The third event during Bellator’s seventh season is in the books and what a way to kick off the featherweight tournament. All the action took place in Windsor, Canada.

Highs
Wagnney Fabiano submitting Akop Stepanyan in the first round. The former WEC star made his Bellator debut and reminded everyone how good he truly is. Originally tapped to fight during the season six featherweight tournament, an injury delayed his return to the cage. Nearly two years since his last fight, Fabiano was relentless with his takedown attempts. Once he got Stepanyan to the canvas, he locked in a fight ending armbar and told everyone he was the man to beat in the tournament.

Lows
Unlike Bellator’s heavyweight division where the champ forfeited his title and the tournament is going to crown a new champ, Bellator’s featherweight division is starting to stack up challenger after challenger. The mess started back in 2011 as then champ Joe Warren expressed an interest in fighting in the bantamweight tournament. He won the title in September of 2010 and then fought Marcos Galvao in April of 2011 in a non-title fight. Patricio Freire won the right to challenge Warren a month later, but because Warren was set to fight in the bantamweight tournament, the fight was put on hold. Bellator proceeded with another featherweight tournament that summer in which Pat Curran won the right to challenge the winner of the as yet to be determined Warren-Freire fight. Freire got injured and Curran was able to step in and become champ. Curran’s first defense was to be against Freire in August of 2012, but Curran suffered an injury. While the fight with Curran and Freire was being promoted, Daniel Straus was able to win the season six featherweight tournament and earn his right to challenge for the title. Now with Curran recovering from an injury, two number one contenders and a soon to be third, the featherweight division is too stacked at this point in time.

Oh-No’s
It’s no secret that Eddie Alvarez was at the end of his Bellator contract. Arguably the face of the promotion since the first season, Alvarez had been promoted as the best lightweight in the world. Even after suffering his loss to Michael Chandler, he was still promoted as a top three lightweight by Bellator. But now, one of the long time staples is about to hit the free market and it couldn’t have come with a better send off for Alvarez. Bellator paired him off against Patricky Freire for his last fight as Freire has heavy hands and if someone was going to give Alvarez a fight it was him. And while Freire did catch Alvarez at one point and had him stumbling around on weak legs, Alvarez was able to recover and knock Freire out with just six seconds left in the first round. While Bellator would have a hard time matching ANY offer made to Alvarez by the UFC, Alvarez just made his services even more valuable. Both Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta both tweeted at Alvarez that they were excited to talk to the lightweight. Bellator will be able to recover from the loss of a single fighter, but it still is unfortunate to see a long-time fan-favorite of an organization possibly go to the competition.

Ask MMARecap is back and this week’s question comes to us from Dave Ellinger out in California. He asks a valid question, one that has been debated time and time again about the number two promotion, Bellator.

Dave asks, “I like the tournament basis to help find a title contender, but I think it will be their downfall if they continue this trend of ONLY tournament winners fighting for the title. It leaves the champ not defending their title enough and more importantly long time champs that lose their title are thrown all the way at the bottom with no chance to fight for the title unless they win the whole tournament. That is disrespectful in my opinion, what’s your take?”

There are a couple of levels to this question and hopefully I can answer all of them. First, for those that don’t know what Bellator’s tournament format is (are you living under a rock?) here’s the gist. Each season eight fighters in various weight classes compete against each other with the winner fighting the current champ or possibly fighting another season’s winner to crown a new champion. Bellator’s modo is “Where championships are earned, not given away”.

This format made so much sense when the promotion first started. It was an easy way over the course of three months to determine who the champs would be. It also provided us with several amazing fights through out the course of the season. Now that Bellator is about to kick off their seventh season (plus two mini Summer Series seasons) the question about champs defending their belts is becoming more relevant.

For the most part, each season has hosted only four different weight classes and with two seasons a year, that makes for a champ only being able to defend his title a single time in the course of the year and fight in a non-title fight the rest (be it inside Bellator or at another promotion).

But that’s about to change according Bjorn Rebney, CEO of Bellator. He recently spoke to MMAJunkie about the move to SpikeTV in 2013 and part of the plan is to expand to six tournaments per season. There are eight titles and with six tournaments going during the course of a season, that would make the majority of the belts defended at least twice a year. The motive Bjorn said is that UFC champs typically fight 2-3 times per year and that’s what he is wanting his champs to do.

So now that we have a system in place for the champs to fight more often, then the question is how quickly should the champs fight provided there is a contender. My answer is the sooner the better. It has been proven time and time again, that if you wait for a fight to happen, something is bound to screw it up. And then when that original fight finally materializes the same level of drama or appeal might not be there or the fighters themselves are different (think Evans vs Jones or Liddell vs Silva).

Now let’s break down the questions that Dave really asked. The first being implied that Bellator should allow non-tournament fighters the chance to fight for the belt. The question I have as an answer is why? The tournament gives us a clear cut number one contender and in the case of the current featherweights, two number one contenders. No one can argue that someone other than Patricio Freire and Daniel Straus should be fighting Pat Curran in Bellator.

But of course there’s the flipside, like when Ben Askren won a close decision against Jay Hieron. Hieron wanted a rematch, but was told he had to go do the tournament. He opted to get out of his Bellator contract instead. Or the case of Eddie Alvarez, the first lightweight champ who arguably could make the best case for a rematch after his loss to Chandler.

