The Good, Bad and Strange From Bellator 175
The Good, Bad and Strange From Bellator 175
A look at all the good, bad and strange from Bellator 175 in Chicago.
CHICAGO--The grudge match is a sacred occurrence in mixed martial arts.
The process of locking two individuals inside a cage and having them go for broke breeds hostility in itself, but when a heated feud and documented history exist between the competitors the possibility of something special unfolding drastically increases.
When those fighters are Quinton Jackson and Muhammed Lawal frenzied chaos is all but guaranteed.
The pair of former champions turned Bellator superstars initially collided back in 2014 with “Rampage” taking the victory via unanimous decision. Lawal vehemently disagreed with the judges’ scorecards, and the notion of the fight settling the rivalry between the two quickly went up in smoke.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/BellatorMMA/status/847840940022677504" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
And while both Jackson and Lawal would go on to duke it out with various opponents and craft successful runs over the next three years, a potential rematch between the two refused to fade away. On Friday night at Bellator 175 in Chicago, the time to reignite the fires of war came to pass inside the All-State Arena, but it took a bit of time before said fires got to burning hot.
The first two rounds were largely spent clinched up against the cage before the final frame turned into a toe-to-toe shootout. When the smoke cleared it was Lawal who took the unanimous decision on the judges' scorecards and avenged his loss to Jackson from 2014.
Let’s take a look at the good, bad and strange from Bellator 175.
Muhammed Lawal came into Bellator 175 determined to end his rivalry with Quinton Jackson once and for all, and that's exactly what he accomplished on Friday night.
While the former UFC light heavyweight champion turned heavyweight slugger wanted nothing more to silence his rival as well, Lawal appeared to want retribution just a bit more when fight night came around. The lead up to the rematch saw fiery talk of leg babies and claims of fat-shaming being tossed around, as both men vowed to show up to scrap on fight night. Such bold claims typically leave something to be desired once the action gets underway, and that would certainly be the case in the early goings of the main event.
Jackson was slow to pull the trigger and Lawal peppered him with a crisp counter game. Nevertheless, Lawal didn't spend much time at distance as he constantly clinched, ground, takedown repeat. This game plan earned a chorus of boos from the crowd, which was only broken up by cheers when fight in the stands trumped what was happening inside the cage. Things picked up toward the end of the second round before going full throttle in the final frame as both Jackson and Lawal got to swatting.
The end result saw Lawal pick up the unanimous decision victory and avenge his loss to his biggest rival and land a high profile fight against Ryan Bader in New York City for his next go.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/ScottCoker/status/848007965407891456" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Sergei Kharitonov came to Bellator 175 determined to get his hand raised for the first time under his new promotional banner, and take a big step toward cementing his overall legacy in the fight game. Standing in his way would be a game Chase Gormley, but the California-based heavyweight wouldn't be standing in his way for long.
After Gormley pushed the Russian fighter back with several punches, Kharitonov responded with force as he landed big shots of his own. A perfectly timed knee wobbled Gormley against the cage just as a stiff right hand stood him straight up. Kharitonov put the finishing touches on a walk off knockout to end the as a brutal uppercut that snapped Gormley's head back just before he toppled to the canvas.
Although Kharitonov may have stumbled in his official Bellator debut last year, his victory over Gormley at Bellator 175 will keep him a major player in the heavyweight title picture that is rumored to take shape in 2017.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/BellatorMMA/status/848003793589596160" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Kicking things off on the televised portion of a fight card comes with a certain amount of pressure intact, but Steve Kozola showed zero signs of nerves on Friday night. The undefeated lightweight stepped in against MMA Lab fighter Jake Roberts and needed less than a full minute of work to pick up the victory on Friday night in Chicago.
Roberts attempted to push the action from the jump and Kozola landed a short combination that folded the 26-year-old to the canvas. The crowd erupted from the finish as Kozola certainly made the most of his time inside the cage with an impressive bit of work, and he wasn’t finished there.
Immediately following his hand being raised, the California-based fighter attempted to further maximize his momentum by calling out recently signed jiu-jitsu star and Conor McGregor teammate Dillon Danis who was sitting cageside. Kozola spit heat in the Brazilian’s direction as he offered to welcome Danis to the Bellator cage later this year.
From the sunglasses Danis was rocking indoors it was impossible to tell if the SBG representative was even paying attention, but hats off to Kozola for making the most of his time in the spotlight at Bellator 157.
