By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist
Bellator 262 and UFC Fight: Makhachev vs. Moises were this past weekend. Let’s get right to the rundown.
Bellator 262
GOOD- Johnny Eblen vs. Travis Davis
Eblen just completely dominated this fight. No real surprise there as Eblen is a big prospect for Bellator. Eblen beat him up on the feet, got a lot of takedowns, and just controlled the fight wherever it went. You could have gone 10-8 for all three rounds. You probably wouldn’t and the judges only gave him one 10-8 round but Eblen won the clear decision. Good win for him.
GOOD- Arlene Blencowe stops Dayana Silva
This fight was just okay in the first two rounds but it heated up in the third round. Blencowe was landing shots like in the earlier rounds but then she connected with a big left hook that wobbled Silva. Then she dropped Silva with a big right hand and pounced on her to force the referee to jump in to stop the fight. Good win for Blencowe.
GOOD- Mattheus Mattos stops C.J. Hamilton
Mattos took it out of Hamilton in the first round, punishing him with lots of strikes. The second round saw Mattos crush Hamilton with a body shot followed by an uppercut and a hook that basically ended the fight. The ref was forced to jump in to stop it. Good win for Mattos.
BAD/GOOD- Tyrell Fortune submits Matt Mitrione
Fortune got a takedown and started beating the crap out of Mitrione, who tapped out due to the strikes. After the fight, Mitrione started swearing and yelling about a headbutt by Fortune when he went for the takedown. Mitrione kind of ducked into that, though, so maybe a ref lets that slide. What was worse to me was when Fortune held onto the cage to keep Mitrione from getting up. It sure looked to me like Fortune used that to his advantage. Regardless, I guess this is a good win for Fortune.
GOOD- Julianna Velasquez vs. Denise Kielholtz
There was some nice action in this fight, primarily on the feet. Kielholtz took the first two rounds but then Velasquez took the next two and I felt like Kielholtz won the fifth round and should have won the decision but this was such a close fight. Velasquez won the fight by split decision to retain her Bellator Flyweight Championship and remains undefeated. Good win for her. There were only a couple rounds that were clear so it’s not a surprise this was a split decision. I don’t know if Bellator will run this back or not. Velasquez has already said that she doesn’t feel it’s necessary so I’m thinking it won’t be immediate but if Kielholtz wins her next fight I could definitely see the rematch happening.
UFC Fight Night Makhachev vs. Moises
GOOD- Billy Quarantillo stops Gabriel Benitez
Quarantillo beat up Benitez in the first round but Benitez showed some really good toughness here. The punishment proved to be too much, though, and the ref was forced to jump in to stop the fight a little over three and a half minutes into the third round. Good win for Quarantillo.
GOOD- Rodolfo Vieira submits Dustin Stoltzfus
This was a close fight in the first two rounds, with Vieira getting the edge but Stoltzfus was fighting hard. The third round, though, saw Vieira get a takedown and work for the submission. He locked in a rear-naked choke and got the submission. Good win for Vieira.
GOOD- Mateusz Gamrot submits Jeremy Stephens
Gamrot got a takedown right away and locked in a kimura and that was it. Gamrot gets the win just a over a minute into the first round, good win for him.
GOOD- Miesha Tate stops Marion Reneau
Reneau had her moments but Tate looked stronger and did more damage. This was her first fight in almost five years and she looked good. She took the fight to Reneau and just kept doing damage. Tate forced the ref to jump in to stop the fight not quite two minutes into the third round. I don’t know who’s next for Tate, though she did mention Holly Holm’s name after the fight. We’ll see, but I’m excited for that fight if or when it happens. Good win for Tate.
GOOD- Islam Makhachev submits Thiago Moises
Makhachev was just the better fighter, he controlled the fight and put it where he wanted. Not always, of course, Moises had his moments. For the most part, though, this was all Makhachev. He eventually submitted Moises about midway through the fourth round, putting his career record at 20-1. Makhachev’s only loss in his career was by knockout almost six years ago. Good win for Machachev.
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Comments and suggestions can be emailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com and you can follow me on Twitter at @hydenfrank Thanks for reading, have a good day.
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