rory MacDonald at Bellator 192 in January to lose the welterweight title in his latest fight. This loss brought an end to his title reign.

On the flip side, the former welterweight champion was coming into this fight on a two-fight winning streak with wins over Chidi Njokuani by first-round TKO last August and by KO over Vaso Bakocevic back in July.

Bellator President Scott Coker has gone on record in the past by stating that he believes that Bellator’s welterweight division is better than the UFC’s, which is headed by its champion Tyron Woodley. Bellator MMA launched its heavyweight tournament earlier this year and has been a success for the promotion. Lorenz Larkin, Michael Page, Andrey Koreshkov, Jon Fitch, Neiman Gracie, Ed Ruth, and Yaroslav Amosov are also in this welterweight tournament.

Douglas Lima def. Andrey Koreshkov via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:04 of R5

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Aaron Pico Obliterates Leandro Higo In First Round

Pico made quick work of Higo at #Bellator206.

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Aaron Pico continues to make progression in his pro-MMA career as in his latest fight booking, he took on the always dangerous Leandro Higo.

As seen on the main card of Bellator 206 that went down on Saturday night (September 29, 2018) at the SAP Center in San Jose, California on their new streaming service home, DAZN, Pico defeated Higo by TKO in a featherweight bout. 

This fight didn’t last long as Pico was aggressive early and looking to knock Higo’s block off. Higo with two knees to the face to test the prospect. Pico hurts Higo but then Higo defended the onslaught against the fence very well. Hard right hand floors Higo and eventually gets the late stoppage. Color commentator and former referee, John McCarthy, was very critical of Mark Smith, who was serving as the referee for this fight as it should’ve been stopped earlier than it was.

As soon as Pico signed with Bellator MMA back in 2014, there was a ton of hype behind him due to his success as an American freestyle wrestler. Pico had no easy task in his Bellator MMA debut at the Bellator NYC on pay-per-view event against Zach Freeman in a lightweight bout. This fight did not last long. In the world of Mauro Ranallo, who made his Bellator MMA debut as a commentator, this was over in a New York minute.

Most thought that this had to hurt the confidence of Pico, who was highly hyped leading into this bout despite the fact that he had no MMA experience before. Luckily for him, he signed a multi-fight contract with the promotion and got more fights under his belt to not only improve on his skills but to impress Bellator brass. Since then, he scored three straight finishes by strikes over the likes of Justin Linn, Shane Krutchen, and Lee Morrison.

On the flip side, Higo made his Bellator debut as a late replacement for Darrion Caldwell against Eduardo Dantas in a non-title bout at Bellator 177 but lost by decision. In his next two fights, he would pick up a decision win over Joe Taimanglo and lose in his latest bout to Darrion Caldwell by submission.

Aaron Pico def. Leandro Higo by TKO (strikes) at 3:19 of round 1

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Betting Odds For Bellator 206: Is Rory MacDonald Favored In Historic Fight?

Final betting odds are in.

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The final Bellator 206 betting odds are in for as this event is quickly approaching for the Viacom-owned promotion.

Bellator 206 is here, and it goes down tonight (Saturday, September 29, 2018) from the SAP Center in San Jose, California. The preliminary card will air online at 7:00 pm EST while the main card will air on DAZN at 10:00 PM EST.

Gegard Mousasi vs. Rory MacDonald for the middleweight title will serve as the headliner. Quinton Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva in a heavyweight bout will be the co-main event, which marks the fourth time they have fought each other.

Rounding out the six bout main card is Andrey Koreshkov vs. Douglas Lima  in a welterweight tournament opening round, Leandro Higo vs. Aaron Pico in a featherweight bout, Keri Melendez vs. Dakota Zimmerman in a women’s strawweight bout, and Gaston Bolanos vs. Ysidro Gutierrez in a featherweight bout.