But if a rematch is going to be granted, or non-tournament winners given a title shot, that lessens the value of the tournament and what Bellator is about. It’s a little different with other sports where championships are given each year, but imagine if the NFL automatically gave one of the Superbowl spots to the defending champ? Or imagine if the NFL decided that this years Superbowl was going to feature the Giants versus the Broncos just because they want a Manning versus Manning Superbowl. It just doesn’t make sense.

In fighting, you have a champ who should defend his belt as often as he can against the next best guy at that point in time. Bellator’s tournament format allows that to happen. I am more intrigued by a Bellator champ defending his belt than what is going to take place in a couple weeks at UFC 152 between Jon Jones and Vitor Belfort. As I stated in a previous article, champs and title contenders should be ready at any time. So no, I don’t think it will be their downfall.

Now to the second part of that question about long time champs who lose their belt having to go to the back of the line so to speak. This also holds true for tournament winners, as previously mentioned with Hieron. Do I think that a champ who loses his belt should have to go to the back of the line? Yes. And here’s why.

I HATE immediate rematches. I think the only time one could make a case for an immediate rematch is if the fight was ruled a no-contest or a draw. Even the later I am not 100% on board with. If you are the challenger, you must beat the champ to win. Now I don’t mean you have to finish the champ, or lay an ass whooping on the champ. You just have to have your hand raised at the end of the fight. Even if it is the most boring fight ever, if you are the challenger, and the judges saw you winning the fight, you won the fight.

So if you lost, you lost. That means you should be heading not necessarily to the back of the line (in the UFC that’s a very long way), but definitely not the next person to challenge for the belt. And since Bellator is about earning your title shot, what better way than to do it the way you did before, by fighting three times in twelve weeks and proving that you are the number one contender.

There is an added benefit of fighting in the tournament and winning it, the pay. Several Bellator fighters both on and off record have stated that winning the tournament was huge for their financial outcome, but that fighting for the title, or even defending the title, wasn’t near as profitable.

While the numbers are not available for what the fighters make per fight, one only has to look at Pat Curran’s career in Bellator. In 2010 he fought three times and won all three fights earning $100,000 for the three fights. Then he fought Eddie Alvarez and lost. Odds are likely that he did not make that kind of money for his losing performance. After he entered the next tournament and again won three fights and again earning $100,000. Did he earn $33,000 from Bellator for the Warren victory? I don’t know. What I do know is other title contenders and holders off record have stated that it would be better for financially to fight in the tournament, win, lose the title, then do another tournament.

Finally, the question of is it disrespectful to the former champs to not earn an immediate rematch. I say it depends on how that fighter is then marketed. If the new champ is marketed as the savior and the former champ as a villain, then yes. If however the former champ is marketed as the former champ and should be treated as such, then no. Look at Peyton Manning, the guy is one of the best quarterbacks of all time. This season, after multiple surgeries and a new team, many NFL experts are quick to point out, a Peyton Manning at 80% is still better than almost all the quarterbacks in the league.

I am not saying that certain champs shouldn’t have the right to ask for an immediate rematch, but if the rules of the game say you can’t have one, then you can’t have one. And that is what makes Bellator so exciting. Every fighter who competes in the tournament knows they are just three fights away from a title shot. There are fighters who are completely fine with having to go back and try again, look at Daniel Straus who nearly won his first attempt, lost in the finals, then came back the next season to win. Or a guy like Lyman Good who was the champ and now is trying to earn his way back. Or Ben Saunders who keeps on trying and entertaining the fans the entire way.

What makes Bellator stand out from the UFC and other shows is the tournament format. It provides a clear cut number one contender. People like tournaments to determine who is the best. It’s why college football is moving to a playoff schedule starting in 2014.

Ask MMARecap is a weekly feature where users submit questions. If your question is answered you will receive your choice of print from Art by JMC. The prints include Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Royce Gracie, BJ Penn, Carlos Condit, Georges St-Pierre, Nick Diaz, Nate Diaz, Jose Aldo, Dominic Cruz, Frankie Edgar, Junior Dos Santos, Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, Wanderlei Silva, Dan Henderson, Brock Lesnar, Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez. To submit your question, leave a comment here or on our facebook page when we ask for questions.

Bellator 65 took place Friday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The event was also streamed on Spike.com and main card was featured on MTV2. The main event featured a title fight between Zach Makovsky and Eduardo Dantas. It was Dantas who was crowned the new bantamweight champion when he choked Makovsky out cold with a arm triangle choke in the second round, just passed the midway point in the fight. Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said of his new champion, “You’re looking at one of the best bantamweights in the world. Absolutely a spectacular performance from this young man tonight.”

Although the rest of the main card was all decisions, this was far from a boring event. In the co-main event, it was Daniel Straus who bloodied up Mike Corey over the full 15 minutes to win the unanimous decision. The fight was an emotional one for Straus, as one of his training partners and close friends passed away last week after being involved in an automobile accident. Straus dedicated the fight to Chris Smith, and said “I’ve cried over the past three days, cried over the past two hours, and it’s just a blessing to be in here, man. I want to thank all the fans that are here tonight”. Straus is now set to fight Marlon Sandro in the tournament finals.

The main card also featured 2 opening round bouts in the bantamweight tournament. Alexis Vila seemed to come out strong against Luis Nogueira, and although he never had Luis in any real danger, Vila took the round. From then on out it was Luis Nogueira who controlled the fight everywhere it went, and although they were back and forth at times, he clearly won the final two rounds and won the bout. He picked up the unanimous decision win.

