Bellator

[INDYjon22]

I have been meaning to bring this up in discussion for awhile, but with all the talk about Strikeforce making a run at the top spot in mma I kind of forgot all about Bellator. Bellator Fighting Championship seems to fly under the radar when it comes to mma, but they are an up start organization. It is broadcast through some branch of ESPN, I have never actually seen an event, but I have followed the results of the events and most of the events seem to be entertaining.

Bellator is broken up into season's since it is shown on ESPN, which is an interesting concept. Their weight classes were all determined by tournaments that lasted throughout the first season. This saw Joe Soto and Eddie Alvarez get crowned champions of their respected weight classes. None of the titles have been defended so far.

They have a decent crop of talent. Eddie Alvarez is an extremely good talent who could be destined for great things. At one time the UFC was looking at signing him, they may still be. Joe Soto also is extremely good and in my opinion could run through the talent in the WEC, if given the chance. And lets not forget Toby Imada who has been around for awhile. He recently was defeated by Alvarez but has some sick submissions, if you want proof just check out the submission of the year thread.

My point is, Bellator is a very underrated organization and my question to you is can you see it ever competing with the big boys? They have great smaller talent, if anything they can give WEC a run for its money. What do they need to do to improve?

 

[kingdirrtysouth1]

They will debut on FSN on April 08. Highlight shows will air on NBC and Telemundo on Saturdays. The Eddie Alvarez vs. Josh Neer event will air live in May!

All events scheduled to air on FSN, all highlight shows scheduled to air on NBC/TELEMUNDO):


Thu, Apr 08 Bellator XIII Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, Florida
Sat, Apr 10 Bellator XIII Highlight Show
Thu, Apr 15 Bellator XIV Fight Card Chicago Theatre - Chicago, IL
Sat, Apr 17 Bellator XIV Highlight Show
Thu, Apr 22 Bellator XV Mohegan Sun – Uncasville, Conn
Sat, Apr 24 Bellator XV Highlight Show
Thu, Apr 29 Bellator XVI Kansas City Power and Light District
Sat, May 01 Bellator XVI Highlight Show
Thu, May 06 Bellator XVII Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre Boston
Sat, May 08 Bellator XVII Highlight Show
Thu, May 13 Bellator XVIII TBA
Sat, May 15 Bellator XVIII Highlight Show
Thu, May 20 Bellator XIX TBA
Sat, May 22 Bellator XIX Highlight Show
Thu, May 27 Bellator XX TBA
Sat, May 29 Bellator XX Highlight Show
Thu, Jun 03 Bellator XXI TBA
Sat, Jun 05 Bellator XXI Highlight Show
Thu, Jun 10 Bellator XXII Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, Florida
Sat, Jun 12 Bellator XXII Highlight Show
Thu, Jun 17 Bellator XXIII TBA
Sat, Jun 19 Bellator XXIII Highlight Show
Thu, Jun 24 Bellator XXIV Kansas City Power and Light District
Sat, Jun 26 Bellator XXIV Highlight Show
Thu, Aug 12 Bellator XXV Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, Florida
Sat, Aug 14 Bellator XXV Highlight Show
Thu, Aug 19 Bellator XXVI The Chicago Theatre - Chicago, IL
Sat, Aug 21 Bellator XXVI Highlight Show
Thu, Aug 26 Bellator XXVII Kansas City Power and Light District
Sat, Aug 28 Bellator XXVII Highlight Show

 

[INDYjon22]

They will debut on FSN on April 08. Highlight shows will air on NBC and Telemundo on Saturdays. The Eddie Alvarez vs. Josh Neer event will air live in May!

All events scheduled to air on FSN, all highlight shows scheduled to air on NBC/TELEMUNDO):


Thu, Apr 08 Bellator XIII Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, Florida
Sat, Apr 10 Bellator XIII Highlight Show
Thu, Apr 15 Bellator XIV Fight Card Chicago Theatre - Chicago, IL
Sat, Apr 17 Bellator XIV Highlight Show
Thu, Apr 22 Bellator XV Mohegan Sun – Uncasville, Conn
Sat, Apr 24 Bellator XV Highlight Show
Thu, Apr 29 Bellator XVI Kansas City Power and Light District
Sat, May 01 Bellator XVI Highlight Show
Thu, May 06 Bellator XVII Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre Boston
Sat, May 08 Bellator XVII Highlight Show
Thu, May 13 Bellator XVIII TBA
Sat, May 15 Bellator XVIII Highlight Show
Thu, May 20 Bellator XIX TBA
Sat, May 22 Bellator XIX Highlight Show
Thu, May 27 Bellator XX TBA
Sat, May 29 Bellator XX Highlight Show
Thu, Jun 03 Bellator XXI TBA
Sat, Jun 05 Bellator XXI Highlight Show
Thu, Jun 10 Bellator XXII Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, Florida
Sat, Jun 12 Bellator XXII Highlight Show
Thu, Jun 17 Bellator XXIII TBA
Sat, Jun 19 Bellator XXIII Highlight Show
Thu, Jun 24 Bellator XXIV Kansas City Power and Light District
Sat, Jun 26 Bellator XXIV Highlight Show
Thu, Aug 12 Bellator XXV Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, Florida
Sat, Aug 14 Bellator XXV Highlight Show
Thu, Aug 19 Bellator XXVI The Chicago Theatre - Chicago, IL
Sat, Aug 21 Bellator XXVI Highlight Show
Thu, Aug 26 Bellator XXVII Kansas City Power and Light District
Sat, Aug 28 Bellator XXVII Highlight Show

