Bellator 17 5/6 Re-Cap

Bellator 17
Bellator Fighting Championships
Wang Theatre
Boston, MA
May 6, 2010
Fox Sports South

Tonight we have the semi-finals of the Lightweight tournament and a super fight between current Lightweight Champion and former UFC slugger Josh Neer. Sean Wheelock and Jimmy Smith are the announcers for the show.

Lightweight Semi-Final Fight- Toby Imada (26-13) vs. Carey Vanier (8-2)

Imada beat James Krause in the first round by arm bar submission in the second round. Vanier beat Joe Duarte by TKO in the third round of their fight. Vanier has won 7 straight fights and has finished 7 of his 8 wins (5 KOs). Vanier has been mentored by Roger Huerta earlier in his career so that's a good story if they both advance to the finals. Imada has finished 25 of his 26 wins with 16 coming by submission. Vanier has a background in wrestling and Imada has a background in judo.

R1- Vanier tried an early take down and had to struggle for it but completed it within the first minute of the fight. Imada quickly got back to his feet with no damage taken. Vanier threw two quick kicks and partially landed one and then landed a strike. Vanier is looking good early. Imada grabbed Vanier and tried a submission but ended up on his back. Imada went for a knee bar but Vanier got out and then got a take down straight to full mount. They stood back up and both landed some strikes in the clinch. Vanier hit a sick German Suplex. Good first round. I give round one to Vanier 10-9 but I think he's going to have a tough time winning this fight unless it goes to decision.

R2- Imada landed a good knee early in the round. Imada is more aggressive this round and landed some strikes and then grabbed a knee bar. Vanier was able to escape but Imada tried for an arm bar and Vanier had to tap. Really impressive showing for Toby Imada in round two. Good fight!

Winner: Toby Imada by Submission (Arm Bar) R2 3:33

Lightweight Semi-Final Fight- Roger Huerta (21-3-1) vs. Pat Curran (10-3)

Tournament favorite Roger Huerta advanced in the first round by submitting Chad Hinton in round three with a knee bar. Pat Curran finished his first round fight against Mike Ricci via knockout in the very first round. Jeff Curran is in Pat's corner for the fight. The winner of this fight will face Toby Imada in the tournament finals for a shot at the Lightweight Title and Eddie Alvarez.

R1- Curran snapped off a head kick in the opening moments but it deflected off of Huerta's noggin and did not damage him. Not a lot of action in the round. I felt like Curran scored more with strikes. Huerta started to come on towards the end of the round but I gave the round to Curran 10-9.

R2- Huerta lands some early leg kicks. Huerta is much more aggressive this round. Curran went for a take down but was denied. Huerta took this round and I've got it 19-19 after two rounds.

R3- Lots of clinching early in the round with Curran landing knees and Huerta landing strikes to Curran's thigh. Huerta went for a take down but Curran slipped out. Both guys really starting to throw some leather as we get down to under two minutes left in the fight and it's anybody's fight to win. Huerta took Curran's back and took him down. Curran switched out and landed a knee and then let Huerta go. One minute left and whoever is more impressive in this last minute will probably take the fight. Curran got a take down with 50 seconds left but Huerta immediately got up. Huerta looked like he landed more strikes down the stretch. Razor thin fight that's probably going to go to Huerta since he was pushing forward more in that round. Realistically this would be a 9-9 or 10-10 round and this should be a draw but if you have to pick someone i'll pick Huerta but only by an eye lash. Would like to see some CompuStrike stats for this fight.

Judges score cards: 29-28 on all score cards

Winner: Pat Curran by Decision (Unanimous)

Well Bellator has to be upset with that upset as they were clearly banking on Huerta to fight Eddie Alvarez. The Lightweight Finals are now set with Toby Imada against Pat Curran and the winner facing Eddie Alvarez.

Catchweight Fight (160 lbs)- Eddie Alvarez vs. Josh Neer

Bellator just jumps right into this fight without the intro that they usually do. Strange. Alvarez holds the Bellator Lightweight Championship but this is a non-title fight as it's being contested at a catchweight.

