Bellator 16 4/29 Re-Cap

Bellator 16
Bellator Fighting Championships
Kansas City Power and Light District
Kansas City, Missouri
April 29, 2010
Fox Sports South

This is week four of the second season of the Bellator Fighting Championships. All of the Middleweight Quarterfinal fights will take place tonight. Sean Wheelock and Jimmy Smith are the announcers for the show. This weeks show is being fought outside!

Middleweight Quarterfinal Fight- Eric Schambari (11-1) vs. Luke Zachrich (10-1)

You probably remember Zachrich from season seven of The Ultimate Fighter. He was a member of Team Forrest. He lost in his first fight in the house to Dan Cramer by TKO in the second round. Schambari trains with Joe Stevenson. Zachrich has 10 wins and he has finished all of his fights. His only loss (the TUF fight does not count on his record) was by submission. The only time I've seen Schambari fight was on an episode of WEC Wreckage where he beat Logan Clark by way of a close decision. Schambari is a former power lifter. If I was a betting man I would go with Schambari (although I'm watching this about 5 days after it aired so I don't think they'd take my wager...unless I am wrong). Jason Herzog and his awesome purple gloves will be referring this fight.

R1- Schambari went for take downs early and got stuffed twice before he finally got Luke down. Luke tried to get a guillotine choke and avoided a slam because of it but ended up on the bottom. Schambari went for a guillotine and Luke swept him over and took half guard. Schambari got back to his feet and Luke pulled guard, possibly to avoid a slam or hard take down. Schambari looks like he going for an arm triangle and Luke tapped out of nowhere. In both fights I've seen of him Schambari is not exciting but he's an effective grinder.

Winner: Eric Schambari by Submission (Arm Triangle) R1 3:34

Middleweight Quarterfinal Fight- Alexander Shlemenko (27-4) vs. Matt Major (6-1)

Schlemenko fought on the ShoXC Elite Challengers Series in October of 2008 and won a fight where he got controlled because he landed a big knee at the end of the first round. Major designed his own fights for this show. He did an interview where he talked about being into art and sewing. I'd make fun of him but he would beat me into a pulp. Major has only finished the fight in 2 of his 6 victories. Major did not find out until Tuesday that he was fighting Shlemenko. Give me Shlemenko in this one but I'm going to call him Alexander so I don't screw up his name.

R1- Alexander throws a lot of kicks early and caught Major with a left hand in the first minute. Alexander is coming at a lot of different angles and is throwing lots of spinning strikes. Major's nose has been busted open. Alexander finally caught Major with one of his spinning back fists but didn't hit it fully. Alexander 10-9.

R2- Alexander continues to throw spinning strikes. I think Alexander could finish if he just stopped with all the flashy stuff. Alexander landed a sinning back kick and Major landed a counter strike. Alexander landed a body shot, he does a good job changing levels when he's not trying a spinning strike. Alexander partially landed a spinning back kick to the head but fell down and Major jumped on top. Major is landing some minor strikes while in Alexander's guard. Alexander got back to his feet before the end of the round and then landed a low blow on Major. Alexander 20-18.

"Matt Major just took a shot and sprayed me with blood. It is all over my notes and everything"- Jimmy Smith

R3- Alexander landing some strikes early in the round. Alexander finally connected with a spinning back fist and then landed a couple more strikes and Major looked like he was stunned but Alexander couldn't finish. Alexander looked like he went for a take down with a minute and a half left but Major ended up on top. Alexander got back to his feet with 45 seconds left in the fight. Alexander hit a good left hand. They exchange spinning back fists in the last 10 seconds. Alexander takes this fight 30-27 on my score card but I think he's going to struggle in the next round with that type of offense unless he catches somebody early.

Judges score cards: 30-27 on all score cards

Winner: Alexander Shlemenko by Decision (Unanimous)

Middleweight Quarterfinal Fight- Bryan Baker (11-1) vs. Sean Loeffler (18-4)

I saw Baker fight at MFC 23 back in December of last year on HDNet and he won a close decision against Art Santore. Baker's only loss came at the hands of Chael Sonnen and he's finished 7 of his 11 wins (5 by KO). Loeffler's striking coach was shot and killed last month so he will be fighting tonight with a lot on his mind. Loeffler has finished 17 of his 18 wins (10 by submission) and has won 6 straight. Loeffler is a former training partner of Bellator Color Commentator Jimmy Smith.

R1- Baker backed Loeffler into the cage early with some strikes but didn't land anything substantial. Baker got a take down at the one minute mark of the fight. Baker stood up so he could pass Loeffler's guard. Baker landed some strikes from the top and Loeffler covered up and then rolled over and this one is over. Impressive showing by Baker. Most impressive fighter so far in the Middleweight tournament.

Winner: Bryan Baker by TKO (Strikes) R1 2:43

Middleweight Quarterfinal Fight- Jared Hess (9-1-1) vs. Ryan McGivern (13-6)

McGivern was an IFL Middleweight Champion and Hess made the Bellator Middleweight Finals last season where he lost to the current Bellator champ Hector Lombard. MiGivern was a former D-1 Wrestler at Iowa and is also a black belt in taekwondo. McGivern has Pat Militech in his corner. Hess has finished all of his wins, 6 by submission and 3 by KO. Hess is also a wrestler and currently trains with Roger Huerta.

R1- McGivern grabbed a headlock up against the cage when they clinched and Hess slammed him to the mat. Hess controlled on top but McGivern used an active guard to minimize damage. Hess 10-9. Not real exciting but Hess controlled the round.

R2- Hess grabs a single-leg early and uses second effort to complete the take down. McGivern got to his feet but Hess immediately grabbed a guillotine choke and pulled guard and this fight is over.

Winner: Jared Hess by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R2 1:54

Catchweight Fight (162 lbs)- Eric Marriott vs. Demi Deeds

This is a pre-show fight. Marriott previously fought on this season of Bellator in a Featherweight fight against Joe Warren.

R1- Deeds grabbed an early guillotine and almost finished but he was in half guard and couldn't get enough behind it. Marriott got to his feet and slammed Deeds to the mat and changed positions to get out of the guillotine. Deeds got back to his feet and landed a good head kick. Marriott grabbed a leg so he could recover. Marriott is busted open. Deeds tried to get the guillotine again but once again could not finish. Deeds went for a leg lock and Marriott grabbed one of his own. Deeds got out of the hold and went for a knee bar but could not finish. Marriott finished the round on top and landed a few strikes. Deeds 10-9. Really good first round.

R2- Deeds landed a strike early but Marriott ended up with a take down. Marriott took his back but couldn't hold it and Deeds spun on top. Marriott went for an arm bar and then transitioned to a triangle. Deeds was able to power out of the submission. Marriott went for the triangle again and turned over onto his back for leverage and Deeds tapped out. Best fight of the night.

Winner: Eric Marriott by Submission (Triangle Choke) R2 3:02

In the first round fights I thought Jard Hess and Bryan Baker had the best two performances. On Thursday Roger Huerta will be in action against Pat Curran in a Lightweight Semi-Final fight. There will be a big fight between Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez and former UFC slugger Josh Neer in a catchweight fight. Toby Imada will also fight Carey Vanier in a Lightweight Semi-Final fight. Brock Lesnar's training partner Cole Konrad will also make his Bellator debut.