Awesome man, lol, finally someone to about Bellator.

People don't know much about this company but they should start paying attention. They just signed Roger Huerta for their Lightweight tournament this season and he will be a huge rating draw I think. Most of the fighters in the tournaments are not well known but a lot of casual and die hard fans know who Roger Huerta is. He may put Bellator on the map all by himself just off of name value. I can't wait for the shows to begin and to see if anyone can upset him.

 

[kingdirrtysouth1]

Awesome man, lol, finally someone to about Bellator.

People don't know much about this company but they should start paying attention. They just signed Roger Huerta for their Lightweight tournament this season and he will be a huge rating draw I think. Most of the fighters in the tournaments are not well known but a lot of casual and die hard fans know who Roger Huerta is. He may put Bellator on the map all by himself just off of name value. I can't wait for the shows to begin and to see if anyone can upset him.

Right! I'm looking forward to it! I've never seen one of their events but I do read about them on the net & became that much more interested when I found out the FSN deal. The more MMA that gets televised the better in my opinion. I like that all their fighters are Middleweight and smaller. I'll finally have something that I actually want to watch on Thursdays nights now! Can't wait!

 

[INDYjon22]

Right! I'm looking forward to it! I've never seen one of their events but I do read about them on the net & became that much more interested when I found out the FSN deal. The more MMA that gets televised the better in my opinion. I like that all their fighters are Middleweight and smaller. I'll finally have something that I actually want to watch on Thursdays nights now! Can't wait!

Agreed, I have yet to see a live show as well, but I have caught some clips such as the sick Toby Immada submission. It is always nice to see smaller promotions get some air time. Most importantly is I want to see if anyone can knock Roger Huerta off in this tournament. He definitely has a target on his back since he is the biggest fish in the pond and even if he does win then we the fans still win because we will get to see Eddie Alvarez, in theory, face off against Roger Huerta. That has UFC main card written all over it and would be a really entertaining fight. Hopefully, they deliver this season and continue to grow and get bigger.

 

[kingdirrtysouth1]

Catch the preview shows this week on FSN:

Tuesday 3/30:
Featherweights 12:00-12:30am
Lightweights 12:30-1:00am

Wed 3/31
Welterweights-12:00-12:30am
Middleweights-12:30-1:00am

If promoted right(and if they can put on entertaining cards on a regular), this company could become one of the big dogs in MMA! I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do!

 

[INDYjon22]

Awesome first show to start season 2 of Bellator. Before tonight I had never seen a Bellator card and after seeing the fights put on tonight Bellator has passed WEC and firmly taken its place as my third favorite MMA promotion. Three of the four main card fights were great with the other fight being solid as well.

The first fight featuring Bao Quach and Georgi Karakhanyan was a nice way to start the card. Karakhanyan has some lethal hands and they were on display tonight. He had a great knockout to start the show off.

Joe Warren is a fucking machine but he needs to work on his submission defense. The man really has a ton of talent but if he fights an elite BJJ guy he will get his ass kicked. However, he still impressed the hell out of me.

Roger Huerta looked like the Huerta of old. His opponent Chad Hinton was no push over however. The fight was very close to begin but Huerta really out fought his much larger opponent. The leg log from Huerta at the end was a thing of beauty.

Finally, the Vanier/Duarte fight was a little slow for my taste for some reason. I didn't really get into it at all. That said Vanier looked very good and dominated his opponent the entire time. He could do some damage in this tournament.

 

[INDYjon22]

I didn't get a chance to watch the entire show last night but from the two fights I saw Bellator delivered once again. The lightweight semi-finals has been set and now we await the other tournaments first rounds to conclude. The lightweight tournament is shaping up nicely. Toby Imada, the winner of submission of the year, pulled off a great victory by armbar last night.

The semi finals of the Lightweight tournament look like this.

Spoiler

Roger Huerta, Toby Imada, Pat Curran and Carey Vanier

However I do not know the exact match ups for the next round yet.

