411’s MMA Midweek Scouting Report

Bellator 158: London

This was supposed to be Paul Daley’s (38-14-2) night as he returned to his home city of London for Bellator’s first ever event from the United Kingdom. Former Bellator Welterweight Champion Douglas Lima (27-6), however, had different ideas. While heavy-handed knock out artist Daley swung powerful, winging punches for much of the duration of the bout, Lima appeared to be operating on a different level as he avoided the heftiest of ‘Semtex’s’ bombs, while consistently landing the better shots and rocking the Spirit Dojo team member in each of the first two rounds.

While Daley’s striking style saw him necessarily shorten his reach as he looked to deliver his 29th career KO, Lima wisely employed a strategy that relied on longer, rangier strikes and outstanding movement. It could have all been over in the first round, Lima dropping Daley with a straight left, but unable to pull off the victory there and then. Instead, Lima had to settle for the judges as Daley once again showed great mental toughness and refused to be finished.

As badly as Daley or the London crowd may have wanted the win, this was Lima’s fight. The brilliant Brazilian smartly rode out the third round with dominant grappling from top position, quickly reversing the one sweep Daley was able to manage. In the end, there was no question who the winner was on the scorecards, and Bellator Welterweight Champion Andrey Koreshkov may yet find himself squaring off with ‘The Phenom’ one more time.

In terms of home field advantage, Oli Thompson (18-8) fared no better against UFC veteran Matt Mitrione (11-5). Mitrione, who had to endure a difficult spell before winning by KO in his Bellator debut against Carl Seumanutafa, found Thompson an altogether different proposition. Tough, durable, powerful, and indeed spirited, Thompson pushed Mitrione hard in a thrilling 9 minutes and 21 seconds that saw both men land huge strikes that could feasibly have stopped any given fight on any given day. Britain’s Strongest Man winner Thompson displayed a great ‘beard’ as he soaked up heavy pressure from Mitrione, but ‘Meathead’s’ strikes inevitably took their toll. After a great back-and-forth, Thompson’s ability to withstand the assault reached saturation point as he slumped to the floor unable to absorb any more. For Mitrione, this fight showcased speed, power and athleticism, though Thompson may well have walked out with even more credit than he walked in with as well.

At light heavyweight, Frenchman Francis Carmont (25-11) had little trouble dispatching the over-matched Lukasz Klinger (7-3), the UFC veteran coasting to a first round submission victory courtesy of superior wrestling and grappling honed to great use at the famed Canadian Tristar gym. UFC legend Georges St Pierre watched from cage side as Carmont took Klinger down, passed to side control, and finished with a text book D’Arce choke. To Polish fighter Klinger’s credit, he appeared as a late replacement for original opponent Linton Vassell, with little time to prepare for such a challenge.

One major victory for a British fighter took place earlier on the show, as Michael ‘Venom’ Page (11-0) lived up to the hype and then some as he left tough veteran Evangelista ‘Cyborg’ Santos (21-18) with a fractured skull courtesy of a brutal and perfectly-timed jumping knee. Santos, who had the better of the first round after besting Page in the grappling stakes, saw his chances for takedowns limited throughout the second stanza. When he finally decided to shoot, it cost him a long weekend in the infirmary, with the all-too-graphic images of an X-ray splashed all over social media courtesy of former wife Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Justino as part of Justino’s campaign to raise funds for Evangelista’s inevitable medical costs. Page’s post-fight performance also captured the eye, as he donned a Pokémon cap and rolled a Poké Ball at his downed opponent. Watch (and listen) to the footage here:

Must See MVP TV tonight on @spike 9/8c#Bellator158 #PokemonGo @MichaelPage247https://t.co/VI5PYAgrhT

