BELLATOR 155 LIVE RESULTS: Hansens round by round report for Spike event featuring Middleweight Championship fight

BELLATOR 155

MAY 20, 2016

LIVE FROM BOISE, IDAHO

Bellator is back on Spike tonight with a five fight main card headlined by a Middleweight Title bout between Rafael Carvalho and Melvin Manhoef. Marloes Coenen was supposed to compete in a Featherweight Title fight, but after Julia Budd suffered an injury to take her out of the event, she’s now facing Alexis Dufresne, who missed weight by more than five pounds on Thursday. We’ll have live round by round coverage of the fights tonight, so follow along right here as the card kicks off at 9PM ET!

FIGHT ONE: JOEY BELTRAN VS. CHASE GORMLEY (HEAVYWEIGHT)

Round One: Tom Supnet is the referee for this fight. Gormley has almost 30 pounds on Beltran. Gormley lands half a dozen kicks from the outside in the first 20 seconds of the fight. And a couple more, all from his lead left leg. Beltran hasn’t landed anything in the first minute. Beltran has landed a couple of kicks to the outside of Gormley’s lead left leg now. Gormley throws one high. Gormley’s landing some nice double leg kick combinations, all with his lead left leg. Gormley throws an overhand right that got the crowd oohing, but it didn’t land. Leg kick, jab combo from Gormley. OK. Gormley is content to stay on the outside here. Gormley lands a kick to the ribs. Beltran gets aggressive and lands a few right hands that put Gormley on the defensive. Nice right hand from Gormley. Back to the leg kicks, and a jab to the body from Gormley. Gormley apparently thinks Joey Beltran has Stipe Miocic’s power. Um, he doesn’t. But, 10-9 Gormley.

Round Two: More leg kicks from Gormley. Beltran has to start checking them, even if they aren’t clubbing kicks. Two more kicks from Gormley. There’s a right leg kick to the outside of Beltran’s lead leg. And back to the inside of Beltran’s left leg again. Gormley with a triple jab that forced Beltran to cover up. Beltran responds with jabs of his own. The crowd is totally silent, which is better than the alternative. Hard outside leg kick from Gormley. Beltran briefly saw his leg buckle from that. Beltran starting to land the right hand a little bit. Both guys miss ismultaneous haymakers. Beltran lands another right, but he’s got nothing on them. Gormley barely feels Beltran’s punching power. Right cross from Gormley. Beltan’s landing more volume than Gormley, but has done zero damage. Gormley throws out a jab that backs Beltran off a bit. Nice right from Gormley. He’s walking through everything Beltran throws. 20-18 Gormley

Round Three: Beltran isn’t waiting to throw. And he lands a right hook 15 seconds in that staggered Gormley. Gormley almost dropped, but he stayed up. Gormley shoots in and gets on Beltran’s back, standing. Beltran got out after 10 seconds or so. that shot was a direct result of eating that right hook. Beltran with a right hook to the ribs of Gormley. Nice jab from Gormley. Short left hook from Gormley. Beltran is landing his jab consistently. Gormley responds to each one by missing a left hook. Gormley is coasting. Beltran’s pressing the action, such as it is. Overhand right from Gormley grazed the head of Beltran. It was, how shall we say, slightly telegraphed. 90 seconds remain. Jab to the chest from Beltran. Patrick Swayze could kill a man with that punch! And has! It’s documented! Roadhouse! Best documentary ever! Body kick from Beltran. Beltran continues to press forward, Gormley continues to circle away and throw leg kicks. Nice right from Beltran. 10-9 Beltran. 29-28 Gormley. It all comes down to how you see Round Two.

Winner: Chase Gormley by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28 )

Star Rating: (*+) At least it was devoid of wall and stall. Moving on…

FIGHT TWO: MARLOES COENEN VS. ALEXIS DUFRESNE (CATCHWEIGHT)

• This is a catchweight fight instead of a Featherweight Championship fight because Dufresne couldn’t make weight. She weighed in at 150.7 pounds. Good thing she takes the Bellator Feathweweight Championship as seriously as it should be taken. When this was supposed to be a title fight, it was scheduled to be streaming online only. Now that it’s a non-title fight, it’s on Spike in place of Marcin Held. We love Scott Coker. Truly, madly, deeply.

