BELLATOR 166 LIVE REPORT
DECEMBER 2, 2016
THACKERVILLE, OKLAHOMA AT THE WINSTAR WORLD CASINO & RESORT
LIVE ON BELLATOR.COM AND SPIKE
Michael Grocke here with you to take you through Bellator 166. Eduardo Dantas defends his bantamweight title against former champion Joe Warren in tonight’s main event from the WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Oklahoma. The co-main event pits fast rising A.J. McKee against Ray Wood in a battle of featherweights. The main card rounds out with bantamweights Marcos Galvao vs. L.C. Davis, and what should be an excellent middleweight bout between Chris Honeycutt and Ben Reiter.
As always, I’ll have live round by round coverage of tonight’s main fights, with quick results and commentary on the prelims. Make sure to follow along right here all night, and follow me on Twitter @FightChampBlog
Prelims – Bellator.com (6:00 pm CT)
(1) Kinny Spotwood (2-2) vs. John King (4-3) – Catchweight 210 lbs.
ROUND ONE: Spotwood comes out swinging trying to establish his jab early. They tie up against the fence. Spotwood works the body. King tries to spin off the cage but Spotwood keeps him there. King explodes and scores a takedown. Spotwood rolls and is now in side control. Spotwood tries to step over into mount but is too close to the fence. He lands short punches to the side of King’s head. King lands a nice right elbow from underneath. Spotwood working from on top. Spotwood lets King up and tries landing a big right that just misses. Spotwood has King pinned against the fence. The ref separates them. Back to center cage. They circle with little action as the round ends.
10-9 Spotwood
ROUND TWO: King goes for a kick to the body but Spotwood catches it and runs him to the fence. Spotwood clearly wants to work in the clinch. He lands a few short lefts. King not doing much to get off the cage. The ref finally separates them Back to center cage. Spotwood lands a left hand. King pushes Spotwood to the fence but Spotwood reverses position. king reverses back and lands a nice right with Spotwood’s back against the fence. Spotwood reverses position and is back to working in the clinch. He lands some nice knees to the body and short right hands. The ref stops the action for Spotwood’s mouth piece. Back to the action, they circle and Spotwood lands a quick jab. John King needs to get to work.
10-9 Spotwood
ROUND THREE: King comes out and lands a jab. The ref stops the action after a poke to the eye from Spotwood. They square off after the ref restarts the fight. Both fighters not doing much of anything. They continue to circle each other. They trade jabs with neither fighter landing. King pushes Spotwood against the fence. King works in the clinch and continues to waste valuable time. King tries landing left hands but nothing is landing flush. Spotwood Pushes King off and reverses his position. Spotwood works in the clinch with just under a minute to go. Back to the center of the octagon and they finally start throwing punches. Spotwood scores a takedown and delivers a flurry of shots as the round ends.
10-9 Spotwood
Result: Spotwood by UD (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Grocke’s Viewpoint: Spotwood got the win he wanted in his debut so congrats to him. There wasn’t much action in the fight, but Spotwood definitely looked better than King.
(2) Chris Jones (10-4) vs. Derrick Adkins (7-2) – Lightweight 155 lbs.
ROUND ONE: They circle. Adkins goes for a low kick. Jones throws one of his own that misses. Adkins works from the center of the cage. Neither fighter landing anything. Adkins scores a takedown halfway through the round. He works some nice ground and pound cutting Jones above the right eye. Jones works back to his feet. Adkins scores another takedown and works from top control. Jones kicks Adkins off and both fighters are back to their feet.
10-9 Adkins
ROUND TWO: Jones lands a low kick, but eats a combination for his effort. The pace is quicker to start the round. They trade punches center cage. Jones trying to establish low leg kicks but not landing any of them. Adkins misses a combination. Head kick lands for Adkins and follows with a takedown. He has Jones’ back. Now in mount. Adkins working ground and pound, but the ref stands them up. Adkins floors Jones with a huge right hand. Jones goes down and Adkins is in side control. Jones rolls and gets to his feet. Adkins runs Jones to the fence and sinks in a DArce. Jones taps.
