 |
MAY 25, 2012
LIVE FROM NEW ORLEANS, LA
FIGHT ONE: DEREK CAMPOS VS. RICH CLEMENTI
- This fight is being fought at a catchweight of 157 pounds due to Clementi missing weight. Clementi has a 1 inch reach advantage on Campos.
ROUND ONE: Jordan Bass is the referee. Clementi gets knocked down by a punch while attempting a leg kick. Campos stands over Clementi, but doesn?t want anything to do with Clementi?s guard. Clementi gets up and avoids punishment. Campos grabs Clementi and pushes him into the cage. Clementi pushes Campos off and we?re back to the middle. Campos has pushed the pace so far, but Clementi has a few leg kicks to his name so far. Clementi ducks under and grabs a single leg. Clementi drives Campos to the fence, but Campos stayed on his feet. Clementi gives up the single but is still working hard for the takedown. Clementi explodes and gets the takedown, and he?s on top in half-guard. Campos has Clementi?s head controlled, and gets Clementi to guard. Clementi postures up. Campos explodes to his feet and takes Clementi down, but he gave up his neck and is stuck in a guillotine. It?s over, Campos tapped. Bass missed the tap because Campos tapped with his off-hand, but Clementi held it until Bass saw it and ended the fight. Well done by the veteran.
WINNER: Rich Clementi by submission (guillotine) at 4:18 of round one.
STAR RATING AND FINAL THOUGHTS: (**) That was a nice performance by Clementi. When two fighters are evenly matched, pick guile over youthful exuberance every time. Campos didn?t stick his neck out all that far, but Clementi attacked when he sensed it was there, and was wise enough to hold it after he knew the referee saw the tap.
FIGHT TWO: HIROSHI NAKAMURA VS. LUIS NOGUEIRA
- Nogueira is an inch shorter at 5?4?, but he possesses a three inch reach advantage on Nakamura. Jason Herzog is the referee for this fight.
ROUND ONE: Nogueira throws an early head kick, and follows with a leg kick. Nogueira briefly grabs a thai clinch and both guys throw punches in bunches before Nogueira lets go. Nakamura just ate a kick to the cup, and he takes about 30 seconds to recover. Back to action. Nogueira is being the aggressor, working the body. Standing clinch in the middle of the cage, but nothing comes of it. Nogueira lands a low kick. Nakamura lands one of his own. Nakamura shoots, but Nogueira stuffed it easily. Bad sign for Nakamura. Nogueira throws wild, Nakamura ducks under and goes for the single. Nogueira goes down and grabs a heel hook, which forces Nakamura to retreat. Back to the middle. Another takedown by Nakamura. Nogueira gets back up quickly, but is pressed against the fence. Nogueira turns it around and has Nakamura on the cage now. Nakamura lands a short knee to the head while Nogueira was dropping low. Both fighters on their knees, and Nogueira lands some short fists. As they get back up, Nogueira lands again. Nothing hard, though.
HANSEN?S SCORECARD: 10-9 Nogueira. This one?s going to decision, folks.
ROUND TWO: Jimmy Smith also gave the round to Nogueira. Both guys trade simultaneous leg kicks early. Nogueira is really pressing forward. Nakamura shoots the double, but gets stuffed handily. Not a ton of action, but a ton of motion. Neither fighter is standing still or moving forward and back. Lots of lateral movement. Nogueira steps in with a wild hook. Nakamura shoots a single, but gets stuffed. Once Noguira gets free he lands a right hook. Somewhere along the way Nakamura got a cut on near his left eye. Nogueira presses Nakamura into the cage, picks him up, and slams him down. Nakamura using the cage to walk back up, but Nogueira is landing wicked knees to Nakamura?s thighs. Nogueira hasn?t landed a killshot, but he?s controlling this fight. And as I say that, big left hand by Nogueira. Nakamura with a weak shot out of desperation. Nogueira gets free and throws a jumping knee. Nogueira presses Nakamura into the cage and lands a short right. Both guys trading punches now, and they work off the cage. Nogueira has eaten some weak punches, but nothing with any steam on them. Nogueira goes to the body. Nakamura shoots a single, and Nogueira just shrugged him off. Nakamura has a cut over his right eye now.
HANSEN?S SCORECARD: 10-9 Nogueira. Nakamura?s not at Nogueira?s level.
ROUND THREE: Jimmy Smith also has it 20-18 for Nogueira. There?s no other way to score this fight so far. Nogueira is doing exactly what he said he wanted to do before the fight. Nakamura is coming forward to start the round, but not landing anything. Not really throwing, either. Both guys are doing a good job in moving laterally. Nakamura can?t pull the trigger. Then again, Nogueira hasn?t done much either. Soft leg kick by Nogueira. Nakaumra with a couple short left hands. Nogueira lands a short right to the jaw and Nakamura crumpled. Nogueira landed a left before Nakamura landed on the mat, and that left knocked Nakamura fully unconscious. Three more shots on the canvas before Herzog could get in there to end the fight. That was surprisingly fast.
WINNER: Luis Nogueira by TKO at 1:58 of the third round.
STAR RATING AND FINAL THOUGHTS: (**) Look, when I said it was going to decision, you had to know I meant that the only way Nakamura could win would be by decision. Right? RIGHT? Anyhoooo, Nogueira now moves on to the finals to fight Luis Nogueira for the right to get starched by Eduardo Dantas. BRASIL!! One thing though. That got officially ruled as a TKO, but it was only a TKO because Jason Herzog didn?t stop the fight on time. I mean, it wasn?t a late stoppage, but Nakamura was O. U. T. OUT before hitting the canvas. That?s a KO, folks.