Round One: Jason Herzog has drawn the refereeing assignment for this fight. Dufresne immegiately shoots a double. After a brief struggle she trips Coenen and gets the takedown. Coenen fishes for an armbar, but Dufresne avoids. Back to full guard. Coenen has Dufresne all flustered from the bottom as she looks for a sweep. Dufesne is stuck chest to chest and is reduced to slapping away at Coenen’s ribcage. Coenen’s throwing from the bottom as often as Dufresne is from the top. Both fighters are activ and are in no danger of a standup. Unless Herb Dean were in there, of course. Nice sweep from Coenen and she’s on top now, in full guard. Coenen got scolded by Herzog for headbutts. Dufresne is thinking triangle from the bottom, but there’s nothing there. Dufresne almost had one there, and she’s got it locked in. She’s pounding away at Coenen’s head. She’s pulling down on Coenen’s head and has 45 more seconds to work. Armbar! She tapped Coenen with a triangle armbar!

Winner: Alexis Dufresne by submission (triangle armbar) at 4:33 of round one.

Star Rating: (**+) Dufresne caught Coenen trying to pull out of the triangle. Coenen left her arm out htere for half a second and tapped immediately. I mean, that was the quickest armbar tap I’ve seen in a long damn time.

FIGHT THREE: DAN CHARLES VS. AUGUSTO SAKAI (HEAVYWEIGHT)

Round One: John McCarthy is the referee for this fight. Charles has some impressively bad tattoos that even Dave Navarro would have no comment on. Charles gets in tight and puts Sakai on the cage. He eats a knee as they pull apart from one another. Big outside leg kick from Sakai. He’s flabby, but looks really mobile for having to cut to make 265. Huge leg kick from Sakai. Inside leg kick and a push kick from Charles. Sakai throws a high kick and brings a jab behind it. The crowd is so quiet I think I can hear the power generators in the building. Charles throws to the body with a right hand. Sakai with a crisp upper body kick. He follows up by blasting the hell out of Charles cup. The fight is paused as Charles is moaning in agony. That kick was as flush as it gets. McCarthy is the best in the business controlling this type of break in the action. 2 minutes later, and we’re back. A minute later, both fighters throw kicks at the same time, and Sakai’s kick hit Charles’ cup. Just as flush as the first. His entire foot almost went up Charles’ hindquarters that time. Hard to fully blame Sakai since they were both kicking at the same time. Sakai had a point taken, and that’s the right call. Sakai comes out throwing kicks, but none to the inside of Charles’ leg. 9-9

Round Two: Charles comes out throwing at a higher volume than he did in the first, but he’s still not effective with any of it. Sakai seems to understand angles and defense better than most young heavyweights. That was a joke. There are no young heavyweights. Apparently they’ve entered ito a mutual non-aggresison pact, because the circling has picked up at the expense of moving limbs towards one another. OK, high kick from Sakai, but it was blocked. Loud leg kick from Sakai. I’ll say this for him. He throws those kicks as hard as possible. Sakai’s style is intriguing. 19-18 Sakai

Round Three: Charles shoots a double and drives Sakai all the way across the cage. Sakai’s up immediately. Charles couldn’t hold him down for more than a couple seconds. Sakai is back to what he likes to do, kick from distance while avoiding danger. Nothing wrong with that. Sakai has clearly abandoned the inside leg kick since losing a point in the first. Sakai goes high once again. With his right, then with his left. Hard leg kick from Sakai, to the outside of course. Charles has nothing for Sakai, and Sakai feels zero urgency. Sakai had better hope that the referees are seeing this fight properly. Charles is fading, and Sakai is stalking, landing kicks at will. Charles is hurt, but Sakai wants to win by decision. 29-27 Sakai

Winner: Majority Draw (30-26 Charles, 28-28, 28-28)

Star Rating: (**) 30-26 Charles is the worst card in MMA history. 28-28 and 28-28 are really awful, too. Charles did nothing.

