Bellator and Cage Warriors and WSOF, OH MY!
The casual fight fan might know little more than the world’s biggest mixed martial arts promotion but last night featured a veritable feast of MMA.
By the time Augusto Dodger Montano and Chris Heatherly took to the octagon at the start of the UFC main card last night, Bellator and World Series of Fighting events were already well underway.
Bellator 131 had been pitched as a turning point for the promotion and the grudge match between Tito Ortiz and Stephan Bonnar was the selling point.
The two UFC hall-of-famers talked a big game in the build-up to the fight but when it came time to settle their beef, their age showed.
It was like they were moving in slow motion but Ortiz was moving in slightly faster slow motion than Bonnar, outwrestling him en route to a split decision victory.
The Huntington Beach Bad Boy stayed true to his classy nature after the final bell.
The strangest TKO we’ve seen in a long time also came at Bellator 131 when Will Brooks met Michael Chandler for the lightweight belt.
Brooks caught Chandler with a clean right hand in the fourth round and Chandler reacted by holding his hands up to the referee as if calling a foul.
Brooks continued to come forward and finished his opponent but the confused look on Chandler’s face baffled everyone.
After the fight, Chandler didn’t attempt to place blame on any foul, admitting that he just got caught.
He said “It wasn’t an eyepoke. I’m not going to come here and say it was anything more than a punch. I saw the replay.”
The fight of the weekend that hardcore fans were waiting for came in Bellator’s middleweight division as knockout artists Joe Schilling and Melvin Manhoef met to see whose chin was stronger. Turns out it was Schilling’s as he put Manhoef to sleep after rocking him in the second round.
Meanwhile, down in Florida, World Series of Fighting 15 was in full flight where fans were given the honour of seeing arguably the world’s best 115lb woman (after our beloved Aisling Daly of course) in Jessica Aguilar.
The WSOF champion earned a 5 round decision victory over challenger Kalindra Faria.
Closer to home, Cage Warriors 74 had already finished up in London and we’re bloody sorry we didn’t fly over for it because it turned out to be a phenomenal fight event.
In the main event Nicolas Dalby successfully defended his CWFC welterweight title against Mohsen Bahari.
The undefeated Dalby (13-0) looked to be in trouble in the opening round but maintained his composure to see out the remainder of the fight and retain his belt.
Here’s Nicolas Dalby defending his title vs. Mohsen Bahari at #CWFC74 @CageWarriors Gallery >> http://t.co/vZZA0h1gqn pic.twitter.com/0Yescm8p8u
— Mark Blundell (@MarkB_Photo) November 16, 2014
In the co-main event, Joseph Duffy needed just 36 seconds to knock out France’s Julien Boussuge. Duffy has looked nothing short of amazing since his brief break from MMA to focus on boxing and his striking credentials are clearly as sharp as ever, this time using a knee to finish the fight. .
