Bellator London was this past weekend. I’ll also touch upon the retiring of Ben Askren. Let’s get to it.
HYDEN BLOG: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from Bellator London, and Ben Askren retires
Bellator London
GOOD- Denise Kielholtz submits Sabriye Sengul
Sengul came forward with a right hook, but got dropped by a counter right from Kielholtz. She then got submitted quickly. The whole thing took about thirty seconds. Afterwards, Sengul is yelling that she wants a kickboxing fight so no submissions allowed. Well, she just got dropped so I’m not sure how well that would work out for her… Good win for Kielholtz.
GOOD- Charlie Ward vs. Pietro Penini
This fight was contested almost entirely on the feet. For a good portion of the fight, Ward chased after Penini and taunted him. He was wanting to go Knife Edge Deathmatch or something, where they stand in front of each other and trade shots. Penini didn’t want any of that so he picked Ward apart bit by bit, with jabs and trips to the ground. Penini won the decision, good win for him.
GOOD/BAD- Soren Bak vs. Terry Brazier
Bak just kept taking Brazier down in this fight. He would then tie him up but wasn’t able to do much of anything else because Brazier would fight back and it would be a stalemate. Wash, rinse, repeat, over and over. Good on Bak for landing all those takedowns but to say it got dull would be an understatement. Bak won the decision, good win for him.
GOOD- Fabian Edwards vs. Michael Shipman
Edwards won the split decision in this really close fight. This was a solid but ultimately forgettable fight. As you’re watching, things feel fairly good and the action is brisk, but after the fight you struggle to remember anything that happened. I was probably swayed some by the people I was watching with, as they went back and forth about which (if any) toppings shouldn’t be allowed on a pizza and Alabama’s chances to make the College Football Playoff. Regardless, this was a good win for Edwards.
GOOD/BAD- Michael “Venom” Page stops Giovanni Melillo
MVP peppered Melillo with punches early, then dropped him with a big right hand and stood over him for the walkoff win less than two minutes into the first round. Nice win for Page but I don’t see why he’s still fighting guys like this at this stage of his career. I respect Melillo for compiling a good record but it’s clear and obvious that MVP is on a different level than him.
I’m not a big fan of squash matches, whether it’s wrestling, boxing, or MMA. I understand having a few of them, to give the guy a chance to show what he can do and look impressive and all that, but at a certain point it becomes ridiculous. I know Page can only do so much when it comes to who he faces but hopefully he either faces more viable competition in the future or doesn’t main event shows against guys who don’t belong in the cage with him.
Ben Askren Retires
Ben Askren retires
Ben Askren recently announced his retirement from MMA because he needs a hip replacement. He hasn’t had a lot of success in the UFC, going 1-2, but he was a mythical figure for a while there. I was never a huge Askren fan but there’s no denying what he was able to do and the success he had. He might have been overhyped by some but he was also underrated by others. I probably was in the latter category, though I always tried to be objective.
Assuming this isn’t a boxing retirement where Askren comes back a year or two from now, Askren had a good career. He accomplished a lot and was involved in the first trade in MMA history, being traded from ONE to the UFC for Demetrious Johnson.
I don’t know what’s next for Askren but I wish him the best and hope he enjoys his retirement.
Comments and suggestions can be emailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.comand you can follow me on Twitter at @hydenfrank
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