By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist
Bellator 265 and UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Gastelum were this
weekend. Let’s get to the rundown.
Bellator 265
GOOD- Jornel Lugo submits Keith Lee
They traded strikes early, with Lugo getting the better of it as time
wore on. Lugo dropped Lee and tried to submit him but couldn’t. Lee
got blasted with a big shot and went for a takedown in response. Lugo
ended up taking Lee’s back and locked in a rear-naked choke. Lee
passed out as the round ended so the ref called for an end to the
fight. Good win for Lugo.
GOOD- Marcelo Golm stops Billy Swanson
Swanson landed some legkicks early but things didn’t heat up until
Golm hurt Swanson with some combinations. Swanson clinched but got put
on the fence by Golm. The fight ended when Golm cracked Swanson with a
big knee to the head in the clinch and drops him with more
combinations. He swarms and the referee jumps in to stop the fight.
Good win for Golm.
BAD/GOOD- Logan Storely vs. Dante Schiro
Storely got a takedown pretty quickly into the first round and rode
things out on top. He landed some punches here and there but otherwise
a forgettable round. Storely got a trip early in round two but Schiro
got back up. Storely then drug Schiro down but he was able to get back
up. The third time’s the charm, though, and they spent the rest of the
round on the ground with Storely on top. Schiro fought off numerous
takedown attempts in the third round and did a little damage but it’s
not enough. Storely won by split decision. If I’m being perfectly
honest, I didn’t like this fight much at all. I respect the talent of
both guys but this was dull and uninteresting. Nevertheless, good win
for Storely.
Cheick Kongo submits Sergei Kharitonov
Kharitonov took the fight to Kongo in the first round, battering him
with strikes and dropping him towards the end of the round. He swarmed
but Kongo survived. The second round saw Kharitonov again hurt Kongo.
However, this time Kongo fired back with a big knee to the body that
hurt Kharitonov. He recovered and went back to beating Kongo up,
though. This went on for a while until Kongo landed a big right hand
that stunned him. Kharitonov seemed to recover but Kongo blasted him
with a knee to the head and then got a takedown. Kongo worked his
ground-and-pound and took the back where he locked in a rear-naked
choke that got the submission win with just one second remaining in
the second round. Good win for Kongo, an impressive comeback.
UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Gastelum
GOOD- Alexandre Pantoja submits Brandon Royval
Pantoja got a takedown early but nothing came of it. Royval got up but
Pantoja got another takedown and they battered each other until the
round ended. They went back to the ground and Pantoja cinched in a
tight rear-naked choke and got the submission win. Good win for
Pantoja.
GOOD- Vinc Pinchel vs. Austin Hubbard
These guys traded strikes from all angles in the first round. This
continued in the second round and both guys were wearing the results.
Pinchel hurt Hubbard with a big elbow on the fence but Hubbard kept
firing back. The third round was more of the same, as they beat the
hell out of each other. Pinchel did a little more damage but this was
close. Hubbard fought hard but Pinchel was just a little better and
that’s why he got the decision victory. Good win for Pinchel.
GOOD- Saidyokub Kakhramonov submits Trevin Jones
A lot of clinch work in the first round. Kakhramonov hurt Jones in the
second round with some big shots. The third round saw Kakhramonov get
the submission with a guillotine, good win for him.
GOOD- Parker Porter vs. Chase Sherman
There was some nice striking in the first round from both men. Porter
tried for some takedowns in the second round but couldn’t get them. He
did land some big shots to Sherman, though he also took some
punishment as well. They kept beating each other up in the third
round, though at a much slower pace. Still, though, they fought hard
and left it all in the cage. Porter got the decision victory, good win
for him.
GOOD/BAD- Mark Madsen vs. Clay Guida
Guida landed a big right hand in the first round but that was mostly
it in terms of action. From that point on they mainly just landed jabs
or low kicks. It was close but not very interesting. Madsen won the
split decision, good win for him.
GOOD- Jared Cannonier vs. Kelvin Gastelum
They traded strikes in the first round. I think Cannonier did a little
more. Gastelum landed a couple of big shots in the second round and
probably took that. Cannonier dropped Gastelum in the third round and
avoided the takedown. Cannonier landed more big shots in the fourth
round but Gastelum kept coming. The fifth round saw Gastelum complete
his first successful takedown of the fight but it wasn’t enough.
Cannonier got the decision victory from the judges, good win for him.
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This is the first in my Brotherhood of the Streets series. It’s on
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form. If you’re interested in it at all, I would greatly appreciate it
if you would check it out and support me and leave a review. Here’s
the link to my book on Amazon- My Book Thank you very
much, have a good day.
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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