In the other bantamweight bout, Marcos Galvao pounded on Ed West for three straight rounds. Galvao arguably lost a few a fights by decision he should have won, and he vowed to finish this fight. He spent the entire time trying to do so, and Ed West showed plenty of heart surviving the fight. He didn’t get the finish, but Galvao picked up a dominating unanimous decision win to advance.

The full Bellator 65 results include:

MAIN CARD
Bantamweight Championship Fight
Eduardo Dantas defeats Zach Makovsky by technical submission (arm-triangle choke) round 2, 3:26
Dantas becomes the new bantamweight champion.

Featherweight tournament semifinal
Daniel Straus defeats Mike Corey by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Bantamweight tournament/opening round
Luis Nogueira defeats Alexis Vila by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Bantamweight tournament/opening round
Marcos Galvao defeats Ed West by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

PRELIMINARY CARD

Duane Bastress defeats Plinio Cruz by technical knock out (strikes) Round 2, 2:52
Will Martinez defeats Terrell Hobbs by submission (rear-naked choke) Round 1, 4:13
Scott Heckman defeats Lester Caslow by submission (rear-naked choke) Round 1, 3:40
Kris McCray defeats Ailton Barbosa by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Lyman Good defeats LeVon Maynard by knock out (punch) Round 1, 0:13
E.J. Brooks defeats Mikhail Malyutin by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

Season six of Bellator has delivered on almost every single level and the featherweight tournament has been a shining example of what is going right for the promotion. The opening round had its fair share of issues leading up to the fights with injuries and missed weight, but that didn’t stop the fighters from putting on amazing performances.

There’s one semi-final round battle that is left in the tournament, and that features two of the best in the midwest: Mike Corey versus Daniel Straus.

Straus’s history is intriguing when you look back at it. Prior to his fights in Bellator, his last loss was in 2009 at XFO 29 against Pat Curran. After the loss, Straus went on to win seven fights in a row before getting a chance to fight for Bellator at Bellator 23. There he took on Chad Hinton and won a unanimous decision.

He then took two more fights outside of Bellator, one for XFO and one for Shark Fights. He won both, increasing his win streak to ten. That win streak was enough for Bellator officials to officially invite him to take part of the season four featherweight tournament.

Still he was a relative unknown in the tournament and many had placed him the lower half. But he made the most of it by defeating Nazareno Malegarie in the opening round. He moved onto the semis and submitted Kenny Foster four weeks later. In the finals he ran into Patricio Freire, who was likely the favorite for the entire tournament. Straus put up a good fight, but lost a unanimous decision.

Straus then returned to his winning ways with a decision over Jason Dent. Impressed with his performance both in and out of the tournament, Straus was given another opportunity to compete in the featherweight tournament. His first opponent was the undefeated Jeremy Spoon, and like Malegarie, Straus handed him his first loss.

Standing across the cage from Straus is someone who has watched a good number of his fights from cageside in Corey. Corey’s Bellator story is shaping up to be one that will go down in the history books.

In 2010, Corey was asked to be apart of the season two lightweight tournament. After accepting the spot, he was forced to withdraw due to an injury and in stepped his teammate Pat Curran. Curran went on to win the lightweight tournament, lost to the champ Eddie Alvarez, won the featherweight tournament, and became the champ after knocking out Joe Warren.

But Corey didn’t let the injury phase him. After recovering and able to train, Corey took a fight at XFO 38. He won a unanimous decision over Tom Ahrens that night. Bellator officials were calling him and asking him to fight for them again.

He got his chance at Bellator 57 against Chris Horodecki. The fight was billed as a tournament qualifier; meaning the winner would be invited to compete in the upcoming lightweight tournament. Unfortunately for Corey, Horodecki, and Bellator, the fight was ruled a draw and neither fighter would be asked to be in the tournament.

But Corey stayed positive and new his chance would come. While his teammate Pat Curran was scheduled to fight in the main event at Bellator 60 against Joe Warren for the title, Corey got a chance to fight on the undercard and took it.

Training was going well for the Team Curran fighter, then with less than two weeks till the fight, one of the featherweight fighters had to withdraw due to injury. Corey, a lightweight his entire career, jumped at the chance to not only partake in a Bellator tournament, but try his hand at a weight class ten pounds lighter.

Like his teammate Curran during season two, Corey was stepping in to fight one of the top fighters in the tournament. Many were giving Ronnie Mann the victory as soon as the fight was announced, but that didn’t deter Corey.

Prior to the fight, Corey said he wanted to turn the fight into a scrap. He knew Mann possessed great technical boxing and he wanted to avoid that as much as possible. The first round of the fight, Mann kept the fight in his world. Slipping and counter punching Corey relatively easily. Mann landed a big right hand that landed and a mouse immediately formed under Corey’s eye.

Unhappy with the first round, Corey wanted to turn the tables and took the fight to the ground. While Mann was able to work his way back to his feet, the tide clearly turned. Corey started to land with confidence and took Mann down when he wanted to. After what was probably the most exhausting ten minutes, Corey’s hand was raised in victory.

Both Corey and Straus are the type to grind their opponent until they break. The question is, will either of these two break? Trying to compare the two and figure out who has the edge is nearly impossible.

Straus has always enjoyed a size advantage over his opponents in the featherweight division, but Corey is just as big. Both like to use their wrestling to get their opponent down and break them, and both have dangerous standup. The only possible advantage you could give to either fighter would be Corey’s jiu jitsu.

