By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist
PFL vs. Bellator: Champions and UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval 2
were this past weekend and featured some exciting fights. Who won and
who lost? Let’s get to the rundown.
PFL vs. Bellator: Champions
GOOD- A.J. McKee submits Clay Collard
McKee got an early takedown then went to work, grabbing a couple
different chokes before cinching in an armbar and forcing the tap a
bit over a minute into the first round. McKee improves to 22-1 and has
won 4 straight fights while Collard drops to 24-12 with 1 No Contest.
Good win for McKee.
GOOD- Yoel Romero vs. Thiago Santos
Not a lot of action in the first round other than a few striking
exchanges. The second round sees both men throwing a lot of kicks.
Romero lands a few head kicks that Santos absorbs and also some inside
leg kicks that are adding up. The third round sees them fight in the
clinch for a bit before Romero continues his assault with his inside
leg kicks. The fight ends so we go to the judges to render their
verdict. Romero wins the decision to improve to 16-7 while Santos
drops to 22-12 with 1 No Contest. Good win for Romero.
GOOD- Vadim Nemkov submits Bruno Cappelozza
Nemkov gets an early takedown but Cappelozza is back up. They exchange
strikes for the rest of the first round, with Nemkov controlling the
action. The second round begins with a big right hand from Nemkov
answered by an even bigger right hand from Cappelozza that sends
Nemkov flying back into the fence. Nemkov gets a takedown and locks in
an arm-triangle to put Cappelozza to sleep a bit over two minutes into
the second round. Nemkov improves to 17-2 with 1 No Contest while
Cappelozza drops to 15-7 with 1 No Contest. Nemkov wins the night’s
first PFL Champion vs. Bellator Champion Super Belt. Good win for
Nemkov.
GOOD- Jason Jackson stops Ray Cooper III
Cooper is pushing the pace early but Jackson gets a takedown and stays
on top until the end of the first round, landing some big elbows to
close the round. The second round begins with Jackson landing a huge
leg kick that drops Cooper. Jackson pounces with his ground-and-pound
and forces the referee to jump in to stop the fight a little over
twenty seconds into the second round. Jackson improves to 18-4 and has
won 8 straight fights while Cooper drops to 25-10-1. Jackson wins the
second PFL Champion vs. Bellator Champion Super Belt of the night.
Good win for Jackson.
GOOD- Johnny Eblen vs. Impa Kasanganay
Kasanganay is the reigning 2023 PFL Light Heavyweight Champion while
Eblen is the Bellator Middleweight Champion. This fight is taking
place at middleweight and begins with Eblen getting an early takedown.
Kasanganay is back up and they exchange strikes for the rest of a
close first round. The second round begins with Kasanganay dropping
Eblen with a big right hand. Eblen survives and they exchange strikes
and grapple for the rest of the second round. The third round starts
with both men landing some huge strikes that the other absorbs. Eblen
gets another takedown and the fight ends. We go to the judges to
render their verdict. Eblen wins the Split Decision and improves to a
perfect 15-0 while Kasanganay drops to 15-4 and has his 6 fight
winning streak snapped. Eblen wins the third PFL Champion vs. Bellator
Champion Super Belt of the night and Bellator is one win away from
sweeping PFL. Good win for Eblen.
GOOD- Renan Ferreira stops Ryan Bader
Ferreira is the reigning 2023 PFL Heavyweight Champion while Bader is
the Bellator Heavyweight Champion. This is a three-round non-title
fight but it probably took me longer to type that than the actual
fight. Ferreira drops Bader with the first punch and pounds him out to
force the referee to jump in to stop the fight twenty-one seconds into
the first round. Ferreira improves to 13-3 with 3 No Contests and has
won 4 straight fights while Bader drops to 31-8 with 1 No Contest and
has his 3 fight winning streak snapped. Ferreira wins the fourth and
final PFL Champion vs. Bellator Champion Super Belt of the night and
prevents the Bellator sweep. Good win for Ferreira.
UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval 2
GOOD- Manuel Torres submits Chris Duncan
Duncan gets an early takedown but Torres is back up quickly and gets a
takedown of his own. Duncan fights to his feet but gets taken back
down and Torres wraps up a rear-naked choke to get the submission win
not quite two minutes into the first round. Torres improves to 15-2
and has won 6 straight fights while Duncan drops to 11-2 and has his 4
fight winning streak snapped.
