Bellator was dealt an unlucky hand Friday night at Bellator 83 as the main event featherweight final bout between Shahbulat Shamhalaev and Rad Martinez was scrapped due to Shamhalaev suffering from food poisoning throughout the day. Shamhalaev was deemed unable to compete after he was seen throwing up before the fight. Fortunately, the fight will still take place. The featherweight final, along with finales in the lightweight and heavyweight tournaments highlight what looks to be a great season finale next week.
In spite of the absence of the main attraction, Bellator 83 still contained several entertaining and intriguing moments.
The opening contest of the night saw Zoila Gurgel get choked out by Jessica Eye in under a minute. At the sound of the starting bell Gurgel charged Eye, hands flying, attempting to catch her off guard, but it was Gurgel who was knocked down by a hard right. Following the knockdown Gurgel was able to get back to her feet, but she was quickly overwhelmed by Eye who got the back of Gurgel and transitioned into a standing arm triangle choke that eventually caused the current Bellator Women’s Flyweight Champion to lose consciousness.
Former Strikeforce Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate is the only other fighter to have ever beaten Gurgel. The 58 second technical submission win also marks the first submission victory of Jessica Eye’s career.
Underdog Anthony Leone took home a close decision against former Bellator Bantamweight Champion Zach Makovsky in the co-main event. With Leone clearly winning the first period due to superior striking and his ability to keep the fight standing and Makovsky winning the second period thanks to a few swift, diverse combinations on the feet as well as a few submission attempts, the fight ultimately came down to the third and final round.
On two of the three judges’ scorecards that third round was awarded to Anthony Leone. Leone brought Makovsky to the canvas with a guillotine choke attempt and controlled the positioning of the fight from there on out. Although the round was unpleasant to watch, it was still an important one for Leone who pulled off a major upset against a former Bellator champion.
Due to the cancellation of the Shamhalaev/Martinez fight, the Darrell Horcher/Chris Liguori bout was moved to the televised portion of the card. Horcher did just enough in the first two portions of the fight to get his hand raised after the judge’s scorecards were read aloud.
Horcher dominated Liguori in the first period with powerful standing strikes and ground and pound. The round was a clear 10-8 for Horcher. Though not as violent and aggressive, Horcher continued to dominate on the feet against Liguori in the second stanza. Liguori’s best round was easily the third as he was able to land several combinations that scored and a well-timed takedown that allowed him to work from the top position.
Chris Liguori’s late resurgence was not enough as all three judges scored the fight in favor of Darrell Horcher with three straight 29-28 scorecards.
Due to the rather weak card, I fully anticipate this event to have one of the weaker ratings of the season, but I would consider the calm before the storm because Bellator 84 has three solid, climatic fights that could help boost the ratings for the season finale.
sabato 8 dicembre 2012
Bellator TV report - No main event this week
Bellator was dealt an unlucky hand Friday night at Bellator 83 as the main event featherweight final bout between Shahbulat Shamhalaev and Rad Martinez was scrapped due to Shamhalaev suffering from food poisoning throughout the day. Shamhalaev was deemed unable to compete after he was seen throwing up before the fight. Fortunately, the fight will still take place. The featherweight final, along with finales in the lightweight and heavyweight tournaments highlight what looks to be a great season finale next week.
In spite of the absence of the main attraction, Bellator 83 still contained several entertaining and intriguing moments.
The opening contest of the night saw Zoila Gurgel get choked out by Jessica Eye in under a minute. At the sound of the starting bell Gurgel charged Eye, hands flying, attempting to catch her off guard, but it was Gurgel who was knocked down by a hard right. Following the knockdown Gurgel was able to get back to her feet, but she was quickly overwhelmed by Eye who got the back of Gurgel and transitioned into a standing arm triangle choke that eventually caused the current Bellator Women’s Flyweight Champion to lose consciousness.
Former Strikeforce Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate is the only other fighter to have ever beaten Gurgel. The 58 second technical submission win also marks the first submission victory of Jessica Eye’s career.
Underdog Anthony Leone took home a close decision against former Bellator Bantamweight Champion Zach Makovsky in the co-main event. With Leone clearly winning the first period due to superior striking and his ability to keep the fight standing and Makovsky winning the second period thanks to a few swift, diverse combinations on the feet as well as a few submission attempts, the fight ultimately came down to the third and final round.
On two of the three judges’ scorecards that third round was awarded to Anthony Leone. Leone brought Makovsky to the canvas with a guillotine choke attempt and controlled the positioning of the fight from there on out. Although the round was unpleasant to watch, it was still an important one for Leone who pulled off a major upset against a former Bellator champion.
Due to the cancellation of the Shamhalaev/Martinez fight, the Darrell Horcher/Chris Liguori bout was moved to the televised portion of the card. Horcher did just enough in the first two portions of the fight to get his hand raised after the judge’s scorecards were read aloud.
Horcher dominated Liguori in the first period with powerful standing strikes and ground and pound. The round was a clear 10-8 for Horcher. Though not as violent and aggressive, Horcher continued to dominate on the feet against Liguori in the second stanza. Liguori’s best round was easily the third as he was able to land several combinations that scored and a well-timed takedown that allowed him to work from the top position.
Chris Liguori’s late resurgence was not enough as all three judges scored the fight in favor of Darrell Horcher with three straight 29-28 scorecards.
Due to the rather weak card, I fully anticipate this event to have one of the weaker ratings of the season, but I would consider the calm before the storm because Bellator 84 has three solid, climatic fights that could help boost the ratings for the season finale.
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