- Bjorn Rebney just announced that Pat Curran will defend his featherweight title against Patricio Pitbull Friere on August 24 at Bellator 73. That is my daughter?s second birthday. I have 13 weeks to figure this one out. Pray for me.
- In case you?re wondering why I haven?t updated the post in 20 minutes, it?s because the pacing on this show, per usual, is atrocious. # Commercials Commercials Commercials
- In a decision I like, the title fight is going down before the tournament fight. Look, Konrad is a -1800 favorite on more than one book, okay? Normally the belt has to be the main event, but not always.
- To compare lines, GSP was a -800 favorite against Matt Serra when they first fought.
FIGHT THREE: CHAMP COLE KONRAD VS. ERIC PRINDLE
- Konrad has Marty Morgan in his corner. Prindle has Erik Paulson in his corner. Morgan and Paulso both coached together as part of Brock LEsnar?s Deathclutch camp. So it?s an understatement to say that Konrad and Prindle and Konrad know one another a little bit.
- Both guys weighed in near 265 pounds, and their heights and reaches are nearly identical. The fight will be refereed by Jason Herzog, AKA, Johnny Bellator.
ROUND ONE: How fast until Konrad shoots a double? Konrad got a clinch takedown at 0:22. Konrad is on top in half-guard, and is working a keylock, make it a kimura. He?s got it, but the half-guard is saving Prindle. Nope. He?s in pain, it?s over.
WINNER: Cole Konrad by submission (brute force kimura) at 1:00 of round one.
STAR RATING AND FINAL THOUGHTS: (n/a) Oh please.
- They aired a prelim fight between Kelvin Tiller and Jeremiah Riggs, which goes late in round 3. There was a remote chance they would have finished on time tonight. Of course, Bellator pops a better rating than MTV2?s normal programming, and if they run long they cut into TUF on FX, so it?s win-win for MTV2 and Bellator.
FIGHT FOUR: RICK HAWN VS. BRENT WEEDMAN
- The winner gets Michael Chandler. Some prize, eh? The closing lines for betting are Rick Hawn -355 vs Brent Weedman +285. Weedman is three inches taller than Hawn, but only has a one inch reach advantage. Jason Herzog is the third man in the cage.
ROUND ONE: Weedman pressing forward early, taking the middle of the cage, and misses on a lead head kick. Weedman has thrown a couple of high switch kicks, but they haven?t gotten through yet. Weedman is using lots of kicks to keep Hawn at distance. It?s working so far, but certainly not hurting Hawn in the least. Weedman with a nice body kick. Hawn gets inside, Weedman grabs a thai clinch, but Hawn spins out. Weedman is controlling the action so far. He got a right kick caught, but Hawn let it go and didn?t try for the takedown. Weedman is using front kicks like a jab. Hawn with a nice right hand. And another. Weedman has volume, Hawn has power strikes so far. Weedman grabs a clinch, but Hawn throws him ten feet out of the way. Big right by Weedman briefly dazed Hawn. Hawn misses an overhand right, Weedman grabs a body lock, but Hawn tripped him to the mat. Weedman back up. Head kick body kick combo by Weedman. Nice knee by Weedman, followed by a couple right hands.
HANSEN?S SCORECARD: 10-9 Weedman. He was much more active, and found his range. Very close round. Could?ve been 10-10.
ROUND TWO: Jimmy Smith gave the round to Hawn. Weedman with a clinch, lands a knee to the jaw. Hawn pushes away. Hawn gets a clinch and presses the taller Weedman into the fence. Hawn with a punch to the body as he backs off. Kick by Weedman, but eats a big Hawn straight right hand. Another clinch in the center. Weedman lands a big knee but briefly tripped, muting some of the power behing it. Nice right in the clinch by Weedman, right over Hawn?s eye. Weedman successfully dodged an outside trip. Weedman defended a Hawn throw, and taunted him after the fact. He almost got thrown over the cage, though. Hawn starting to work the jab. Overhand right by Hawn. Hawn ducked under a straight right and hit Weedman with a right of his own. Weedman missing a lot now, most recently with a left hook. Hawn clinches but eats a knee. Another counter right hand by Hawn finds a home on Weedman?s face. Hawn?s using angles really well this round. Weedman has been pawing at his own right eye for a minute now. Also, Hawn has a cut on his nose. Clinch, and Weedman ends the round with a left elbow.
HANSEN?S SCORECARD: 10-9 Hawn
ROUND THREE: Hawn lands a right to the jaw, and follows up with a left. Switch kick by Weedman. He?s doing a good job of mixing kicks and punches. Hawn gets a trip takedown and winds up in closed guard. Weedman is throwing short right hands from the bottom. Hawn is pressed tight to Weedman?s chest. Hawn to standing, trying to pass Weedman?s guard. Nope, dives back in right a big right to the body. Weedman?s guard is wide open now, though. Hawn is trying to stacj Weedman, but the height disadvantage works against him. Weedman is trying to stay active from the bottom, but Hawn?s not letting Weedman get away with anything from his back. 1:30 left in the round. Hawn is starting to land short right hands now. Weedman got up to his feet. Back to the middle with 45 seconds left. They clinch, and Hawn with a nifty front trip which puts Weedman on his face. Weedman needs a finish. Not going to get it.
HANSEN?S SCORECARD: 10-9 Hawn. 29-28 Hawn
WINNER: Ricj Hawn by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
STAR RATING AND FINAL THOUGHTS: (**) That was a bit of a letdown. It was interesting when they got to the clinch early, with Hawn looking to throw and Weedman looking for knees. Chandler?s going to beat Hawn handily.
Follow Rich Hansen on Twitter @MMATorchRich
Dos Caras Jr Phil Cardella Roan Jucao Carneiro Shane The Engineer Carwin Jason Hollywood Chambers
No comments:
Post a Comment