BELLATOR 164 LIVE REPORT
NOVEMBER 11, 2016
TEL AVIV, ISRAEL AT MENORA MIVTACHIM ARENA
LIVE ON SPIKE
Michael Grocke here with you to take you through Bellator 164. Andrey Koreshkov defends his welterweight title against Douglas Lima in tonight’s main event from the Menora Mivtaschim Arena in Tel Aviv, Israel. The co-main event pits Noad Lahat against Scott Cleve in a battle of Featherweights. The main card rounds out with another featherweight battle as Georgi Karakhanyan takes on Kirill Medvedovsky, and on the women’s side Lena Ovchynnikova goes up against Karla Benitez in the flyweight division.
As always, I’ll have live round by round coverage of tonight’s main fights. Make sure to follow along right here all night, and follow me on Twitter @FightChampBlog.
Main Card – Spike (8:00 CT)
(1) Georgi Karakhanyan 25-6-1) vs. Kirill Medvedovsky (7-2) – Catchweight 150 lbs.
ROUND ONE: Karakhanyan takes the center of the cage. He misses a knee. Medvedovsky reverses and has Karakhanyan up against the cage. Karakhanyan scores a take down and has side control. Karakhanyan allows Medvedovsky up and takes him down again. He transitions to side control and looks for a guillotine but loses it quickly. Karakhanyan lets Medvedovsky up again. He tries for a spinning back fist but misses. Another take down for Karakkhanyan and he lands a few punches and the ref stops it quickly.
Result: Karakhanyan by TKO (3:47 of Round 1)
Grocke’s Viewpoint: It looked like Medvedovsky injured his shoulder while trying to defend himself. It was a very quick stoppage and after the replay you can see Medvedovsky motions to the referee, and the fight was stopped. Good for Karakhayan for not doing more unnecessary damage to Medvedovsky.
(2) Onor Kelesh (1-0) vs. Omri Barel (0-0) – Catchweight 135 lbs. (Prelim fight)
ROUND ONE: Keles ruhes in and runs Barel to the fence and tries for a take down but can’t finish. Nice take down from Keles and has side control. Keles looking to get full mount and has it. He’s landing big shoots. Barel gives up his back and Keles has a RNC. Barel tries to get free but Keles just sinks it in further and it’s over.
Result: Keles by submission (3:02 of Round 1)
Grocke’s Viewpoint: Really not much to make of this. The inexperience of both fighters really showed in this one. Both guys are young and just getting started.
(3) Lena Ovchynnikova (10-4) vs. Karla Benitez (13-9-1) – Flyweight 125 lbs.
ROUND ONE: Nice kick to the body from Ovchynnikova. Lena lands a combination. Benitez starting out slowly, not landing anything. Ovchynnikova lands a left followed by an overhand right. She pushes Benitez against the cage, but Benitez pushes her off. Back to the center of the octagon and they trade punches. They trade leg kicks. Lena lands a combination. Ovchynnikova is beating Benitez to the punch every time. Big left from Lena. Benitez continues to move forward. Lena lands a leg kick as the round ends. All Ovchynnikova.
10-9 Ovchynnikova
ROUND TWO: Benitez takes the center of the octagon to start the round. Lena goes for a kick and Benitez catches it but can’t do anything with it. Three quick lefts land for Ovchynnikova. Another left from Lena. Benitez is not landing anything but she continues to move forward while eating shots. They trade leg kicks. Benitez misses a left. They trade jabs. Benitez lands a left, Ovchynnikova comes back with a combination. Left lands for Lena. Benitez lands a shot to the body. Benitez lands a leg kick and the round ends.
10-9 Ovchynnikova
ROUND THREE: A leg kick from Benitez to start. They trade punches. Benitez comes out much more aggressive this round. She lands a kick to the body. They trade kicks. Nice combination from Ovchynnikova. Straight left lands flush for Benitez. Lena lands a kick. Lena lands two kicks to the body of Benitez. Straight left lands flush for Ovchynnikova. They trade knees in the clinch. Big combination for Ovchynnikova. Lena lands a left and Benitez misses on a knee. Benitez scores a take down but can’t take advantage of it. Ovchynnikova is up quickly and as they work back to the middle of the octagon, the round ends.