FIGHT FOUR: PAT CURRAN VS. GEORGI KARAKHANYAN (FEATHERWEIGHT)

Round One: Jason Herzog is the referee for tonight’s co-main event. Karakhanyan starts the action with a sharp kick to the body of Curran. Curran returns the favor 20 seconds later. Curran’s circling, Karakhanyan’s coming straight. Spinnign shit from Karakhanyan! Landed a spin kick just under the armpit of Curran. Karakhanyan grazes a jump knee. Curran with a push kick to the stonach. Karakhanyan got dripped by a counter left hand from Curran as he was throwing a leg kick. Curran pounces and gets caught in guard. Curran blows his chance to finish this fight. Two minutes remain. Half-guard for Curran. Curran’s doing nothing as Karakhanyan is keeping Curran chest to chest. Curran on top somehow has both of his arms trapped. Curran jumps into mount, misses the armbar, and Karakhanyan gets to his feet! Horrible from Curran. But he does recover from that turn of events and gets Karakhanyan back down. Full guard. 10-9 Curran

Round Two: Karakhanyan immediately shoots and gets stuffed. Curran is on top of Karakhanyan. That was just plain stupid. Curran looking for side control but gets caught in guard. The cage is in the way of either fighter being able to do anything here. Karakhanyan is hoping for a hail mary guillotine, but there’s nothing there. Curran gets on his back and is looking to sink in the hooks. He’s got one in and is trying to roll Karakhanyan into a belly up position. Both hooks are in, and there’s almost three minutes left in the round. Karakhanyan is doing a good job moving around, not letting Curran get comfortable, and in the process he escapes the back control. Karakhanyan wins a scramble and winds up on top. Not doing anything with the position, though us Karakhanyan as talking like Goldberg Mike I am. Herzog saw a minute of this and stood them up. 20-18 Curran

Round Three: Curran’s corner told Curran he lost round two. He didn’t, but that’s a rue to keep Curran sharp. Karakhanyan lands a nice right. Both fighters are throwing high volume, low percentage. Karakhanyan gets in too close and Curran grabs a body lock. Karakhanyan fights free, trips Curran, and gets on top. Closed guard. Curran is keeping his hips active side to side looking for a sweep. Karakhanyan is landing the occasional slap to the ear of Curran. Karakhanyan’s got no offense from top. One minute remains. Curran clearly believes he’s up 2-0, as he’s handing the round to Karakhanyan. Karakhanyan is looking for an arm triangle, but Curran was nowhere close to letting Karakhanyan pass. Horrible fight. 29-28 Curran

Winner: Pat Curran by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Star Rating: (*) Curran has a ton of talent, and the worst ratio of talent to entertainment of any top 20 fighter. Blechh

FIGHT FIVE: RAFAEL CARVALHO VS. MELVIN MANHOEF (BELLATOR MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP)

Round One: Manhoef is 7 inch shorter than the champion, while also having to overcome a 7 inch reach disadvantage. John McCarthy has drawn the main event assignment. no touch of gloves, but Manhoef did bow, slightly. Nothing significant in the first minute. One kick landed from Carvalho. Carvalho has thrown a few high kicks now, but not really landed. Two minutes in. Manhoef can’t find his range enough to even feint so far. Three minutes in. Carvalho throws a straight kick up the middle. This is just awful. The crowd is turning hostile. Like, Hogan is the third man hostile. Manhoef lands his first kick of the round with 20 seconds with. 10-9 Manhoef. That sucked. I honestly think less than 5 strikes landed in the entire round.

