By: Frank Hyden MMATorch Senior Columnist
Bellator 285 was on Friday night and it featured some close fights and
a great environment. Who? Let’s get to the rundown.
Bellator 285
GOOD- Karl Moore submits Karl Albrektsson
They start off trading low kicks before working some in the clinch.
They then work in some punches against each other until Albrektsson
knocks Moore down with a strong elbow. However, Moore manages to
survive the round. The second round opens with Albrektsson getting a
takedown but can’t capitalize on it. Moore takes the fight to the
ground himself and locks in a face crank that makes Albrektsson tap a
little over three and a half minutes into the second round. Moore
improves to 10-2 while Albrektsson drops to 13-4 and has his 4 fight
winning streak snapped. Good win for Moore.
GOOD- Ciaran Clarke submits Rafael Hudson
Hudson hurts Clarke early with some punches and he follows him down,
where they spend the rest of the first round fighting for position.
The second round opens with Hudson getting a takedown and working from
on top. Clarke fights to get up and they stand. Hudson then hurts
Clarke with some big right hands. He misses on a flying knee and goes
to the mat, where Clarke follows him and pounds away on him until the
round ends. The third round starts with Clarke getting a trip takedown
and he goes to work, locking in a rear-naked choke that gets him the
victory not quite three minutes into the third round. Clarke improves
to an undefeated 6-0 while Hudson drops to 5-4 and has lost 3 straight
fights. Good win for Clarke.
GOOD- Mads Burnell vs. Pedro Carvalho
They start off trading kicks before Burnell starts working a takedown.
He can’t get it, partially because Carvalho grabs the fence, before
they go back to hitting each other with kicks. Burnell then gets a
takedown. Carvalho fights it off but Burnell gets another takedown to
close the first round. The second round starts with Carvalho landing
some kicks until Burnell takes the fight to the ground. They scramble
for a while before standing and Carvalho gets a takedown of his own
and delivers some ground-and-pound before the round ends. The third
round opens with the fighters exchanging some heavy strikes before
Carvalho starts punishing Burnell with strikes. It looks like he might
be able to try to finish him but he opts for a takedown instead. They
fight out the rest of the round without much danger and it goes to the
judges. Carvalho wins the decision and improves to 13-6 while Burnell
drops to 16-5. Good win for Carvalho.
GOOD- Leah McCourt vs. Dayana Silva
McCourt was the aggressor and landed the more damaging strikes in the
first round. The second round sees more of the same, as McCourt is
slightly more active. It’s very close, as they’ve both landed some
nice strikes, but this is McCourt’s fight. Her face is getting smashed
up, though. The third round sees the same thing happening. They’re
both beating each other up. McCourt has just done a little bit more in
each round and that’s why she wins the decision from the judges.
McCourt improves to 7-2 while Silva drops to 10-8. Good win for
McCourt.
GOOD- Yoel Romero stops Melvin Manhoef
Tentative start until Romero knocks Manhoef down with a powerful leg
kick. Romero jumps on him and starts landing some punches at first
then switches to elbows. Things slow down after Romero can’t lock in a
submission and the round ends. The second round starts with them
trading low kicks until Romero staggers Manhoef with a left hand. They
trade strikes for the rest of the round, each showing some big power.
The third round opens with Romero getting a takedown but not much is
happening at first until the crowd boos and the fighters respond.
Romero elbows Manhoef twice and that’s it, it’s over. The referee
jumps in and the fight’s over about three and a half minutes into the
third round. Romero improves to 15-6 while Manhoef drops to 32-16-1
with 2 No Contests. Good win for Romero.
Melvin Manhoef retires
He had his family there in the cage with him after the fight and left
his gloves on the mat and tears were shed so I believe he’s going to
stay retired. He’s also 46 years old and had a very long career. He
finishes with 29 wins by Knockout, including an incredibly impressive
18 second knockout of Mark Hunt at K-1 Dynamite 2008. He was a scary
fighter and I wish him happiness in retirement.
GOOD- Benson Henderson vs. Peter Queally
The crowd was incredible for this fight. The action itself was good as
well, but the crowd was the star for me. You could feel how much they
wanted Queally to win. However, that wasn’t to be. Henderson is a
better fighter and he showed it with this dominant performance.
Henderson got deducted a point in the second round for a low blow so
that was a 9-9 but he took the other rounds 10-9. Queally fought hard,
very hard, but he was outmatched. The fight went exactly the way you
thought it would. Henderson was the better fighter but couldn’t quite
finish things, though he came close a few times, and Queally fought
his butt off but just couldn’t pull off the upset. It was a good fight
but there was an element of inevitability about it. Henderson improves
to 30-11 while Queally drops to 13-7-1. Good win for Henderson.
*************
Jose Aldo retires
This one I’m more iffy on if it’s going to stick. Aldo’s only 36 years
old and he retired on the same day his son was born. That sounds like
a decision made on emotion that he might feel differently about in a
year or so but we’ll see. Aldo had a legendary career and is one of
the greatest fighters of all-time. His 31-8 record is impressive
enough but he also had an 18 fight win streak and defended the UFC
Featherweight Championship 7 times. He also defended the WEC
Featherweight Championship twice and was the last champion there. He
holds wins over Frankie Edgar (twice), Chad Mendes, Ricardo Lamas,
Urijah Faber, Mike Brown, and Cub Swanson. I wish him happiness in
retirement.
My new fantasy book is now out. It’s called Kingdom of Zarias: The Steep
Price of Revenge. It’s the second book in my epic fantasy Kingdom
of Zarias series and follows the adventures of the Summers siblings as
they seek revenge for the wrongs inflicted on them. This book also
introduces lots of other characters as the scope of the world
continues to expand. There’s lots of action, magic, and monsters in
the Kingdom of Zarias. It’s like a tabletop game in novel form. It’s
on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and many other places. If you’re
interested, I would greatly appreciate it if you would check it out
and support me. Also, here’s the link to my new Compendium book about
the Kingdom of Zarias series- KoZ Compendium 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.
Thanks for reading and have a good day.
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