While Bellator 65 has some exciting fights on deck, including a bantamweight title fight, Corey vs Straus is looking like it could be the fight of the tournament.

In case you missed the videos posted on our Facebook page or our Youtube channel, here’s all of the post-fight video interviews we took after Bellator 60. The list includes Bjorn Rebney, Pat Curran, Mike Corey, Kenny Foster, Marlon Sandro, Daniel Straus, Brian Butler, and Felice Herrig.

Bjorn Rebney

Pat Curran

Mike Corey

Kenny Foster

Marlon Sandro

Daniel Straus

Brian Butler

Felice Herrig

On March 9, 2012, Bellator finally returned, close to home with a stacked Featherweight tournament card and a championship fight as well. The small, but beautiful venue at the Horseshoe Casino was filled with local fans cheering on their friends or family members who are now established mixed martial artist.

Here is what transpired that night.

Genair da Silva vs Bobby Reardanz – 148 lbs.

Ref – Jeff Melot

Small crowd to start the undercard. Kicks to start for Reardanz, large distance between the two to start. Silva opened up with kicks. Knees against the cage from Silva. Silva gave pressure against the cage wall. Reardanz worked knees to counter. Reardanz was unable to switch positions with Silva. Good inside leg trip from Silva for the takedown. Reardanz retained guard, but punches and elbows from Silva landed from the top. Brief triangle attempt from the bottom from Reardanz. Silva scourged it off and began to work the leg kicks while standing. Reardanz found an opportunity to stand up. Flying knee attempt from Silva that was blocked from Reardanz. Heavy right hook from Reardanz to swing momentum for himself that pushed back Silva. Reardanz pushed the action against the cage and Silva stuffed the takedown against the fence. Good exchange between the two after the break. Reardanz slips and Silva gains a dominate position from the opportunity. Silva delivered hammer fits that didn’t land solidly. Dominate position from Silva as he rained down punishment. Reardanz had good control with his feet on Silva’s hips and was able to push him away. Leg kicks while standing from Silva again. Silva tried to swing past the legs after grabbing the ankles as soon as the round ends.

Round two started with leg kicks from Silva again. Silva went high and low on Reardanz with his strikes. Knocked Reardanz down with a outside leg kick. Silva pinned Reardanz against the cage and continue his campaign with punches. Silva let him stand back up. Reardanz was stuffed by Silva from the takedown attempt. Silva went for a darius choke for a second, but then abandoned it. Silva pushed forward and ended up in Reardanz’s guard against the cage. Reardanz was able to stall, but not long enough for a stand up. Silva broke from wrist control to land a few more punches. Silva backed away for Reardanz to stand up. Another leg sweep from Silva for the knockdown, but stand back up afterwards. Another inside leg kick from Silva for the knockdown. Silva was working the legs hard. Reardanz can hardly stand. Silva with heavy leg attack, another flying knee attempt, blocked by Reardanz. Another outside leg kick from Silva and another knockdown. Reardanz grabbed a desperate single leg and Silva landed heavy hammer fits to the right side of Reardanz’s head. Silva defended the takedown to end up in side control to end the round.

Round three: More kicks from Silva to start, Reardanz looked uncertain on what to do. Another outside Silva kick from Silva and Reardanz falls to the ground. Unanswered punches from Silva and the ref called the fight.

Result: Silva via TKO at .51 of round three

 

FEATHERWEIGHT QUARTERFINALS

Kenny Foster vs. Alexandre Bezerra

Ref – Rob Hines

A lot of feeling out process at the beginning of the fight. Bezerra with light jabs just to checks his distance. Some hand holding out in front of each other, then a close head kick from Bezerra. Strong and heavy left hand from Foster, but the strike just missed the target. Bezerra punched the action back against the cage and secures the double leg takedown. Foster answered quickly with a stand up and punched Bezerra against the cage. A lot of heavy work on wrist control and dirty boxing. The fighters broke clean and restart in the center. A deep inside leg kick from Bezerra landed. Foster with a high leg kick and falls, but defended the takedown from Bezerra smartly. A wild exchange, both fired off uppercuts and hooks, but nothing lands. Bezerra attempted a hip toss that was defending well from Foster. Another inside leg kick that lands from Bezerra. Bezerra with center control and Foster moving on the outside of the cage. A flying knee attempt from Bezerra that didn’t land. Foster blocking head kicks well.

Round two: Foster came out strong with combos to start the second. Bezerra again with center control. Foster started out as the busier fighter in this round. Fighters kept a good distance from each other, until Bezerra dived in for a takedown, but reversed by Foster and took Bezerra’s back. Bezerra was able to escape with no damage. Many strikes from both fighters are not landing because of the distance issue. Both fighters are standing just out of reach of each other. A diving takedown attempt from Foster, but stuffed from Bezerra and Bezerra reversed to grab the back of Foster. Bezerra landed many left handed punches and Foster was not fighting back. Bezerra sunk in his arms for the choke at the closing seconds of the round. Foster was forced to tap.