According to oddsmakers, Mousasi is a -250 favorite over MacDonald, who is a +195 underdog. Other odds for the main card include Silva being a +245 underdog against Jackson, who is a -315 favorite. Here are the rest of the odds for the card:

Main Card (DAZN, 10 p.m. ET)

Gegard Mousasi -250 Rory MacDonald +195

Quinton Jackson -315 Wanderlei Silva +245

Douglas Lima +110 Andrey Koreshkov -140

Aaron Pico -550 Leandro Higo +375

Ysidro Gutierrez +325 Gaston Bolanos -450

Dakota Zimmerman +475 Keri Melendez -750

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Rory MacDonald ‘Would Prefer’ To Defend Two Titles Simultaneously

Rory MacDonald ‘Would Prefer’ to defend two titles simultaneously if victorious at Bellator 206. On Saturday (Sept. 29, 2018) night, the “Red King” will attempt to capture his second world championship in a major MMA promotion. If MacDonald is victorious he will become only the sixth fighter to hold two titles simultaneously. Randy Couture, BJ […]

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Rory MacDonald ‘Would Prefer’ to defend two titles simultaneously if victorious at Bellator 206.

On Saturday (Sept. 29, 2018) night, the “Red King” will attempt to capture his second world championship in a major MMA promotion. If MacDonald is victorious he will become only the sixth fighter to hold two titles simultaneously. Randy Couture, BJ Penn, Conor McGregor, Georges St-Pierre, and Daniel Cormier are the others.

The man standing in MacDonald’s way is Bellator’s middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi. A win for Mousasi doesn’t equate to another title, but a win over the “Red King” would sure be a feather in the cap of the Dutchman.

The “Red King” Speaks

Speaking with reporters at the Bellator 206 media day MacDonald explained how he is 100% focused on the upcoming welterweight Grand Prix. But if he does beat Mousasi he would love to defend both titles.

 “I would like to,” MacDonald told MMAWeekly.com when asked about defending both titles. “I’d have to talk with Bellator because I have the obligation of doing the welterweight tournament and that’s going to take about a year. I’m sure that the other middleweights are going to want a crack at the championship fight so I guess we’re going to have to see.”

“If I became the middleweight champion, I would prefer to stay that way. I wouldn’t want to get stripped but I understand I have an obligation at welterweight doing that tournament. We’ll see.”

MacDonald is set to defend his welterweight title in the opening round of the Grand Prix. He will face former UFC title challenger Jon Fitch early next year.

What Scott Coker Thinks

Bellator President Scott Coker isn’t exactly against MacDonald holding on to the middleweight strap while he participates in the Grand Prix. However, he hasn’t made any decisions on the matter either.

“Rory will enter the 170-pound tournament after his fight with Gegard so we’ll talk to Rory and see how he felt and a lot of it will depend on what the fighter wants to do,” Coker told MMAWeekly.com. “That door is open and we’re not going to close it.”

Bellator 206 takes place at SAP Center in San Jose, California and also features a fourth fight between Quinton Jackson and Wanderlei Silva. The welterweight Grand Prix kicks off with a trilogy between former champs Lima and Andrey Koreshkov.

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Scott Coker Discusses Eddie Alvarez Possibly Re-Signing With Bellator

Could “The Underground King” be on his way back to Bellator?

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There’s been a ton of speculation on if Eddie Alvarez could be returning to Bellator MMA.

Bellator MMA President Scott Coker was asked about the matter by MMA Fighting at Bellator 206 media day. In regards to seeing Alvarez back in Bellator, Coker said it doesn’t seem likely at this point. He admitted Bellator personnel spoke to Alvarez, but nothing came out of it :

“It doesn’t seem likely at this point,” Coker said. “I think that they had a conversation with Eddie and I’m not sure where it’s at. But I don’t think it took a second, it wasn’t like it was something that was picking up any steam so I’m not sure.”

Alvarez was previously with Bellator and was essentially the face of the promotion. He even competed on Bellator 1 in 2009. “The Underground King” put on a pair of absolute classic 155-pound title fights with Michael Chandler.

Unfortunately, the Philadelphia native didn’t get along too well with former promotion President Bjorn Rebney. He was later released from his contract in 2014 before signing with the UFC. Alvarez defeated Rafael dos Anjos via first-round knockout to win the UFC lightweight title in July of 2016.

Later that year, Alvarez would be one-half of one of the biggest fights in UFC history. He headlined the UFC’s first card from Madison Square Garden in New York City. Unfortunately for him, he dropped the 155-pound title to Conor McGregor via second-round knockout.

Alvarez fought out the final bout on his UFC contract this past July. He put on a heavy-hitting affair with Dustin Poirier in Calgary, which he lost via TKO. It will be interesting to see where “The Underground King” winds up.

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