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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
BELLATOR 93
MARCH 21, 2013
LIVE FROM LEWISTON, MAINE
-The broadcast wastes no time getting to fights, with Marcus Davis and Waachim Spiritwolf in the cage.
FIGHT ONE: WAACHIM SPIRITWOLF VS. MARCUS DAVIS (WELTERWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Davis threw an early kick that was sidestepped by Spiritwolf. Davis walked him down as both were hesitant to engage early. Davis landed a kick to the body. Spiritwolf landed a leg kick. The action stayed tentative. Davis got in a kick. Spiritwolf finally rushed in and tried to grab a takedown. Davis grabbed for a standing guillotine. He got separation. He landed a kick to the body. Davis took a kick and landed a left. Spiritwolf rushed in and landed one. Spiritwolf clipped Davis behind the ear and Davis clinched. He landed a knee to the groin on the way up and Spiritwolf was in a lot of pain. Quick question: has Spiritwolf had a fight that hasn't been hampered by fouls? The crowd chanted "bulls***" as Spiritwolf took full advantage of his recovery time, a really unfair chant as he got hit square on the cup. The crowd booed as they waited for the fight to restart. The way he looks right now it might not. The referee gave him every opportunity to stand and continue, but he remained on his knees. This is going to be a no contest as the crowd loudly chants "bulls***."
After break, Spiritwolf was still on the ground and in pain.
WINNER: Fight ends in a no contest due to accidental foul
STAR RATING: (n/a) There was barely any action before the accidental low blow. Spiritwolf's got really bad luck in the cage.
-Michael Page's 10 second KO of Ryan Sanders from the preliminary card makes the broadcast.
-With time open another preliminary card bout airs. This time Jason Butcher's first round triangle win over Jack Hermansson makes the broadcast.
-Back to live action next with Ryan Martinez and Travis Wiuff in a heavyweight bout.
-The time management on Bellator broadcasts remains awful, and must be for those in attendance who just spent an hour with less than a full round of action actually happening in the cage.
FIGHT TWO: RYAN MARTINEZ VS. TRAVIS WIUFF (HEAVYWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Martinez rocked Wiuff early, and landed a few more brutal strikes to put Wiuff out. That was violent.
WINNER: Martinez via KO at :18 of the first round
STAR RATING: (**) Nice, violent finish, but as it happened so fast there's not much more to say.
-More prelims as Joe Pachecho's first round submission over Pierry Pierre is broadcast.
-Dave Ditkay's 18 second finish of Jesse Peterson then made the broadcast as well. That was a brutal finish.
MAIN EVENT FIGHT THREE: MARCIN HELD VS. DAVE JANSEN (SEASON 7 LW FINALS)
ROUND ONE: They exchanged strikes early and Held got the better of the strikes. He kept pressure on and landed another flurry. He got in some short uppercuts and pressed Jansen to thecae. Held fought for a takedown but Jansen attacked for a guillotine. Held got out and landed a strike before continuing the clinch battle. Jansen landed a few knees to the thigh. Held fired back. Held got in a few strikes as they separated. Held landed a nice left. Jansen got in his first solid strike. Held landed a few punches in combination. Held landed a nice combo and got in a knee. He landed another flurry as he rushed in and clinched. Held landed a couple more strikes and Jansen tried to back away. Jansen landed a kick to the body. He got in an uppercut. Held fired back with a short flurry. Held landed a right and avoided the counter. Jansen clinched. Held got him turned around, but only briefly. Jansen backed off. He landed an uppercut before the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Held. Much crisper striking than expected from Held, and that could be where this fight stays given their respective ground games.
ROUND TWO: After an early striking exchange, the fight finally hit the ground with Held on top. Jansen regained guard. Held passed to half guard. Jansen threw him over and reversed. Held went for a heel hook. Jansen fought it off with strikes. Held kept holding onto the foot and Jansen continued striking. He then transitioned to mount in a slick transition. Held exploded out, got to half guard, and attacked the leg again. Jansen again got free of the hold. They continued battling for position and Jansen landed some big strikes from top position as he got back to half guard. Held attacked again for the heel hook and Jansen got out to land more punches. He postured up and landed a couple big punches to the body to end the round. Good fight thus far.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Jansen. So I was wrong about it staying on the feet. Great ground action with Held attacking and Jansen making him pay when he couldn't get the hold locked on.
ROUND THREE: Jansen landed an early leg kick. He got in a strike as Held seemed to be very tired. Jansen landed another nice combination. Jansen landed the leg kick again. Jansen landed a nice right after his straight kick was blocked. Held got in a jab. Jansen landed a big left hook. He connected on an uppercut. He got in another one. Jansen landed a body kick. Held shot in with a well-timed takedown attempt and got Jansen down. Jansen then got free and to his feet. Held went for another takedown, but wound up on his back as he was exhausted. Jansen landed a couple elbows from half guard. Held scrambled to an omoplata, then tried to set up a toe hold, but Jansen again got out and landed a few strikes. Jansen tried get out and Held went for heel hook, but Jansen got out. He got to guard, postured up and landed a few strikes. Held landed some strikes from the back. He went for an omoplata again as the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Jansen. Held was gassed entirely, and Jansen took over on the feet and on the ground. Good turn around after losing the first round, and a really nice main event.
WINNER: Jansen via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
STAR RATING: (***) That was a good main event; nice striking, great grappling action, and both fighters leaving it in the cage. Held just ran out of energy with everything he tried in the second, and Jansen's defense was on point. Good end to an overly long night due to time management issues from Bellator.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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