A big win followed by a big callout shows the kid gets it.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/BellatorMMA/status/847985920427126785" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
The tempo of the main card at Bellator 175 rivaled that typically set at the Chicago Motor Speedway as bodies dropped and tapped at a lightning-quick pace. Immediately following a fast stoppage to open the televised portion of the card, Noad Lahat didn’t want to be the fighter who bucked the trend on Friday night.
The 32-year-old Israeli set out to make quick work of Lloyd Carter, and while Lahat wasn’t able to put the Indiana native out in the opening frame, a rear-naked choke in the second round sealed the deal.
After one loss in three fights cost Lahat his spot in the UFC, the Las Vegas-based fighter has rebounded strong by not only notching back-to-back wins, but victories via finish under the Bellator banner.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/BellatorMMA/status/847984941245894656" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
In all the years I've been documenting all the good, bad and strange from fight cards, there has never been an event where the space designated for the lackluster things on the night has been been left empty due to nothing negative happening on the evening. There have been cards where there wasn't all too much negative to write about, but this is MMA and there will always be a lowlight of some variety to report.
That said, Bellator 175 damn near pulled off the unthinkable.
The promotion's return to the city by the lake was going aces in the televised portion as the first three bouts were exciting tilts that ended via finish. The momentum was fierce heading into the co-main event between Marcos Galvao and Emmanuel Sanchez, and from the action that unfolded in the opening 10 minutes all signs pointed to the featherweight tilt holding up its end of the bargain from start to finish. And it did...until it didn't anymore.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/JESnowden/status/848007179705700356" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Immediately upon conclusion of the fight, Sanchez began to celebrate wildly in belief he'd won the contest. The Wisconsin native jumped atop the fence and let the Illinois crowd know he appreciated them, and in a moment of either insanity of elation decided to share a bit more of himself with the masses at All-State Arena as Sanchez threw his mouthpiece from the fight out into the crowd.
In the immediate aftermath no one seemed taken aback by Sanchez's move, that was until a fight fan in an Under Armor sweatshirt picked up the mouthpiece and threw it back toward the cage. And in that exchange it was difficult to know who had done the more disgusting thing as Sanchez threw a slobbery gum shield into a crowd of strangers but in the same turn someone picked up his mouthguard and threw it all the same.
What makes it even worse is Sanchez fought an excellent fight and beat a game former champion in Galvao. But then he let excitement get the best of him and the rest of germaphobe folklore.
You were so close Bellator.
The times they are a changing on the MMA landscape.
While the UFC dominated the first two decades of MMA around the globe, there are visible signs the third decade and beyond could very well be up for grabs. Where merely suggesting something of this nature would have gotten you laughed out of a room filled with fight fans in past years, anyone who doesn't believe a shift in power is absolutely taking place may need to step out of the room instead.
The past two years have brought about a strong uptick in fighters testing free agency, with a handful of high profile stars deciding to make the jump from the UFC into Bellator waters. This was unheard of prior to 2016 as the only athletes who jumped from one promotion to the other did so as a result of losing their way out of an existing contract. In the large majority of those cases fighters cut from the UFC ranks would make their way over to the Bellator roster, and this process repeated enough to fix the Los Angeles-based promotion in a distant second place.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/BellatorMMA/status/847987492770983940" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
And while Bellator still has a ways to go before it bumps the UFC out of the top spot in MMA, the movements taking place in recent months have been of a far different caliber.
Although names like Benson Henderson and Matt Mitrione made waves when they turned down UFC offers to sign with Bellator, the current batch signees have created a tsunami in comparison. Former UFC welterweight title challenger Rory MacDonald signing with Scott Coker and the gang turned the fight game on its ear, and recent additions like perennial UFC light heavyweight contender Ryan Bader and 170-pound striking machine Lorenz Larkin only served to amplify the noise.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/DuaneFinleyMMA/status/847980989079060480" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
A solid cast of the aforementioned fighters were in attendance at Bellator 175 on Friday night, and seeing the collective sitting cageside for their new promotion went a long way to putting this new perspective into focus. Bader, Larkin and Mitrione are all still in the primes of their respective careers and each have incredible and highly anticipated matchups waiting for them inside the Bellator cage.
Furthermore, there are plenty of additional high octane scraps also on deck for later in 2017 as the promotion is set to host the biggest event in the organization's history at Madison Square Garden on June 24.
Three years ago the UFC had Ronda Rousey ruling the world, Jon Jones pushing to solidify himself as the greatest fighter of all time and a young Irishman named Conor McGregor calling his own rise to become king. The current picture is far different.
Rousey is gone. McGregor is busy trying to land a boxing match and Jones has yet to return from suspension. And while all that has been taking place, Scott Coker, Rich Chou and Bellator have set about kicking some major ass in the meantime. It's going to be an interesting year fight fans. Buckle up!