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) July 16, 2016

A 148 lb catchweight bout took place between Team SBG’s Irish exponent James Gallagher (4-0) and Mike Cutting (7-5), with the former heading in as a huge favourite. With Cutting missing weight and a heated confrontation at weigh ins, Gallagher had a great deal of motivation, but was unable to make the most of his unexpected TV time with Cutting proving an evasive and at times troublesome opponent. While Gallagher clearly possessed the superior skill set in terms of wrestling and grappling, Cutting’s propensity to circle away from Gallagher while landing ample leg kicks and the occasional roundhouse kick did enough to frustrate Gallagher, but not enough to beat him. With at least one close round, Gallagher can be thankful that all three judges came down on his side across all three stanzas, but as Gallagher himself admitted after the fight this wasn’t the statement he wanted to make, but it was a big win nonetheless on the biggest stage of his young career.

Two veterans fought directly before that as 43 year old Spaniard Manuel Garcia (28-19) comprehensively out-grappled 40 year old British celebrity-of-sorts Alex Reid (10-10-1) in a dull bout. While Reid undoubtedly possessed the superior stand up, the wily Garcia avoided any kind of extended dog fight with a series of takedowns that Reid simply had no answer to. While neither fighter is likely to make a serious run in the Bellator middleweight division, Garcia did what he needed to to frustrate the host nation.

Great credit must go to veteran stand-in Neil Grove (12-8-1) as he survived a meeting with surging British heavyweight James Mulheron (9-1), who threw everything he had at Grove across a full three rounds. Mulheron was clearly the superior athlete at this point, as Grove resorted to standing flat-footed against the cage for much of the latter two rounds, but ‘The Goliath’ proved himself as durable as they come withstanding heavy punishment throughout. While Grove never looked likely to score the upset, the South African will have earned Mulheron’s respect.

At middleweight, UFC veteran Danny ‘The Cheesecake Assassin’ Mitchell (18-7-1) broke out a rare Twister submission, forcing the under-experienced CJ Meeks (5-2) to tap in the final minute of the very first round. Mitchell, unwilling to engage in a prolonged striking contest with the powerfully built Meeks, had too much in terms of grappling acumen, and after momentarily working for the back, he became one of the very few fighters in history to have recorded two Twister submissions, having dispatched Victor Peixoto by the same method back in 2013.

Nathaniel Wood (9-3) made a successful jump up to featherweight, scoring a third round Rear Naked Choke submission win over the much larger and rangier Chase Morton (6-3). Making the most of an excellent, stifling pressure game, Wood didn’t let Morton rest throughout the bout as he continually closed the distance on striking prospect, before ultimately out-grappling and submitting his worn down opponent.

Jason Radcliffe (9-2) made the most of his chance to shine on the Bellator undercard, smashing the experienced Jack Mason (29-16-1) in just 14 seconds. Radcliffe came out aggressively, luring Mason into a takedown attempt, before unleashing a pair of knees from the Muay Thai clinch. The second knee saw Mason drop face-first to the canvas, the contest over almost as soon as it had begun!

The same could not be said for bantamweights Luiz Henrique Tosta (12-4-1) and Dean Garnett (8-0-1) who not only went the distance, but could not be separated by the judges, who scored the bout a Majority Decision. Tosta had an excellent third round, while Garnett picked up the first and second rounds to effect even scorecards from two of the three cageside officials. The remaining card had the fight 29-27 for Tosta.

Undefeated British flyweight Pietro Menga (13-0) returned to action after a near-two year lay off and took just 41 seconds to make a dramatic statement at the expense of Spencer Hewitt (12-11). Menga countered a leg kick from Hewitt with a picture perfect counter left, before walking off Mark Hunt style in an impressive promotional debut!

Finally, at middleweight, Mike Shipman (9-1) proved too strong for Dominic Clark (9-10-1), initially swarming with strikes before sinking in an Anaconda Choke for the submission in the very first round.

