BELLATOR 177 REPORT
APRIL 14, 2017
BUPAPEST, HUNGARY AT THE BUDAPEST SPORTS ARENA
ON SPIKE TV
Bellator MMA continues their International Tour with a stop at the Budapest Sports Arena in Budapest, Hungary for Bellator 177. The main event features Bantamweight Champion Eduardo Dantas defending his title against Bellator newcomer Leandro Higo. The co-main event takes place in the featherweight division where MMA and Bellator veteran Daniel Weichel takes on John Teixeira.
The main card rounds out with a women’s flyweight fight when Lena Ovchynnikova goes up against another newcomer to the Bellator promotion, Helen Harper and finally Hungary’s own Adam Borics takes on Anthony Taylor.
I’ll have round by round coverage of tonight’s main card. Make sure to follow along right here all night, and follow me on Twitter @FightChampBlog
Sean Grande welcomes us to the show along with Chael Sonnen and Jimmy Smith. They preview the main card and we go right into the first fight with the Tale of the Tape.
(1) Anthony Taylor (1-2) vs. Adam Borics (5-0) – Featherweight 145 lbs.
ROUND ONE: They touch gloves to start. Borics takes center and works a few jabs. Borics throws a combination that misses. Front kick lands for Borics. Taylor had Borics down but lets him back up not showing confidence in his own ground game. The crowd starts chanting for Borics. Low kick for Borics. Taylor lands a right. Another right for Taylor. Low kick for Borics. He lands another one. Taylor lands to the body and follows with a right hand. They trade shots against the cage. Borics lands one low and this one was bad. Borics is cut over the his left eye. They touch gloves. Taylor throws wildly and gets caught with a nice counter strike from Borics. Borics lands a nice left hook. He is doing a great job not letting Taylor draw him into a slug fest. Borics takes Taylor’s back. He looks for a rear naked choke. He lands a few shots to the side of Taylor’s head to soften him up and he gets under the chin. Borics takes him down and Taylor taps.
Result: Borics by submission (4:12 of Round 1 – Rear Naked Choke)
Grocke’s Analysis: Bellator gave the hometown favorite Adam Borics a fight he can easily win. I don’t blame them as they try to build new stars. Borics looks like a solid prospect in a very crowded featherweight division. Borics showed excellent patience by waiting for his spots and not letting Taylor draw him into a firefight.
Back from the break shots are shown of Eduardo Dantas and Leandro Higo entering the arena. Sonnen, Grande and Smith preview the next fight.Shots are shown of Harper and Ovchynnikova getting their hands wrapped. Back from beak Grande previews the top women in the flyweight division.
(2) Helen Harper (4-1) vs. Lena Ovchynnikova (12-4) – Flyweight 125 lbs.
ROUND ONE: Harper starts with a jab followed by a right that misses. They trade right hands. Lena working from the center of the cage. Harper shoots for a single leg and scores the take down. Harper looking for full mount. Harper in full mount. She postures up and land a few rights and lefts. Lena bucks and gets on top. Harper holds onto the arm as she rolls and she has an arm bar. Lena somehow gets out and scrambles back to her feet. Impressive strength shown here from Lena. They trade punches on the feet. Lena starting to find her range as she lands a few nice shots. Lena gets a throw and scores a take down as the round ends.
10-9 Harper
ROUND TWO: Low kick lands for Lena just as Harper lands with a right hand. They trade punches neither fighter doing any damage. Both looking to establish their jab. Lena lands a straight left that lands flush and Harper is bleeding from her nose. Harper shoots and scores a take down. She has side control but Lena works back to her feet. Both back to their feet. Lena goes back to landing a jab. Lena with another straight left lands flush. They clinch against the fence. Lena throws a few knees. Lena pushes off and back to center. Lena landing shots here. She follows with a nice knee. Big left and a big knee for Lena. Lena lands a take down as the round ends.
10-9 Ovchynnikova
Big John Calls the fight off as they come back from break.
Result: Ovchynnikova by TKO (5:00 of Round 2)
Grocke’s Analysis: Harper took a lot of damage in the second round. Lena landed big straight left hands as well big kicks to the body. It looked like it was one of the kicks that stopped Harper. Lena was close to losing this fight within the first three minutes, but she persevered and came back with a big second round. This was a fight Ovchynnikova should have won and she did . Ovchynnikova wants Anastasia Yankova next. Yes, please!
A video package is shown of Fedor and Grande, Sonnen and Smith preview the New York PPV card. They then talk briefly about King Mo vs. Ryan Bader. They then transition to previewing tonight’s co-main event. Teixeira and Weichel are shown getting their hands wrapped as they cut to break.
(3) John Macapa (21-1-2) vs. Daniel Weichel (38-9) – Featherweight 145 lbs.