10-9 Ovchynnikova
Result: Ovchynnikova by decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Grocke’s Viewpoint: A clean sweep for Ovchynnikova. That was a workmanlike effort from Lena Ovchynnikova. I think she knew she wasn’t going to put Benitez away so she was content just picking her apart for three rounds. This was a nice way to comeback from her loss to Rebecca Ruth to earn her first win under the Bellator banner.
(4) Joaquin Buckley (6-0) vs. Jackie Gosh (6-0) – Welterweight 170 lbs. (Prelim fight)
ROUND ONE: Gosh lands a combination to start the fight. A monster left from Buckley lands and Gosh goes down but gets back up quickly. Gosh lands a kick and seems to have rebounded from the big left from Buckley. Gosh has Buckley on the fence but he pushes him off. Back to the center of the octagon. Buckley misses a combination. Gosh blasts Buckley with a quick straight hand and he goes down. Gosh pounces and lands big shots and Buckley is out and the fight is stopped.
Result: Gosh by TKO (2:44 of Round 1)
Grocke’s Viewpoint: Nice performance from Gosh. Buckley is viewed as an up-and-comer, so this was a big win for Jackie Gosh.
(5) Noad Lahat (9-2) vs. Scott Cleve (15-5) – Featherweight 145 lbs.
ROUND ONE: Front kick misses from Lahat. They trade kicks. Nice right hand lands for Lahat. Both fighters land punches. Lahat scores a take down and looks for a guillotine. He transitions out and works Cleve against the fence. He works for a RNC but doesn’t have it. He loses it but still has Cleve’s back. He has the RNC again and it’s deep. A quick tap from Scott Cleve and it’s over.
Result: Lahat by submission (2:26 of Round 1)
Grocke’s Viewpoint: Excellent work from Noad Lahat. Relentless pressure, and once he scored the take down it was just a matter of time before he got the submission. He just never gave Cleve an opportunity to get going.
(6) Andrey Koreshkov (19-1) vs. Douglas Lima (27-6) – Welterweight 170 lbs.
ROUND ONE: Koreshkov opens with a leg kick. Overhand right is partially blocked by Lima. Spinning back kick misses for Koreshkov. Lima standing center octagon misses a nig right hand and is taken down. He’s up quickly and pushes Koreshkov to the fence. Koreshkov reverses. Lima reverses back and they’re separated. Back to the middle of the cage they trade punches. Lima scores a leg kick. Koreshkov returns the favor with a leg kick of his own. Jab misses from Lima. Overhand right misses for Koreshkov. Lima lands a nice leg kick. Both fighters miss big shots as the round ends.
10-9 Koreshkov
ROUND TWO: Lima scores on a leg kick to open the round. Koreshkov returns with a big kick to the body that seemed to hurt Lima. They trade jabs. Straight left lands for Lima. Koreshkov throws a combination and follows with a nice take down. Koreshkov working Lima against the fence. Lima tries for a triangle but Koreshkov slips out. Koreshkov landing punches with Lima up against the fence. Koreshkov is doing just enough as to not get stood up by the referee. Koreshkov landing some nice ground and pound as the round ends.
10-9 Koreshkov
ROUND THREE: Stiff left lands for Lima. Koreshkov returns with a combination. Leg kick scores for Lima, and another one lands. Koreshkov lands a combination and Lima counters with a huge left hook and down goes Koreshkov. Lima pounces and lands two more shots but Koreshkov is out cold. The ref steps in quickly and we have a new champion.
Result: Lima by TKO (1:21 of Round 3)
Grocke’s Viewpoint: Wow! I had Koreshkov up two rounds to none. All Koreshkov had to do was avoid the big shot, but he couldn’t do it. Koreshkov got sloppy by throwing wild shots and you just can’t do that against a striker like Douglas Lima. Koreshkov missed a big uppercut and Lima blasted him with a perfectly timed left hook and it put Andrey’s lights out. Lima gets his belt back, and I can see a third fight between these two very soon.
Thanks for following along with me tonight. Follow me on Twitter @FightChampBlog
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