Absolute Championship Berkut 41

The main event of ACB 41 saw the continued rise of impressive heavyweight Denis Goltsov (18-4) as he felled veteran Paul Buentello (35-17), snapping ‘The Headhunter’s’ two-fight win streak in the process. ‘The Russian Bogatyr’ dropped Buentello inside 10 seconds with a left jab, and utilized the speed and accuracy of that particular strike to great advantage throughout against the 42 year old – and just when Buentello thought he’d figured out how to evade it, the 6’6 26 year old unleashed a perfectly timed head kick to score the knock out at 3:08. Goltsov has now won 13 straight fights and would be a great addition to any of the top promotions’ heavyweight divisions.

At bantamweight, Petr Yan (6-1) displayed outstanding hands as he dismantled British import Ed Arthur (7-2) in the striking department. Arthur, however, put in a spirited performance in his first fight outside the UK, refusing to be finished but succumbing to a unanimous decision defeat. This was Yan’s first fight since dropping a split decision to Magomed Magomedov, and re-asserted his claims as one of Russia’s top prospects at 135 lbs.

Lightweight Eduard Vartanyan (14-3) needed to go to a third round against durable Brazilian Marcio Breno (15-4), but scored the stoppage within 22 seconds of its commencement via TKO. Breno ate a huge number of strikes throughout from Vartanyan, who dominated Breno with takedowns and ground and pound before unleashing a fight-ending flurry that involved several good right hands and a knee that sent Breno to the mat. Here, Vartanyan finished to rebound from a defeat to Abdul-Aziz Abdulvakhabov last time out.

23 year old Alexander Shabliy (15-2), also at lightweight, needed just 68 seconds to dispatch Romanian-based American Michael Brightmon (15-9). With 15 finishes from 15 victories, Shabliy continued his impressive emergence hurting Brightmon with a brilliant knee, before defending a desperation takedown attempt and landing several hard shots from the back that left Brightmon no way back.

At 170 lbs, undefeated Sharaf Davlatmurodov (9-0) retained his perfect start to life as an MMA fighter with a second round TKO stoppage of Australian UFC veteran Benny Alloway (17-7). Boasting a very clean, patient Muay Thai striking style, Davlatmurodov lit up Alloway with a succession of textbook body and leg kicks, forcing the veteran on to the defensive before finishing in the second round with a sizzling liver kick. Alloway may feel he should have made more of a brief advantage on the ground, however.

There were further defeats for UFC veterans as Tim Hague (21-13) and Mike Wilkinson (9-3) both last, though in contrasting fashions. While Wilkinson was disappointingly out-scored by Georgian rookie Soso Nihadze (3-2) on the judges scorecards, Hague found himself blitzed by Polish heavyweight Michal Andryszak (17-6) in just 33 seconds. Andryszak was able to land a stunning head kick to secure the win.

M-1 Challenge 69: Battle in the Mountains 5
Heavyweight Fight: Denis Smoldarev (12-2) df. Kenny Garner (16-10) via Unanimous Decision
Featherweight Fight: Andrey Lezhnev (10-6) df. Lee Morrison (14-7) via Unanimous Decision
Bantamweight Fight: Sergey Morozov (5-1) df. Rafael Dias (11-4) via Unanimous Decision
Heavyweight Fight: Marcus Vinicius Lopes (10-4) df. Kurban Ibragimov (5-2) via Unanimous Decision
Featherweight Fight: Khamzat Dalgiev (6-1) df. Ronny Gomez (3-5) via TKO @ 2:28 of Round One

RFA 40: Skavlos vs Camus
Flyweight Fight: Chico Camus (16-7) df. Czar Skavlos (12-5) via Unanimous Decision
Bantamweight Fight: Terrion Ware (15-5) df. Marvin Blumer (11-6) via Unanimous Decision
Middleweight Fight: Chase Waldon (10-1) df. Austen Heidlage (9-3) via KO (Punch) @ 0:15 of Round One
Featherweight Fight: Dan Moret (11-2) df. Alex Gilpin (5-1) via Split Decision
Welterweight Fight: Jordon Larson (7-2) df. Jonathan Thompson (4-2) via Submission (Kimura) @ 3:54 of Round One