Result: Adkins by submission (4:09 of Round 2 – D’Arce)
Grocke’s Viewpoint: Adkins looked good here. Chris Jones just didn’t have the skills to be any sort of threat to Adkins.
(3) Treston Thomison (9-4) vs. Dawond Pickney (10-5) – Featherweight 145 lbs.
ROUND ONE: Thomison runs Pickney to the fence and scores a double leg takedown. He lands some heavy rights. He has an armbar and that’s it Pickney taps. Wow!
Result: Thomison by submission (0:51 of Round 1 – Armbar)
Grocke’s Viewpoint: Well that was quick and impressive.
(4) Gregory Babene (17-11) vs. Emiliano Sordi (14-5) – Middleweight 185 lbs.
ROUND ONE: Babene aggressive to start. Babene lands a nice right hand. Babene throwing with intent. Sordi pushes Babene to the fence. Sordi goes for an outside trip but doesn’t get it. Babene pushes Sordi off and back to center cage. Babene lands a right hand. Sordi misses with a head kick. They trade punches center cage. Kick to the body for Sordi. Babene scores a takedown and has a body lock. Babene looking for a guillotine. He has ir and Sordi taps.
Result: Babene by submission (3:11 of Round 1 – Guillotine)
Grocke’s Viewpoint: Babene looked great in this fight. He came out aggressively and started landing early in the fight. Babene was the stronger fighter and it really showed. Sordi tapped quickly once he got caught in the guillotine.
Main Card – Spike (8:00 CT)
(5) Chris Honeycutt (8-1) vs. Ben Reiter (17-1-1) – Middleweight 185 lbs.
ROUND ONE: Reiter opens with a front kick that misses. Reiter goes for a kick but Honeycutt catches it, runs him to the fence and scores a takedown. Reither is back to his feet quickly. They circle and trade jabs. Honeycutt catches another kick and scores another takedown. Both fighters back to their feet. They trade punches. Honeycutt with a nice knee to the body. Honeycutt with a punch to the body. They clinch against the fence. Back to center cage and they circle. Honeycutt with a kick to the body. They trade jabs. Honeycutt misses a head kick. Honeycutt lands a nice right. They clinch against the fence. Reiter pushes Honeycutt off. Front kick for Honeycutt. They trade punches, but Honeycutt lands more flush. They circle as the round ends.
10-9 Honeycutt
ROUND TWO: Head kick misses for Honeycutt. Front kick lands for Honeycutt. Reiter rus Honeycutt to the fence after a Honeycutt misses a head kick. Honeycutt scrambles and they’re back to the center of the cage. Reiter blocks a head kick. Honeycutt misses a head kick. Reiter looking for his opening. Honeycutt shoots and lands into a headlock. Reiter brings him to the ground. Honeycutt lands on top and lands some short right hands. Reiter is up. Reiter lands a right as he takes a front kick. Big overhand right misses for Reiter. Reiter continues for an opening. They both miss kicks. Head kick misses from Honeycutt. Reiter not throwing much of anything and the round ends. Honeycutt remains the busier fighter. Not sure what Reiter is waiting for.
10-9 Honeycutt
ROUND THREE: Reiter needs a finish as the third round begins. Honeycutt shoots but Reiter stuffs it. They trade punches with nneither landing flush. Honeycutt has thrown a ton of kicks, but not many have landed. A nice combination for Honeycutt and he follows with a takedown. He lands few punches, but Reiter powers up. Reiter pushes Honeycutt against the fence. Back to center cage. They trade kicks. Right hand lands flush for Honeycutt that stuns Reiter. Honeycutt with another takedown and starts landing big shots from on top. Reiter is cut and in trouble. Honeycutt with some serious ground and pound. He goes for a RNC as the round ends.
10-9 Honeycutt
Result: Honeycutt by UD (30-26, 30-25, 30-25)
Grocke’s Viewpoint: Total domination by Chris Honeycutt. His wrestling is fantastic and he made a big statement at 185. I don’t know what Ben Reiter’s game plan was, but whatever it was I think he was taken out of it after the first 20 seconds of the fight. I’m looking forward to Honeycutt’s next fight.