ROUND ONE: Both fighters throw punches with nothing landing. Front kick for Weichel. Macapa misses badly with a left and a right. Macapa lands a big shot that drops Weichel. Weichel is up quickly and Macapa lets him off the hook. Weichel was rocked but Macapa didn’t pounce. Macapa with a head kick that Weichel blocks. Right hand lands for Weichel. Outside leg kick for Macapa lands. Straight left for Weichel as Macapa lands another big leg kick. Weichel scores with a nice low kick. Macapa is the busier fighter and landing more. Macapa lands a left. Weichel returns with a left of his own. NIce punch to the body followed by a kick for Macapa. They circle as the round ends.
10-9 Macapa
ROUND TWO: Macapa comes out swinging to start the second round. Weichel goes to the body with a punch. They both miss on big punches. Weichel to the body again. Left lands for Macapa as Weichel lands a front kick. Neither fighter looking to go to the ground here. Weichel lands a nice left. Big right hand lands flush for Macapa. Macapa has really found his range here. Low kick for Weichel. Weichel is having a hard time getting anything going. He blocks a head kick from Macapa. Right lands for Weichel but Macapa brushes it off. Macapa has been the aggressor throughout. Weichel catches a kick but loses the leg. Straight left lands for Macapa just as the round ends.
10-9 Macapa
ROUND THREE: Front kick misses for Weichel. They trade big shots but Macapa got the better of the exchange as he has all fight. Nice right finally lands for Weichel. He lands another. Leg kick lands flush on Weichel’s thigh. Macapa takes a big combination. Every time Weichel lands a nice shot he backs off. Down two rounds he can’t afford to back off. Macapa seems to be fading. Big left lands for Weichel. Macapa landing less and less here. He looks as though he waiting out the clock. Big right lands flush for Weichel. Weichel with a combination. Macapa lands a weak shot. Weichel goes for a spinning head kick, misses, falls and Macapa goes for a take down just as the round ends.
10-9 Weichel
Result: Weichel by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Grocke’s Analysis: Hmmm. Macapa clearly won the first round. Weichel clearly won the third round. It came down to the second round. I scored it for Macapa because he was landing the more damaging shots. Not the worst decision, but one I disagree with. Chael Sonnen and Jimmy Smith disagreed with the decision as well. Regardless, this win sets Weichel up for a shot at the title. I like Weichel and I’d like to see him get the opportunity.
Grande, Smith and Sonnen preview the main event.
(4) Leandro Higo (17-2) vs. Eduardo Dantas #9 (19-4) – Bantamweight 135 lbs.
ROUND ONE: Dantas starts with a jab. Nice leg kick lands for Dantas. Higo returns one of his own. Higo catches a kick but loses it. Inside leg kick lands for Higo. Higo’s legs already showing signs of taking damage. They trade lefts. Dantas lands a stiff jab. Dantas is doing an excellent job of establishing range. Higo is having a hard time getting anything going. Another leg kick for Dantas. Jab lands for Dantas as Higo misses with a right. Higo misses again. Low kick does land for Higo. They circle as the round ends. Not much offense from Higo in that round.
10-9 Dantas
ROUND TWO: Dantas comes out for the second throwing more jabs. Higo catches a kick but Dantas spins away. Higo seems to be avoiding going to the ground with Dantas. Dantas lands a big right hand. He follows with another one. Dantas doing a nice job controlling range and cutting off the cage. Higo doing nothing offensively. They clinch and Higo lands a weak knee and then misses with a right hand. Dantas misses with a front kick. Higo misses with a right and then eats one from Dantas. Dantas goes for a take down but Higo ends up on top. Dantas is up quickly. They clinch against the fence. Higo has Dantas’ back to the fence. Thet trade knees, and the round ends.
10-9 Dantas.
ROUND THREE: Leg kick for Higo. They circle as the pace slows to start the third. Dantas lands a stiff jab. Higo is trying to push the pace here by following Dantas around the cage but he just isn’t landing anything. Leg kick lands again for Dantas. The crowd starts booing the lack of action. Another leg kick for Dantas. Higo misses with a wild right hand. Higo scores with a front kick. Higo misses a head kick. The crowd boos as the final horn sounds.
10-9 Higo
Result: Dantas by Split Decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
Grocke’s Analysis: The fight was paced like it was a five round fight. Neither fighter took chances. This wasn’t the most exciting fight, but Dantas did enough to win. I’m not quite sure how one judge saw the fight for Higo. I had it 29-28 for Dantas, but I close to giving him the clean sweep. He was the busier fighter and landed the bigger shots. I’m really looking forward to Dantas vs. Darrion Caldwell.
While the main event didn’t deliver, I enjoyed the rest of the card. The two fights I’d like to see coming out of this event are Dantas vs. Caldwell and Yankova vs. Ovchynnikova. Will we see them added to the New York City card?
Thanks for following along with me tonight and don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @FightChampBlog.
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