Bellator 198 was this past weekend and featured another fight in the Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix. Let’s get to the rundown.
Bellator 198
GOOD- Dillon Danis submits Kyle Walker
Walker came out aggressively and was throwing a ton of strikes, but Danis stayed poised and locked in the submission for the win. Good win for him, but considering he set the standards so high for himself with his pre-fight talking, it’s hard to go too crazy with the praise.
This was his MMA debut, but Danis was talking like he was one of the biggest stars in the sport. He said that after this win, he would be running Bellator shortly. It’s good to be confident but you run the risk of being obnoxious and grating to fans. You also put tremendous pressure on yourself. If you deliver, though, you become bigtime. However, if you lose, everyone is happy to see you fail. It’s a narrow tightrope to walk, but if you talk big and don’t lose, it can pay off in huge ways.
GOOD- Neiman Gracie submits Javier Torres
Gracie was working for the submission and eventually got it in the second round. Nice win for him.
GOOD- Rafael Lovato Jr. submits Gerald Harris
Lovato slipped while trying to land a flying knee and Harris followed him to the ground. That turned out to be a mistake as Lovato ended up securing a slick armbar and forcing the tap. Good win for Lovato.
GOOD- Emmanuel Sanchez submits Sam Sicila
Sanchez showed good energy and was all over Sicila. He ended up locking in a deep arm-triangle choke and got the tap. Good win.
GOOD- Fedor Emelianenko stops Frank Mir
Yeah, both guys are older and not as good as they used to be, but I didn’t care. I still wanted to see this fight, and it delivered.
Mir was pressing forward but he ended up getting clipped with a powerful shot from Fedor at close range that dropped him. Fedor then jumped on him and started landing shots and the ref was forced to jump in and wave the fight over.
Fedor will go on to fight Chael Sonnen in the semi-finals of the Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix. I know Fedor is old and not nearly what he used to be as a fighter, but you can say those exact same things about Sonnen.
Also, the size difference between these two, must be taken into account. Fedor will probably be about 240lbs. while Sonnen will be twenty pounds lighter? Size is only one factor, but it does matter.
There’s also where each man had started from. Even if Fedor is only half the fighter he was at his peak, that would still be better than Sonnen ever was. I don’t mean that as disrespectful as it sounds, it’s just that Fedor is one of the greatest fighters of all-time. I’m a big Fedor fan and I admit I’m biased, but you can’t do what Fedor has done in his career without being that good.
So, there’s essentially no chance Sonnen can win this fight. Is he going to be able to take Fedor down? That’s highly questionable. Even if he does, is he going to want to? Would Sonnen want to tangle with Fedor on the ground? And Sonnen’s never had great striking, he usually just outworked opponents. Of course, I’m very nervous for Fedor because if he were to lose to Sonnen in this fight, that would be it. You wouldn’t get a more clear-cut sign that it’s time to go.
Back to this fight, we’ll have to see Mir fight at least once more to determine if he’s done, or if he just got caught. It’s likely the latter, but we’ll have to wait and see. I can see Mir fighting for another three years or more if he really wants to. He might not want to keep fighting, though, but I think he’ll give it at least a few more tries. I think he’ll be back by the end of the summer.
Comments and suggestions can be emailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com and you can follow me on Twitter at @hydenfrank
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