R1- Alvarez got a take down with a minute and a half gone from the round. Alvarez landed some strikes. Alvarez really controlling Neer through the first three minutes of the fight. Alvarez lands more good strikes from the top position. Alvarez mounted and landed some good strikes but Neer was able to flip him over and Alvarez got back to his feet. Alvarez got another take down with under a minute left in the round. Alvarez passed guard and mounted again but didn't have a chance to do much more damage. Borderline 10-8 round as he just dominated Neer. Neer has shown the ability in the past to absorb a lot of punishment and continue to fight so he's still in this fight but not for long if he continues to allow Alvarez to take him down.

R2- Neer landed some strikes but then got taken down. Neer has been busted open over his eye. Alvarez took Neer's back and clamped in a Rear Naked Choke while Neer was on his feet and Neer collapsed and this fight is over. Fantastic fight by Eddie Alvarez. Neer is not at the level of Alvarez but Neer was the bigger fighter so this is a pretty big win for Alvarez considering how convincingly he destroyed Neer.

Winner: Eddie Alvarez by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2 2:08

Heavyweight Fight- Pat Bennett (1-0) vs. Cole Konrad (2-0)

Konrad is a two-time NCAA wrestling champion and trains with Brock Lesnar. Konrad had to cut weight to make the Heavyweight limit.

R1- Bennett threw strikes early but then got clinched and taken down within the first minute of the fight. Konrad is smothering Bennett and it looks like Bennett is bleeding from the mouth. Konrad mounted with a minute left in the round. Bennett gave up his back and then Konrad flipped him back over. Konrad going to town on Bennett as the round ends. Borderline 10-8 round.

R2- This is the first time Konrad has been into the second round of a fight and he's noticeably tired. His biggest weakness so far is his conditioning and based on his size he could easily get into better shape. This second round has been like one of those TUF fights where the guys are just exhausted. Konrad starts to land a couple of strikes. Konrad took this round but only because I can't remember Bennett throwing a strike in it. Why is this fight on after Alvarez/Neer?

R3- Bennett comes out quickly with a flurry but didn't land anything. Bennett threw some leather up against the cage and looked like he landed a good one that momentarily stunned Konrad. Bennett took this round but Konrad won the fight. If Konrad seriously wants to be an MMA fighter then he needs to drop some weight and get in better shape. He clearly had cardio issues and it was probably a combination of dropping so much weight and carrying extra weight. He looked good in the first round but if he was in there against a high level striker he would have been toast. It's only his 3rd pro fight so he's got a lot of time to correct his issues but it's time to hit the gym.

"There comes a time when you want to win or you just want the fight to be over. I think Cole Konrad may just want the fight to be over"- Jimmy Smith

Judges score card: 30-26, 29-28, 30-27. Not sure how Konrad won that last round as he didn't do anything but he definitely won the fight. He got a round of boos from the fans after the fight.

Winner: Cole Konrad by Decision (Unanimous)

Next week is the Featherweight Semi-Finals. Georgi Karakhanyan fights Joe Warren and Wilson Reis fights Patricio Pitbull. Should be two good fights. They also say Hector Lombard will fight Paulo Filho in a Super Fight but shockingly (sarcasm) there have been reports the Filho has pulled out of that fight.

Bellator 14 4/15 Re-Cap

Bellator 14
Bellator Fighting Championships
Chicago Theatre
Chicago, Illinois
April 15, 2010
Fox Sports South

Last week was the start of season 2 of the Bellator Fighting Championships and we saw opening round action in the Featherweight and Lightweight divisions. Toby Imada, Wilson Reis, Pat Curran and Ben Askren highlight the fights tonight as we have fights in the lightweight, featherweight, and welterweight divisions. Sean Wheelock and Jimmy Smith are the announcers for the show.