(6) Marcos Galvao (17-7-1) vs. L.C. Davis (23-7) – Bantamweight 135 lbs.
ROUND ONE: Galvao takes the center of the octagon. Nice left from Davis. Davis misses to the body. Galvao measuring his opponent. Galvao runs Davis to the fence. Davis reverses and has Galvao’s back to the fence. Neither fighter landing anything in the clinch. Galvao with a takedown and in top position. Davis doing a good job keeping guard. Davis in a butterfly position, back to full guard. Galvao looking for Davis’ neck, but he powers up and they clinch against the fence as the round ends.
10-9 Galvao
ROUND TWO: Davis opens with a combination. Davis takes a kick below the belt but continues. Galvao shoots and scores a takedown. Davis scrambles and is back to his feet. Davis has Galvao against the fence, but he spins out. They circle and Galvao shoots in, but Davis defends nicely. Back to center cage. Galvao lands a right followed by a knee to the body. Davis lands to the body. Davis misses a left and Galvao runs him against the fence. Davis gets out and back to center cage. Davis begins to be the aggressor, but isn’t landing anything clean. Glavao shoots in and is stuffed as the round ends. A much closer round.
10-9 Galvao
ROUND THREE: Davis opens with a left hand. Davis to the body. Low kick lands for Galvao. Front kick from Galvao misses. Right hand lands for Galvao. Davis looking for his opening. Davis chasing Galvao around the cage. Front kick misses from Galvao. Galvao has Davis against the fence but he reverses. Davis looks good this round. Galvao playing defense. Back to center cage. They circle left. A left hand lands for Davis. Galvao clinches against the fence. Davis reverses. Both fighters landing knees in the clinch. They scramble and the round ends.
10-9 Davis
Result: Galvao by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Grocke’s Viewpoint: This fight came down to which fighter the judges gave the second round to. It was definitely a close fight, but I thought Galvao did more in the first two rounds. Davis looked better as the fight progressed, but it was too little, too late.
(7) A.J. McKee (5-0) vs. Ray Wood (7-2) – Featherweight 145 lbs.
ROUND ONE: They trade kicks. Front kick lands for Wood. Another lands. McKee shoots and scores a takedown. A knee to the body and a kick lands for McKee. Both fighters are back to their feet. McKee lands a nice combination. McKee shoots and and eats a huge knee. Wood grabs the neck and looks for a guillotine against the cage. McKee trips Wood and he loses the choke. McKee seems to have regained his composure after a huge knee. McKee in half guard against the fence. One hook is in as ha lands right hands to the side of Wood’s head. Wood scrambles out. Wood lands a kick. McKee shoots and Wood goes for another knee but McKee catches him and gets a takedown. He lands a few short left hands to the body while he has Wood’s back to the fence.
10-9 Wood
ROUND TWO: McKee lands a kick to the body. Wood comes back with one of his own. McKee with a takedown, but Wood is up. McKee with another takedown. This is now the longest fight of McKee’s career. He works ground and pound and has Wood’s back. Wood works up to his feet, but McKee powers him back down to the canvass. He has one hook in and lands right hands. Wood looks hurt from McKee’s ground and pound. Wood tries to get up but McKee keeps him on the canvass. One hook in and continues ground and pound as the round ends. All McKee that round.
10-9 McKee
ROUND THREE: McKee opens with a kick to the body. They trade kicks. McKee lands a left hand and follows up with a takedown. McKee working ground and pound. Wood tries to kick him off, but McKee maintains the pressure. Big knees to the ribs of Wood. Wood tries to kick him off again, but is unsuccessful. McKee in side control, landing left hands to the body of Wood. Wood is doing everything he can to get up, but McKee is keeping him down. The fight ends with McKee in top control working more ground and pound. All McKee again.