Round Two: Manhoef lands a kick to the ribcage of Carvalho. He’s pressuring Carvalho and lands a high kick. Then a leg kick. That’s more like it! Carvalho threw a kick and looked a little gimpy on the recoil. Interesting. He seems fine now. Huge right kick to the ribs from Manhoef. My god. The crowd is getting restless again. Carvalho is starting to land some kicks with his right leg, both to the body and to the lead left leg of Manhoef. Two minutes left. Tripe jab from Manhoef has Carvalho fleeing, even though all three missed. Carvalho with another soft leg kick. Carvalho is fighting scared. Leg kick by Manhoef. And another. And one more, right to the lead left knee of Carvalho. Carvalho hits a standing knee and gets a clinch. He lands a knee to the cup and refuses to break after McCarthy orders a break. I wonder if that’ll cost him a point? No point deduction, but McCarthy gave him an earful. Manhoef lands a high kick. Carvalho is on his bike as the round ends. 20-18 Carvalho is scared of Manhoef’s power.

Round Three: If Carvalho is this scared of a 40 year old Manhoef, imagine if he were fighting prime Manhoef. Carvalho lands a sneaky jab early on. Manhoef lands a hard left on the tail end of a combination. Carvalho fingers Manhoef in the eye and McCarthy pauses the fight. He’s been warned a few times tonight, but no point deduction. Another one, but McCarthy again doesn’t take a point. Manhoef is pissed. Remember kids; ALWAYS poke him in the eye. Carvalho ties him up and presses him into the cage. Manhoef reverses with an underhook and puts Carvalho onto the cage. Manhoef lands a big left and rocks Carvalho. Carvalho grabs Manhoef and works him to the ground. He’s in guard near the cage. Menhoef turns and gets to his feet. He wants to separate with another big left. Carvalho with another low knee. McCarthy pauses the action yet again. Eric Prindle even is getting pissed. McCarthy is talking to Carvalho’s corner now, to make sure his warnings are translated into Portuguese. STILL NO POINT DEDUCTION! Unreal. Carvalho opens up with some wild punches, but I think they missed. Hard to hell as the camera angle changed at the wrong time. Carvalho presses Manhoef into the cage. Carvalho gets scolded for fingers in the cage. Carvalho eats a short uppercut as they separate. 30-27 Manhoef

Round Four: McCarthy can be heard between rounds that there will be no more warnings. I expect more warnings. Carvalho took his sweet time getting off the stool. Which is interesting, because he’s fighting like a piece of stool. Carvalho ducks under and shoots, and gets stuffed. Stuffed easily. By Melvin Manhoef. Carvalho’s hands are at his waist now. Step knee from Carvalho, followed by a takedown attempt. He’s on top in side control. Right up against the cage. Carvalho doing literally nothing for 30 seconds. Which is fine by Manhoef, because he’s doing nothing either. Oh, there’s a hammerfist. Neither guy is moving. Seriously, check for embalming fluid. Manhoef scrambles to his feet. Whatever. 2 minutes remain. Carvalho’s flicking hands out there, with his fingers fully extended. Manhoef misses with a left hook. Carvalho literally sprints backwards 15 feet into the cage. 40-36 Manhoef This is so bad.

Round Five: It’s not just that the fight is bad. I think honest to God that Carvalho is having an emotional breakdown tonight. He looks like he’d rather be in a woodchipper, and I’ve got Steve Buscemi on line one. Big body shot from Manhoef. Carvalho responds by jumping forward ot something. I. I just, I don’t know. Carvalho dives on a single leg. Manhoef holds his ground well and more or less stays on his feet. Carvalho is holding on and making Manhoef sweat. He got the bodylock takedown but Manhoef rolled through and got mount. Too much momentum and they’re back to standing, but Carvalho couldn’t stay up and landed on his back. Guard for Manhoef. Carvalho doing nothing from his back, but it’s not like Manhoef is doing anything from the top. Carvalho pushes Manhoef off and we’re back to standing. Carvalho damn near turned his back on Manhoef. He’s feinting jabs from 20 feet away. Seriously. Rafael Carvalho will never be able took himself in the face again. This is the most cowardly performance I’ve ever seen from a fighter. Manhoef with a high kick. And works the body. 50-45 Manhoef

Winner: Rafael Carvalho by split decision (48-47 on all 3 cards)

Star Rating: (0) Bellator needs to go out of business. Their entire company is horsecrap. Anyone who draws a paycheck from this company must seriously reevaluate their life choices. and to whomever judged this fight, go to hell.

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