Lightweight Quarterfinal Fight- Mike Ricci (5-0) vs. Pat Curran (9-3)

Ricci trains with Georges St-Pierre and is currently undefeated. Ricci has finished 4 of his 5 fights with 3 of the wins coming by KO. Pat Curran is the cousin of MMA veteran Jeff Curran.

R1- Really boring first half of the first round and then just as they were lulling me to sleep Pat Curran hit a right hand that just stopped Ricci and then landed four big Ground and Pound strikes and this one is in the record books. Wow. Fantastic finish by Curran.

Winner: Pat Curran by KO R1 3:01

Featherweight Quarterfinal Fight- Wilson Reis (9-1) vs. Shad Lierley (5-2)

Reis was undefeated until he lost to Joe Soto in the semi-finals of last years Bellator tournament. Lierley is a wrestler who is currently training with Roger Huerta. Reis is a former jiu jitsu world champion.

R1- Both guys start at a pretty frantic pace and when the fight didn't go to the ground both guys started throwing wild haymakers. Reis got a take down a minute and a half into the fight. Lierley was able to get to his feet and then get a take down but Reis quickly reversed positions and took Lierley's back. Lierley got out and Reis went for an arm bar but Lierley again slipped out. Reis ended the round with a take down. Reis 10-9.

R2- Reis fought to get top position early in this round but wasn't able to do anything with it. Reis got another take down with three minutes left in the round. This one has turned into a snoozer so of course the announcers call these guys cerebral fighters. Which I don't disagree with I just liked their cerebralness more last round. Reis 10-9 and seems to be in control of this fight right now.

R3- Reis got a take down in the first thirty seconds of this round. Reis landed some Ground and Pound and then surprisingly finished the fight. Good showing by Reis and I was definitely surprised he finished the fight as he looked like he was going to Jon Fitch this one out.

Winner: Wilson Reis by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R3 3:33

Welterweight Quarterfinal Fight- Ben Askren (3-0) vs. Ryan Thomas (10-3)

Askren is a former Olympic wrestler and former NCAA wrestling champion. Thomas has a background in wrestling and Muay Thai and has UFC experience. He has also finished all of his 10 victories (7 by submission and 3 by knockout). Askren has finished all 3 of his opponents in the first round and is currently training out of the Lions Den. Askren just got married last week and they show her at ringside and the announcers mention that this is their honeymoon.

"Let's see how good he can wrestle with my fist in his mouth and my foot up his ass"- Ryan Thomas

R1- Thomas hit a quick punch and tried to egg Askren on but Askren immediately got a take down. Thomas went for a triangle and Askren slipped out of the submission attempt. Askren went for a choke but gave up position. Thomas took top position for about five seconds before Askren rolled him back over. Askren clamped on a guillotine and the ref stopped the fight despite Thomas not tapping out and him not being choked out. Horrible stoppage. Askren looked good. Not his fault. Just really bad referring.

Winner: Ben Askren by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 2:40

Lightweight Quarterfinal Fight- James Krause (11-2) vs. Toby Imada (25-13)

The announcers say Krause cut from 190 to 155 over the last week. Krause is replacing a French Olympian that I would butcher his name if I tried to type. Krause has finished all 11 of his wins (9 submissions and 2 knockouts) Imada upset Jorge Masvidal last year in Bellator when he finished him with a sick inverted triangle that took home many submission of the year awards. Imada has 15 submission wins and 9 knockouts in his 25 wins. Imada lost to Eddie Alvarez in the Lightweight Finals of last years Bellator tournament. Krause has a big height advantage.

R1- Imada got a take down about a minute and a half into the fight. Imada went for an omaplata but Krause slipped out and took top position with a minute and a half left in the round. Close round. I've got Imada 10-9.

R2- Imada quickly got top position on Krause. Krause got the fight back to the feet but Imada got another take down at around the three minute mark. Imada went for an arm bar and Krause quickly tapped out. Good showing for Imada.

Winner: Toby Imada by Submission (Arm Bar) R2 2:44