The other fight I watched last night was welterweight Olympian Ben Askren fighting Ryan Thomas. Very good fight from the start with both guys using great wrestling and showing solid submission defense. The fight however ended in a terrible call which was total bullshit. The ref claimed Thomas was unconscious when it was quiet obvious he was still wide awake. Thomas got screwed and Askren moved on to the semi-finals of the WW tournament.

Ben Askren has some great skills. He is an elite wrestler who has decent stand up and solid submissions. He could very well be the real deal in a few years. I could see him doing some huge things. Problem is the crowd absolutely hates him and I can't figure out why.

 

[Rizza]

The other fight I watched last night was welterweight Olympian Ben Askren fighting Ryan Thomas. Very good fight from the start with both guys using great wrestling and showing solid submission defense. The fight however ended in a terrible call which was total bullshit. The ref claimed Thomas was unconscious when it was quiet obvious he was still wide awake. Thomas got screwed and Askren moved on to the semi-finals of the WW tournament.

This call was insanely bad, I couldn't believe it, it was even better when he tryed to explain it to the crowd and they booed him out the building. Didn't he say that he wanted a verbal response from the guy? Thats crazy. He should of done what a ref would have usually done, and feel the guys arm and see if he is limp. It sure is hell ain't a good idea to assume someone is out because they didn't answer you. Terrible, terrible refing. I hate to insult refs too(expect Mazzagati), because they get alot of shit, and I would say there is a alot of pressure to do that job. Hell I'm not a ref, so I can't call their bullshit from a personal experience, so I usually leave just leave it to the pros and take what I get, but goddamn that was a awful stoppage. As for as the WW tourny, I want Hornbuckle to take this shit, I know Askren is pretty much the man to beat(even though he has alot less fights) but I think Hornbuckle takes this with his experience, and the sole fact that he can scrap anywhere, on the feet or of his back and everywhere in between. WAR Hornbuckle

In the LW I really don't mind who wins as long as we get to see a Hamada vs Huerta. That would be awesome.

 

[INDYjon22]

Not a truly exciting fight card. I found it extremely underwhelming which is a shame considering the card had a ton of talent on it.

Toby Imada versus Carey Vanier kicks off the main card. Nothing wrong with this match up. Two guys who like to punch but also have ground games. Imada is a very underrated fighter who has spent the better part of his career as a journeyman and Carey Vanier has a great back story and seems like genuinely nice guy, it is so hard to root against both men. That said, both men looked solid but Imada showed off his awesome ground skills once again. He is now headed back to another finals and maybe even a rematch with Eddie Alvarez.

Next up we have Roger Huerta versus Pat Curran. Both men have very good hands but Huerta is obviously the better overall fighter. Both men are hesitant and lack the aggression they need. No surprise this fight went the distance since neither man went for the kill. I had Huerta winning but gosh darn if I wasn't wrong. Pat Curran has shocked the world or at least the people who watch Bellator.

Eddie Alvarez versus Josh Neer. I am not very excited for this fight but here we go anyways. Neer is a tough mother fucker but Alvarez is incredibly underrated in my book and no I am not an Eddie Alvarez nuthugger. Very good showing by Alvarez, now all he has to do is actually defend his fucking title.

So the main event is a fight between two fatties who no one has heard of. One of which has bigger boobs then Roy Nelson and trains with Brock Lesnar. You would think Lesnar would get his ass in shape. Boring fight by both men until we get to the decision and Bellator ends the show early......therefore I cannot comment on the winner but it seemed pretty academic with Conrad, Lesnar's fatty, winning.

[CENTER]Pat Curran defeats Roger Huerta to move on to the finals.
        Toby Imada defeats Carey Vanier to move on to the finals.[/CENTER]

 

[INDYjon22]

Tonight saw the second chapter of the controversial Ben Askeren/Ryan Thomas story. This is the biggest feud in Bellator to date and should have been the most anticipated rematch/fight in Bellator's short history, there is really only one other fighter that could be more anticipated for Bellator right now and it is still quiet a ways off. With all of the controversy the surrounded the first fight it was a very good thing that this fight went down. Unfortunately it was not all that exciting of a fight. Askeren showed why he is a world class wrestler and just dominated Thomas. Personally, I am not a fan of Askeren but he has a ton of potential. I will give Thomas credit though because he did not quiet and had no problem taking the fight to Askeren.

Now, Ben Askeren will now move on to fight Dan Hornbuckle in the finals of the Welterweight tournament. I do not know much about Hornbuckle but I will do my research on him. From what I saw of him however, he is a bit of a character and it should make for some good trash talk leading into the fight. I have been very pleased with the second season of Bellator thus far and really hope that some of you have tuned in for it because it has held some terrific fights and has a load of potential as an organization. I also apologize for slacking on updating that last couple weeks of shows, but I have just been super busy.