Result: Bezerra via Tapout due to a RNC at 4.52 of round two

 

CATCHWEIGHT (165)

SHAMAR BAILEY (13-5) Chicago, IL VS JOSH SHOCKLEY (8-1) Hobart, IN

Ref – Gary Cokland

Quick exchange of punches early from both fighters. A strong head kick from Bailey that was blocked. Kick and punch combo lands from Bailey to stun Shockley. Bailey over extended from a punch and Shockley reached in for the clinch position. Shockley worked for a takedown against the cage. Bailey with great defense as he pushed Shockley’s head down, but Shockley grabbed a double leg takedown for a huge body slam. Bailey fought off the advances and got back to his feet. Another over extension from Bailey and Shockley pushed the fight to the cage. A quick grappling exchange and reversals from both fighters but Shockley won as he moved to the mount. Bailey quickly retained half guard. But landing soft and infrequent strikes. Bailey working hard to reverse the position, but Shockley maintained control and ended in north-south from the knees. Body blows from Shockley and Bailey tried to create a scramble. Shockley still maintained control until the horn sounded.

Round two: Both threw faints to regain their distance. Shockley tagged Bailey early. Bailey caught Shockley with a left hook, but Shockley walked through it and pushed forward. Shockley countered well, but didn’t follow up afterwards. Low blow from Bailey. Shockley was down for the full five minutes. Puck bucket was brought in for a few minutes, but later was returned. Action resumed with Bailey landing strikes on the chin of Shockley. Shockley caught with a left hook and dropped in on Bailey guard. He quickly moved to side control. Bailey reversed with a takedown of his own, but reversed by Shockley into half guard. Shockley was now in Bailey’s half guard landing a few strikes to the ribs. Bailey landing more strikes from the bottom; elbows to the body. The crowd was loudly giving instructions. Shockley content to end the round in a dominate position, but not landing damaging strikes.

Round three: Bailey with early center control, but over extended and Shockley pushed in for a double leg takedown in to Bailey’s butterfly guard. More elbows from the bottom from Bailey. Shockley moved to half guard by pushing down the right knee and stepping over it. Punches from the top, but look soft. Shockley moved to side control by stepping over Bailey’s hips. Shockley went for the mount and almost left enough space for Bailey to get out and up. Shockley back in half guard. Shockley went back and forth between side control and half guard. Landed a few punches in between. Shockley holding Bailey against the cage for several seconds. Bailey from the bottom wanted to get a kimura but abandoned it. With thirty seconds left in the fight, Bailey gets back to his feet, but Shockley had his hips with his hands and scored another takedown. Bailey secured a guillotine, but Shockley was unaffected. Waved to the crowd to let them know he was okay as the horn sounded.

Result: Josh Shockley via unanimous decision

 

FEATHERWEIGHT QUARTER FINAL

RONNIE MANN (21-4-1) Cheltenham, UK VS MIKE COREY (11-2) Crystal Lake, IL

Ref – Gary Coklan

Crowd was to be behind Corey. Leg kick to open from Mann and with center cage control. Mann with a one-two combo with the cross landing. Punch combo ended with a head kick attempt from Mann. Corey pushed the action to the cage for a single leg, but Mann with a guillotine as a counter. They break cleanly and start over in the center. Corey had a quick one-two down the pipe of Mann that landed with one of them. Corey pushed forward more often than Mann at this point. Corey pushed in and got caught with a right hook from Mann while stepping backwards. Mann with a follow up punchs to the chin that dropped Corey. Mann was in the guard of Corey for an in stand and Corey trapped the arm looking for a shoulder lock and Mann backs up and wanted to restart in the center. Corey attacked forward with punches to answer for the two punches that dropped him. Small punching combos that push the fighters back and forth. Corey scores a takedown late in the round and gets half guard. Started to land right hammer fits as the round ended.

Round two: Corey showing the damage on his face. Mann opened up with an outside leg kick. Corey pushed forward with punch combos and landing a few. Mann answered with a quick one-two combo and Corey quickly swung out from the fence. Mann with another punch-kick combo that landed. Corey with a quick jab-takedown combo and secured into half guard. More punches from Corey on the face of Mann. Mann regained half guard. Mann worked for full guard now. Corey landed more punches against the cage. Mann using the fence to swing his hips over to look for an arm bar from the bottom. Corey putting his weight on to Mann that stalled the submission attempt. Corey escapes danger and landed more punches from the top. Corey was in side control and Mann rolled into him with thirty seconds left in the second. More punches from Corey that landed. Another last arm bar attempt, but Corey deafened well.

Round three: Crowd was still behind Corey. Mann caught Corey with a stiff jab to open the round. Corey quickly answered with strikes of his own to the body and face. Both fighters swung and landed a few jabs and hooks alike. Both men looking good and pushed forward. Corey with a takedown from a clinch that ended in half guard. Corey looked to advance his position with an arm triangle attempt. More punches from the top from Corey and landing on Mann’s face. Corey looked to pass to full mount, but good defense from Mann on the bottom. More punches from Corey from the top. Not doing much damage, but he stayed busy. Mann retained gull guard, but Corey still threw punches. Corey worked the head and body. Mann rolled over in the turtle and more punishment from Corey. Mann rolled forward looked for a leg lock or knee bar. Corey smartly spun out and reversed to regained side control. More punches followed. The crowd fully behind Corey as the fight ends.

