Bellator 245 Review

Bask in his glory

Keith Lee vs. Vinicius Zani

This was a great look for Keith Lee, he dominated while the fight was standing for all 3 rounds.  Zani didn’t seem ready for anything except taking shots, as he showed off a cast-iron chin.  Lee is on the rise in Bellator, he brings a certain focus that will only pay him dividends in the future.

Rating: 7.5/10

Unfortunate Circumstance

Tyrell Fortune vs. Jack May

Unfortunately this fight was called a no contest in the first round after a very hard low blow by Fortune on May.  The low blow was ruled and certainly looked completely accidental.  Hopefully these two can rebook.

Rating: 1/10

The Best Defense is a Good Offense

Leslie Smith vs. Amanda Bell

This was the best preliminary fight of the night.  Both ladies were tagging each other all fight, with a slight edge going to Smith.  Smith also had a bunch of submission attempts in the 2nd round.  Bell had her chance by trying her own run of submissions in the third and really stepping up her striking.  That wasn’t enough as the decision went to Smith, but this was a great fight to watch.

Rating: 8/10

Mission Control

Rafael Carvalho vs. Alex Polizzi

Polizzi won this fight on points, and seemed to have a serious strategy to win that way.  He kept Carvalho against the cage as long as he could and tried to keep top position.  In the 2nd round Polizzi got a serious slam on Carvalho as a counter to an escape attempt from a clinch.  Carvalho tried to climb his way out, and looked like he might leave the octagon, but Polizzi turned him around and dropped him hard.  Outside of that it was simply masterful control from Polizzi and he got the easy win.

Rating: 6/10

Main Card

Below the Belt, and Again

Daniels brought his regular flashy style to the first round, and even got out of a tough bottom position after Stanonik got the advantage.  Unfortunately this fight was cut short by a low blow, just like in the prelims.  Stanonik took 2 spinning roundhouse kicks below the belt almost back to back, and the ref waved off the fight.

Rating: 3/10

Quick and Deadly

Taylor Johnson vs. Ed Ruth

Taylor Johnson is a mastermind.  He grabbed a hold of Ruth’s leg at the start of the fight and went for a submission, and got it.  It only took Johnson 59 seconds to secure a submission.  That’s the best way to beat a world class wrestler, don’t ever give him a chance to wrestle you.

Rating: 8/10

Alpha Cat is Back

Cat Zingano vs. Gabby Holloway

This was the perfect debut/comeback for Cat Zingano.  She controlled the fight from bell to bell except for a brief stint in the 3rd round where she got caught on bottom.  Holloway just looked overwhelmed.  Zingano used her amazing wrestling ability to keep control and didn’t let Holloway stand up with her.  Zingano might not have that long in the Bellator cage, but she’ll make a hell of an impact.

Rating: 7/10

Main Event

If There was a crowd, they wouldn’t have liked it.

Lyoto Machida vs. Phil Davis II

Both fighters treated this like a main event fight, they used the first round to do a lot of feeling out.  They may have set a North American record for head fakes and feigns.  No clear advantage after the first round.  The second round was all that different, still a lot of looking for openings, but Davis did land a big hand on Machida after Lyoto was slow to bring a foot back after a kick, and Davis got a brief clinch in the last 10 seconds of the round.  The third still didn’t offer much, and Machida didn’t throw much of anything the whole fight.  He threw a head kick towards the end of the fight.  Overall, not much to watch, I’ve never been one to enjoy fights where both competitors try to be so technically good that they end up dancing around for 15 minutes.  Always good to see the dragon though.

Rating: 4/10