The process of locking two individuals inside a cage and having them go for broke breeds hostility in itself, but when a heated feud and documented history exist between the competitors the possibility of something special unfolding drastically increases.
When those fighters are Quinton Jackson and Muhammed Lawal frenzied chaos is all but guaranteed.
The pair of former champions turned Bellator superstars initially collided back in 2014 with “Rampage” taking the victory via unanimous decision. Lawal vehemently disagreed with the judges’ scorecards, and the notion of the fight settling the rivalry between the two quickly went up in smoke.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/BellatorMMA/status/847840940022677504" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
And while both Jackson and Lawal would go on to duke it out with various opponents and craft successful runs over the next three years, a potential rematch between the two refused to fade away. On Friday night at Bellator 175 in Chicago, the time to reignite the fires of war came to pass inside the All-State Arena, but it took a bit of time before said fires got to burning hot.
The first two rounds were largely spent clinched up against the cage before the final frame turned into a toe-to-toe shootout. When the smoke cleared it was Lawal who took the unanimous decision on the judges' scorecards and avenged his loss to Jackson from 2014.
Let’s take a look at the good, bad and strange from Bellator 175.
The Good
Muhammed Lawal came into Bellator 175 determined to end his rivalry with Quinton Jackson once and for all, and that's exactly what he accomplished on Friday night.
While the former UFC light heavyweight champion turned heavyweight slugger wanted nothing more to silence his rival as well, Lawal appeared to want retribution just a bit more when fight night came around. The lead up to the rematch saw fiery talk of leg babies and claims of fat-shaming being tossed around, as both men vowed to show up to scrap on fight night. Such bold claims typically leave something to be desired once the action gets underway, and that would certainly be the case in the early goings of the main event.
Jackson was slow to pull the trigger and Lawal peppered him with a crisp counter game. Nevertheless, Lawal didn't spend much time at distance as he constantly clinched, ground, takedown repeat. This game plan earned a chorus of boos from the crowd, which was only broken up by cheers when fight in the stands trumped what was happening inside the cage. Things picked up toward the end of the second round before going full throttle in the final frame as both Jackson and Lawal got to swatting.
The end result saw Lawal pick up the unanimous decision victory and avenge his loss to his biggest rival and land a high profile fight against Ryan Bader in New York City for his next go.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/ScottCoker/status/848007965407891456" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Sergei Kharitonov came to Bellator 175 determined to get his hand raised for the first time under his new promotional banner, and take a big step toward cementing his overall legacy in the fight game. Standing in his way would be a game Chase Gormley, but the California-based heavyweight wouldn't be standing in his way for long.
After Gormley pushed the Russian fighter back with several punches, Kharitonov responded with force as he landed big shots of his own. A perfectly timed knee wobbled Gormley against the cage just as a stiff right hand stood him straight up. Kharitonov put the finishing touches on a walk off knockout to end the as a brutal uppercut that snapped Gormley's head back just before he toppled to the canvas.
Although Kharitonov may have stumbled in his official Bellator debut last year, his victory over Gormley at Bellator 175 will keep him a major player in the heavyweight title picture that is rumored to take shape in 2017.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/BellatorMMA/status/848003793589596160" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Kicking things off on the televised portion of a fight card comes with a certain amount of pressure intact, but Steve Kozola showed zero signs of nerves on Friday night. The undefeated lightweight stepped in against MMA Lab fighter Jake Roberts and needed less than a full minute of work to pick up the victory on Friday night in Chicago.
Roberts attempted to push the action from the jump and Kozola landed a short combination that folded the 26-year-old to the canvas. The crowd erupted from the finish as Kozola certainly made the most of his time inside the cage with an impressive bit of work, and he wasn’t finished there.
Immediately following his hand being raised, the California-based fighter attempted to further maximize his momentum by calling out recently signed jiu-jitsu star and Conor McGregor teammate Dillon Danis who was sitting cageside. Kozola spit heat in the Brazilian’s direction as he offered to welcome Danis to the Bellator cage later this year.
From the sunglasses Danis was rocking indoors it was impossible to tell if the SBG representative was even paying attention, but hats off to Kozola for making the most of his time in the spotlight at Bellator 157.
A big win followed by a big callout shows the kid gets it.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/BellatorMMA/status/847985920427126785" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
The tempo of the main card at Bellator 175 rivaled that typically set at the Chicago Motor Speedway as bodies dropped and tapped at a lightning-quick pace. Immediately following a fast stoppage to open the televised portion of the card, Noad Lahat didn’t want to be the fighter who bucked the trend on Friday night.