Shooto
Strawweight Title Fight: Ryohei Kurosawa (10-1) df. Ryuto Sawada (6-3) via TKO @ 4:41 of round Two
Bantamweight Fight: Keita Ishibashi (7-5) df. Tatsuya Ando (5-2) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) @ 2:04 of Round Two
Bantamweight Fight: Kazuma Sone (20-13) df. Taiki Tsuchiya (13-7) via Unanimous Decision
117 lbs Catchweight Fight: Yusuke Saruta (13-7) df. Luiz Gonzalez (6-3) via Unanimous Decision
Lightweight Fight: Yoshihiro Koyama (22-10) df. Hiroki Aoki (17-11) via Split Decision

Caribbean Top Team 8
150 lb Fight: Orlando Sanchez Ruiz (19-4) df. Dumar Roa (9-3) via Doctor’s Stoppage (Cut) in Round Two

Previews

Bellator 159: Caldwell vs Taimanglo

Bellator make it two cards in two weeks, this time heading to the Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane, Kansas for a bantamweight headliner between undefeated former NCAA Division I National Wrestling Champion Darrion Caldwell (8-0) and Guam’s toughest exponent Joe Taimanglo (22-6-1). 6-0 in Bellator and holding a recent first round submission win over former champion Joe Warren, Darrion Caldwell has adjusted seamlessly to his new surroundings, dominating the cage against all comers, including the vastly more experienced Brazilian Rafael Silva when he was just 4-0. With 4 first round stoppages to his credit, Caldwell will look to continue his momentum against ‘The Juggernaut’. 4-2 in Bellator, Joe Taimanglo is coming off the back of a three-fight win streak, having bested veterans Antonio Duarte and Sirwan Kakai in consecutive meetings. Decision defeats against Justin Wilcox and Rob Emerson are well behind him now, though the former Pacific Xtreme Combat Featherweight title holder is likely to enter the cage a sizeable underdog. If he can upset the odds, he will no doubt propel himself into title contention, while many feel Caldwell is all but there already with his increasingly impressive résumé.

At lightweight, Melvin Guillard (32-16-2) will look to arrest a three-fight losing streak that dates back to his split decision defeat to undefeated WSOF Lightweight Champion Justin Gaethje, but with a record of just 3-8 from his last eleven bouts the hugely experienced ‘Young Assassin’ badly needs a win against David Rickels (17-4). A 16-fight Bellator veteran, Rickels has recently traded wins and losses on a one off, one on pattern with some of the best in the promotion. Having defeated Bobby Cooper last time out, ‘The Caveman’ will look to make it 4 TKO finishes from his last 5 victories, though besting Guillard would arguably represent a career-best win. Expect fireworks from these flamboyant personalities.

At featherweight, German Daniel Weichel (36-9) feels he has the skills to put a stop to Emmanuel Sanchez’ (13-2) run of three straight split decision wins as he no doubt looks for a finish against ‘El Matador’. Having dominated the first round against then-Bellator Featherweight Champion Patricio Freire last year, Weichel has all the confidence in the world in his striking and submission games, and recently spoke to 411mania about his chances and prospects in an exclusive interview. Do not miss that as it goes live on Friday!

At light heavyweight, it’s an all-Brazilian affair as Philipe Lins (9-1) takes on Guilherme Viana (7-2). The powerful Lins lost his undefeated streak against Kelly Anundson in his last appearance two full years ago, and will look to shake off the rust against a man who knocked out Houston Alexander last time out. Both relatively new to Bellator, Lins possesses a 2-1 record to Viana’s 1-1, and whoever wins in Kansas could emerge as future contender.

To round out the main card, Women’s Strawweight action will round out the card as 20 year old Brazilian Bruna Ellen (2-0) rolls out the MMA welcome wagon to pro-debutant Jessica Middleton (0-0).