10-9 McKee
Result: McKee by UD (29-27, 30-25, 30-27)
Grocke’s Viewpoint: It was a great first round for Wood. Unfortunately that was it for him. McKee got caught with a big knee in the first round and handled it well. After the first round it was all A.J. McKee. If anyone was wondering how he would fare if the fight went past the first round, I think he answered those concerns.
(8) Eduardo Dantas (18-4) vs. Joe Warren (14-5) – Bantamweight 135 lbs.
ROUND ONE: Both fighters circle right to start. They trade jabs. Warren throws a combination but doesn’t land. Dantas switching stances. Stiff jab lands for Dantas. Beautiful combination from Dantas. Dantas landing big shots. Warren is struggling with Dantas speed. Front kick lands for Dantas. Warren lands an over hand right. Left hand lands for Dantas. Warren tries to clinch but Danats pushes him off. Left over the top lands for Dantas. Warren misses with a combination. A cartwheel kick from Warren misses badly as the round ends. All Dantas.
10-9 Dantas
ROUND TWO: Warren opens the round with more pressure. Nice right lands for Warren. Dantas goes for a kick, Warren catches it, but can’t finish the takedown. Dantas lands a combination. Low kick for Dantas. Warren misses with a kick after a clinch. Warren can’t find the range. Warren shoots, but Dantas avoids it easily. Leg kick from Dantas. Stiff jab from Dantas. A left followed by a leg kick lands again for Dantas. Warren is paying a big price trying to get inside. Dantas starts to taunt Warren. Warren tries to get a takedown after a they scramble, but Dantas is back up. They circle as the round ends.
10-9 Dantas
ROUND THREE: Dantas blocks a kick from Warren. Stiff jab from Dantas. Big knee from Dantas as Warren tries to get inside. Warren continues to chase Dantas around the cage. Leg kick from Dantas. Warren pushes Dantas against the fence and has one hook in. Dantas pushes Warren off and they’re back to center cage. Another jab followed by a leg kick from Dantas. He’s beating Warren to the punch every time. They trade punches center cage. Big overhand right misses for Warren. Warren shoots and Dantas shrugs him off. Warren takes a kick below the belt and time is called. Back to the action and Warren lands a combination. Dantas follows with a right. Warren misses with an elbow. They trade kicks and Warren slips as the round ends.
10-9 Dantas
ROUND FOUR: A right hand lands for Warren. Dantas misses with a front kick. They trade jabs. Warren misses with another cartwheel kick. Dantas lands a leg kick and as he’s backing up slips, but Warren can’t capitalize. Not one takedown for Warren thus far. They trade punches center cage. Warren shoots but is stuffed. Warren misses badly with a right hand. Leg kick for Dantas. They clinch against the fence. Warren lands a knee to the body in the clinch. Warren gets a takedown but Dantas is back up instantly. Dantas lands a jab. They both miss with kicks. Warren misses wildly with a left and the round ends.
10-9 Dantas
ROUND FIVE: Clearly Warren needs a finish. Warren comes out strong rushing Dantas to the fence. Dantas spins away easily and they’re back to center cage. Warren takes another kick low and time is stopped. Dantas has a point taken away, which I find surprising. Dantas lands a stiff jab. Warrren rushes Dantas to the fence and tries to hold him there. Not much happening in the clinch. Warren lands a few knees to the thigh. Dantas doesn’t seem too worried. Big John separates them. They trade punches at center cage. Dantas starts to showboat under 30 seconds left and eats a left hand. Dantas is on his horse for the final minutes and it’s a clean sweep.
10-9 Dantas
Result: Dantas by majority decision (47-47, 49-44, 48-46)
Grocke’s Viewpoint: What?!? I have no idea what fight two of the judges watched. That was perfection from Eduardo Dantas. Warren just couldn’t get inside, and every time he tried he paid the price. Dantas speed and quickness was just too much for him. Dantas showed he matured and is a better fighter for it.
Thanks for following along with me tonight. Come back tomorrow night where I will be providing round by round coverage of Bellator 167. Also, follow me on Twitter @FightChampBlog.
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