The 32-year-old Israeli set out to make quick work of Lloyd Carter, and while Lahat wasn’t able to put the Indiana native out in the opening frame, a rear-naked choke in the second round sealed the deal.
After one loss in three fights cost Lahat his spot in the UFC, the Las Vegas-based fighter has rebounded strong by not only notching back-to-back wins, but victories via finish under the Bellator banner.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/BellatorMMA/status/847984941245894656" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
The Bad
In all the years I've been documenting all the good, bad and strange from fight cards, there has never been an event where the space designated for the lackluster things on the night has been been left empty due to nothing negative happening on the evening. There have been cards where there wasn't all too much negative to write about, but this is MMA and there will always be a lowlight of some variety to report.
That said, Bellator 175 damn near pulled off the unthinkable.
The promotion's return to the city by the lake was going aces in the televised portion as the first three bouts were exciting tilts that ended via finish. The momentum was fierce heading into the co-main event between Marcos Galvao and Emmanuel Sanchez, and from the action that unfolded in the opening 10 minutes all signs pointed to the featherweight tilt holding up its end of the bargain from start to finish. And it did...until it didn't anymore.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/JESnowden/status/848007179705700356" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Immediately upon conclusion of the fight, Sanchez began to celebrate wildly in belief he'd won the contest. The Wisconsin native jumped atop the fence and let the Illinois crowd know he appreciated them, and in a moment of either insanity of elation decided to share a bit more of himself with the masses at All-State Arena as Sanchez threw his mouthpiece from the fight out into the crowd.
In the immediate aftermath no one seemed taken aback by Sanchez's move, that was until a fight fan in an Under Armor sweatshirt picked up the mouthpiece and threw it back toward the cage. And in that exchange it was difficult to know who had done the more disgusting thing as Sanchez threw a slobbery gum shield into a crowd of strangers but in the same turn someone picked up his mouthguard and threw it all the same.
What makes it even worse is Sanchez fought an excellent fight and beat a game former champion in Galvao. But then he let excitement get the best of him and the rest of germaphobe folklore.
You were so close Bellator.
The Strange
The times they are a changing on the MMA landscape.
While the UFC dominated the first two decades of MMA around the globe, there are visible signs the third decade and beyond could very well be up for grabs. Where merely suggesting something of this nature would have gotten you laughed out of a room filled with fight fans in past years, anyone who doesn't believe a shift in power is absolutely taking place may need to step out of the room instead.
The past two years have brought about a strong uptick in fighters testing free agency, with a handful of high profile stars deciding to make the jump from the UFC into Bellator waters. This was unheard of prior to 2016 as the only athletes who jumped from one promotion to the other did so as a result of losing their way out of an existing contract. In the large majority of those cases fighters cut from the UFC ranks would make their way over to the Bellator roster, and this process repeated enough to fix the Los Angeles-based promotion in a distant second place.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/BellatorMMA/status/847987492770983940" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
And while Bellator still has a ways to go before it bumps the UFC out of the top spot in MMA, the movements taking place in recent months have been of a far different caliber.
Although names like Benson Henderson and Matt Mitrione made waves when they turned down UFC offers to sign with Bellator, the current batch signees have created a tsunami in comparison. Former UFC welterweight title challenger Rory MacDonald signing with Scott Coker and the gang turned the fight game on its ear, and recent additions like perennial UFC light heavyweight contender Ryan Bader and 170-pound striking machine Lorenz Larkin only served to amplify the noise.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/DuaneFinleyMMA/status/847980989079060480" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
A solid cast of the aforementioned fighters were in attendance at Bellator 175 on Friday night, and seeing the collective sitting cageside for their new promotion went a long way to putting this new perspective into focus. Bader, Larkin and Mitrione are all still in the primes of their respective careers and each have incredible and highly anticipated matchups waiting for them inside the Bellator cage.
Furthermore, there are plenty of additional high octane scraps also on deck for later in 2017 as the promotion is set to host the biggest event in the organization's history at Madison Square Garden on June 24.
Three years ago the UFC had Ronda Rousey ruling the world, Jon Jones pushing to solidify himself as the greatest fighter of all time and a young Irishman named Conor McGregor calling his own rise to become king. The current picture is far different.
Rousey is gone. McGregor is busy trying to land a boxing match and Jones has yet to return from suspension. And while all that has been taking place, Scott Coker, Rich Chou and Bellator have set about kicking some major ass in the meantime. It's going to be an interesting year fight fans. Buckle up!