Result: Mike Corey via Unanimous Decision (29-28)

 

FEATHERWEIGHT QUARTER FINAL

JEREMY SPOON (12-0) Tuttle, OK VS DANIEL STRAUS (17-4) Cincinnati, OH on

Ref – Jeff Melot

Straus quickly took the center and made Spoon move along the outside. Kicks from Spoon to start. Straus ducked under punches and captured the head under the arm of Spoon for what looked like the arm triangle while standing. Spoon spun out when Straus moved to take the back. They moved back to the center and they went and started kick boxing again. Spoon used a two punch combo and Straus throwing single strikes. Landing on Spoon’s chin to stun him. Straus pushed forward for a double leg takedown against the cage. Straus ended up in half guard after Spoon tried to stand up again the cage. Straus now with Spoon face down and kneed the left ribs of Spoon. Spoon stood up with wrist control and delivered a low blow. All is forgiven as they restart. Straus with level changes to stalk Spoon down against the cage. A flying kneed from Straus countered with a looping right hook, but Straus moved forward. Straus dived in for a takedown but Spoon deafened well and narrowly missed Straus. Head kick and left hook from Straus to end the round.

Round two: Started with fast action from both. Spoon dived in for at single, but Straus defended it off. Still in the over under position, Spoon pushed the action to the cage. Dirty boxing from here. Spoon worked the legs with his knees. Straus with a half hip toss, but Spoon back to his feet. Straus landed a heavy left hand followed by a blocked kick. Low blow from Straus. Action restarts and they both traded punches. Straus with an inside leg kick and Spoon countered with the same. Spoon came in and ate a right hand from Straus that sent him stumbling back. Straus missed a strike and Spoon ran forward for the clinch and moved the action to the cage wall. A focused battle for wrist control until Straus broke away with a knee to the head attempt, but missed. Straus swung with punches and Spoon ducked under for a single leg to move the action from the center to the cage. More knees and wrist control. Spoon with a spinning leg trip takedown. Straus unfazed and back to his feet, but Spoon was still close. Straus down for a double leg takedown against the cage. Punches followed from Straus. Spoon holding the body to escape punches. A rare ax kick to the abdomen from Straus while Spoon is down as the round ended.

Round three: Quick combo from Straus to open the round. Straus still in control of the center and Spoon on the outside. Spoon counters with a straight right hand that ‘oohs’ the crowd. Jab-takedown combo from Straus that is stuffed by Spoon and they bounce back to their feet. A quick right hook form Straus to briefly stun Spoon while against the cage. Spoon, again, fighting for wrist control while pressed Straus against the cage. Straus caught Spoon with a soft left hook on the break. Quick exchanges from both fighter, but nothing significant lands. Another takedown stuffed by Straus. They were standing in the middle and threw combos. The clinched and moved to the wall. More dirty boxing landing from both fighters and another game of wrist control. From the break Straus caught Spoon with a strong left hook. As Straus stalked down Spoon, Spoon pushed him against the cage. Round ends with both men on the floor fighting for position.

Result: Daniel Straus via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28 x2)

 

BOUT 5 FEATHERWEIGHT QUARTERFINAL

ROBERTO VARGAS (12-1) San Bernardino, CA VS MARLON SANDRO (20-3) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Ref – Rob Hines

Single strikes from both fighters that did not land to start the fight. Vargas is reaching out for that jab, but did not land it. Sandro ducked his head and swung out to the right with left hook. A great inside leg kick from Sandro. Sandro with center control and pushed back Vargas. Sandro caught Vargas with an uppercut and right hook to stumble Vargas backwards. Smelled blood and swarmed on him. Vargas was not easily put away. Vargas fought back with punches and takedown defense. Another let hook to Vargas and he was down again. Sandro takes the back easily and sinks in the choke; Vargas tapped.

Result: Marlon Sandro gets the Tapout 3.35 via guillotine at of round one.

 

CATCHWEIGHT (280)

RICHARD WHITE (18-12) Daytona Beach, FL VS SEAN MCCORKLE (13-2) Indianapolis, IN

McCorkle took the center and pushed White’s back against the cage. Leg trip takedown in to half guard from McCorkle. Punches and elbows from the top. White rolled into McCorkle’s postured up guard. McCorkle worked slowly on the ground. McCorkle took his right forearm around the forehead of White and pulls back for the tapout.

Result: McCorkle via Tapout due to a neck crank at 1.02 of round one.

 

TRAVIS WIUFF (65-14) Rochester, MN VS ANTHONY GOMEZ (8-1) Hammond, IN

Ref – Jeff Melot

Wiuff came out strong with punches from every angel. Gomez takes to the ground but Wiuff is all over him. Gomez retains guard and hand control to stop the punches and worked his way back up to his feet by using the cage. Wiuff is pushing all of his weight against him for a sweet judo toss to the ground right in side control. Crowd cheering Gomez while he was on the bottom and could not get up. Wiuff slips back into half guard. Gomez rolls into Wiuff halfway. Wiuff stepped over the legs and took the back of Gomez. Wiuff now with a body lock against the cage and Gomez swung his arm over to face his opponent. Wiuff dropped down for an easy single leg and in Gomez’s full guard. Gomez works back to his feet and crowd loved it.

Round two: Heavy swings from Wiuff to create a clinch position and pushed Gomez against the cage. Dirty boxing while fighting for wrist control. Wiuff sucks out the hips for a takedown against the cage. Wiuff in the half guard looked to pass. Some elbows from Wiuff landed. Gomez reversed a key lock submission attempt and ended up in full guard of Wiuff. Gomez landing punches and the crowd is back into this one. Hammer fists from both hands from Gomez. Gomez slips to half guard after some punches form the bottom. More elbows from Gomez and refs stand them up due to one stray elbow to the back of the head. Wiuff pushed forward with wild looping hands to set up another takedown. Wiuff making Gomez carry all of his weight against the cage. Some knees land from Wiuff as the round ends.

Round three: Nice jab to open the third round from Wiuff. Both were willing to exchange. More looping punches form Wiuff to push the action to a clinch position. A few knees from Gomez, but nothing significant landed. Some dirty boxing and upper cuts from Wiuff. More counter uppercuts from Wiuff that land on Gomez. Good Thai clinch where knees from Gomez land, and Wiuff seemed unfazed. Another takedown off the fence for Wiuff; in open guard of Gomez, but sill landing punches from the top. Gomez has moved to butterfly guard. Gomez spins to stand up, but Wiuff takes the back. Gomez spins back into Wiuff. Wiuff judo trips him again in the center of the cage in side control.  Wiuff content on lying in Gomez’s open half guard and throw small punches. Gomez worked back into open guard. More punches from Wiuff on top. The fight ends with Wiuff on top throwing punches.

Result: Travis Wiuff (29-28) via Unanimous Decision

 

CORY GALLOWAY (DEBUT) Crystal Lake, IL VS JAKE NAURACY (DEBUT) Hammond, IN

Ref – Gary Coplan

Galloway takes the center and they both swung at each other. Nothing significant landed. Both fighters just missing each other’s chins. Nauracy with a quick one-hook combo dropped Galloway and Nauracy jumped on the down opponent. Nauracy with full guard and trying to control the busy top fighter. Nauracy trying to pass Galloway’s guard. Nauracy fought for half guard, but Galloway counters with a guillotine threat. Nauracy worked out of that with punches and then looked for an arm triangle. Nauracy reversed and ended up in Nauracys guard, but wants out and off the ground. They stand up and start over. Galloway now in the center of the cage until Nauracy pushed forward with combos. Another right hook landed from Galloway and Nauracy with a takedown attempt. Galloway pushed the action to the cage and worked for a kimura. From the break Nauracy lands a solid knee on the chin, but Galloway pushes forward. The round ends as Galloway pushed forward with a last second combo.

Round two: good and quick exchanges from both fighters. Good body shots traded from each. High kick goes wrong for Galloway and slips to the ground. Nauracy looked for another arm triangle attempt. Galloway showed good defense. Galloway punched from the bottom to the ribs of Nauracy. Nauracy had control of the hands and landed punches from the top. Galloway tried to buck out from the bottom, but Nauracy got the back instead. Naurcy started going for the RNC, but Galloway was hand fighting well. Nauracy with a body triangle. Galloway with his head turning colors until he pushed the elbow away. Galloway could not get Nauracy off his back. Nauracy tried again for the RNC and sunk it in for the tap.

Result: Jake Nauracy via RNC at 4.22 in the second round.

 

Quick Results:

Genair da Silva via TKO at .51 of round three

Alexandre Bezerra via Tapout due to a RNC at 4.52 of round two

Josh Shockley via Unanimous Decision (30-27)

Mike Corey via Unanimous Decision (29-28)

Daniel Straus via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28 x2)

Marlon Sandro via Tapout due to a guillotine chock at 3.35 of round one

Sean McCorkle via Tapout due to a neck crank at 1.02 of round one

Travis Wiuff (29-28) via Unanimous Decision

Jake Nauracy via RNC at 4.22 of the second round

The longest running promotion in the state of Illinois can say that they are able to send fighters onto the big show. On Friday March 9 at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond Indiana, Bellator 60 takes place and seven of the twenty-two fighters have fought under the XFO Banner with three of those on the main card.

On the main card Pat Curran will get his chance to bring home the first world title to Team Curran while his teammate Mike Corey looks to upset Ronnie Mann as a late replacement entry into the season six tournament. A fighter whom many are calling the dark horse of the featherweight tournament, Daniel Straus, is looking to make another impact on the field of fighters in his second tournament go-around.

On the undercard three veterans of the sport are trying to improve their records. Travis Wiuff will be taking on Anthony Gomez in what could potentially be a tournament qualifier for the next light heavyweight tournament.

Richard White will be competing in a 280lb catchweight bout against Sean McCorkle and look to snap a three-fight losing streak. White suffered his second loss of his career at XFO 30 and followed it up with a five fight win streak.

Bobby Reardanz has competed under the XFO banner five times prior to getting the call to fight for Bellator. He is currently on a two-fight win streak for the first time in nearly two years.

Finally making his professional debut, Cory Galloway will be taking on Jake Nauracy in the bantamweight division. Galloway and Nauracy were both champions in different organizations and surprisingly their paths hadn’t crossed as amateurs.

Bellator’s Season 6 Featherweight Tournament is setting out in its quarterfinal stage at Bellator 60. The new tournament begins under a headliner of season 5 summer series winner Pat Curran’s title shot against Joe Warren. Season 6 kicks off as Marlon Sandro faces off against Roberto Vargas, Mike Corey takes on Ronnie Mann, Alexandre Bezerra fights Kenny Foster, and Daniel Straus faces Jeremy Spoon.

In the season 5 “Summer Series” featherweight tournament, the bracket narrowed down to Curran vs Sandro. The fight was an instant Bellator classic, as Curran cracked Sandro with a second round head-kick, ending the tournament via knockout. The stoppage fueled a fire under Sandro, who has since finished Rafael Dias in the first round via submission.

Curran picked Sandro as his favorite to win the tournament. It is a popular pick, as Sandro seems to be the most veteran fighter in the bracket. Sandro holds an amazing 20-3 record, mostly built up of knockouts and submissions. He will face a stiff test in 12-1 Vargas, who is a submission specialist himself with four submission stoppages to his credit.

Ronnie Mann was originally scheduled to fight Waggney Fabiano, but Fabiano had to pull out of the contest due to injury. Now Mann squares off against a team Curran stand-out, Mike Corey. A high school wrestler, Corey uses that base along with stellar Jiu-Jitsu to win fights. He is up against the greatest test of his career as he faces a tall task in Mann. Making it to the semifinals of season 5′s tournament, Mann lost a decision to Curran. He has since rebounded with a win over Kenny Foster, and is considered a high seed in the tournament.

Alexandre Bezerra is a man on a mission. He flys into this tournament with four Bellator wins at his back. The submission specialist has forced eight opponents to surrender via tap-out, and hopes to keep his streak going against Kenny Foster. Foster was originally slated to fight on the under-card, but was bumped up into the tournament after weigh-in issues forced Genair Da Silva off of the card. It would be the biggest upset of any if Foster can pull off a win against Bezerra.
Daniel Straus is another impressive record holder on this card at 21-4. Despite being a wrestler at heart, Straus has finished many opponents via TKO. He holds a 3-1 record in Bellator, dropping his most recent Bellator fight to Patrico Freire. He is slated against a ground expert in Jeremy Spoon. Spoon has finished eight of his twelve fights by submission, with an overall record of 12-0. This is a drop down in weight for Spoon, who usually fights at 155 pounds. Straus is certainly the toughest test in Spoons short but successful career, but he stands a solid chance, and Spoon could easily be the dark horse in this tournament.

Bellator is finally coming back to the Chicagoland area. On Friday March 9th at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana Pat Curran will get his shot at current Bellator featherweight Joe Warren.

 
Curran earned his shot against the champion during Bellator’s summer series featherweight tournament. He bested Luis Palomino in the first round with a Peruvian necktie submission during the opening round. He then fought a hard three-round battle with Ronnie Mann and earned the unanimous decision to move onto the finals. In the second round against Marlon Sandro, Curran landed a beautiful headkick that sent Sandro to the canvas and gave Curran his second tournament win in two years.

Warren meanwhile is coming off his first loss in Bellator after trying to become the first Bellator fighter to earn two championships. In the opening round of the bantamweight tournament, Warren was matched up with Alexis Vila where he suffered a first round knockout and his dreams of being both the bantamweight and featherweight champ were squashed.

The current card includes:
Joe Warren vs Pat Curran
Marlon Sandro vs Roberto Vargas
Wagnney Fabiano vs Ronnie Mann
Alexandre Bezerra vs Genair da Silva
Jeremy Spoon vs Daniel Straus

Season four of Bellator is about to come to a close and what a better way to end the season than with the featherweight and light heavyweight finals.  Richard Hale will take on Christian M’Pumbu in the night’s co-main event, while Daniel Straus will try to finish Patricio Freire in the main event.  In two tournament qualifier matchups, Thiago Santos takes on Derek Lewis for a spot in the heavyweight as well as middleweights Karl Amoussou and Sam Alvey in a middleweight matchup.

Patricio “Pitbull” Freire has made it to the finals for the second time in a row.  This time however he is looking for a different outcome as the previous tournament he lost to now champion Joe Warren in the finals.  The loss to Warren is his lone blemish in his seven year career.

Freire kicked off the season with a TKO finish over Georgi Karakhanyan at Bellator 37.  The two fighters were almost mirrors of each other as they both landed combos and takedowns through out the fight.  But the tide turned in the third round when Freire laned a left hook, followed by a straight right, and one more left hook that sent Karakhanyan to the canvas.

His semi-final bout was against another former finalist in Wilson Reis.  The two bjj black belts looked to keep the fight standing and showcase their ever improving striking skills.  While Reis looked to push the pace it was Freire who was able to land the more powerful and damaging counters that kept Reis off his game.  Like his previous fight, the third round proved pivotal as Freire found his range and landed several left-right combos until Reis was knock out cold.

Standing across from Freire in the finals is the black horse of the tournament Daniel Straus.  Straus earned his way into the tournament at Bellator 23 when he earned a unanimous decision over Chad Hinton.  While waiting for the season four tournament to start, Straus took two more fights and was victorious in both.  First he defeated Joe Pearson at XFO 36 and then followed that up a month later with a unanimous decision victory over Karen Darabedyan at Shark Fights 13.

Straus’s first test in the tournament came at Bellator 37 against Nazareno Malegarie.  The first round was all Malegarie as he was able to take Straus’s back and worked most of the round for a rear naked choke.  When that didn’t work, he moved to a guillotine choke and then an anaconda choke.  But Straus was impossible to put away and eventually he made it back to his feet.  The second and third rounds were a bit closer, but Straus was able to land his own takedowns and strikes while defending Malegarie’s takedowns.  In the end the judges were unanimous in giving the fight to Straus.

In the semifinals Straus met Kenny Foster and this time was able to use his size and strength to his advantage.  The first two rounds Straus took Foster down and worked to keep his position.  Foster proved difficult to keep down as he continually popped back up.  In the third round Straus again took the fight down, but this time Foster wanted to hold him in his guard.  Straus managed to pass to half guard, and from there worked until he was able to secure the fight ending guillotine.

Bellator 45 takes place at L’Auberge du Lac Casino in Lake Charles, Louisiana.   Stay tuned to MMA Recap for a breakdown on the light heavyweight finals.