GOOD- Yazmin Jauregui vs. Sam Hughes
They exchange strikes early and often in the first round. Hughes also
tries for multiple takedowns but can’t get any. Jauregui is landing
the more damaging strikes but Hughes is in there battling. The second
round begins with more striking exchanges. Both women are fighting
hard. Jauregui is the better striker but Hughes is showing a lot of
heart and grit. The third round picks up where the second round left
things, Jauregui is doing some real damage with her strikes but Hughes
is tough and won’t stop. The fight ends so we go to the judges to
render their verdict. Jauregui wins the decision and improves to 11-1
while Hughes drops to 8-6. Good win for Jauregui.
GOOD- Daniel Zellhuber vs. Francisco Prado
Zellhuber starts off with kicks. Prado answers back with kicks and
punches of his own. More striking exchanges dominate the rest of the
first round. The second round begins with Zellhuber again utilizing
kicks but also mixing in some stinging jabs. Zellhuber is really doing
some damage to Prado, who refuses to give up despite the damage being
done. The second round ends and the cageside doctor is checking on
Prado. He lets him back in there just so he can get beaten up some
more. Prado’s corner should throw in the towel. Zellhuber punishes
Prado for the rest of the fight, though Prado’s toughness allows him
to survive. A realistic take would have been to stop the fight and let
Prado fight another day. Regardless, we go to the judges to render
their verdict. Zellhuber wins the decision to improve to 15-1 and has
won 3 straight fights while Prado drops to 12-2. Good win for
Zellhuber.
GOOD- Brian Ortega submits Yair Rodriguez
Ortega hurts his leg during the intros but elects to fight anyway,
likely to avoid becoming a meme. Rodriguez explodes on Ortega,
dropping him with a big left hand and popping him with another strong
left when he stands up. Rodriguez then knees Ortega, who shortly after
that falls down after taking a leg kick. Rodriguez follows him down
and starts dropping bombs. Ortega fights back and they grapple until
the end of the first round. The second round begins with more striking
exchanges. Ortega gets a takedown and lands some huge elbows that
slice open a nasty cut under Rodriguez’s right eye. The third round
starts with Ortega getting a takedown and locking in an arm triangle
to get the submission win just under a minute into the third round.
Heck of a comeback for Ortega, who improves to 16-3 with 1 No Contest
while Rodriguez drops to 15-5 with 1 No Contest. Good win for Ortega.
GOOD- Brandon Moreno vs. Brandon Royval
A largely slow-paced first round as both men prepare to go the
distance. A few more strikes land before the first round ends. The
second round begins with Royval using his kicks while Moreno counters
with punches. They both start mixing it up and things start flying
fast and furious. They grapple to end the second round. The third
round starts with a lot of kicks being thrown. Moreno catches one of
Royval’s kicks and takes him down, setting off a wild scramble that
ends with them on the fence. Both men are striking well but Royval is
like a whirlwind with his activity. Moreno is weathering the storm but
it doesn’t seem to be relenting any at all. The fourth opens with
Royval continuing to throw strikes out at a wild pace. Moreno does
hurt him with a low kick, though. He’s having good success with those.
Royval just keeps coming, though, and the fourth round ends. The fifth
round begins with a slower pace but both men are still landing a lot
of strikes. They’re trading heat as the fight comes to an end, with
big bombs being thrown and landing in the final seconds. What a close
fight. We go to the judges to render their verdict. Royval wins the
Split Decision and improves to 16-7 while Moreno drops to 21-8-2. Good
win for Royval.
My new epic fantasy book is out. It’s called Kingdom of Zarias: The End’s
Beginning. The exciting epic fantasy series Kingdom of Zarias
returns with the 4th book in the series. After the harrowing events of
Book 3 the residents of the Kingdom of Zarias continue on their paths.
Serena Summers continues to learn and grow as a fighter, desperately
seeking to become stronger before she loses anyone else in her life.
Daniel Summers discovers new parts of the world that open his eyes to
just how little he truly knows. A new hero, Lamar Abeers, arrives to
join the fight against evil. Plus, Zach Summers, Tiana Highsmith, and
Xavien Ekens continue their journeys with their friends, and a new
ruler of Vhaharen is crowned. The world has found a little peace.
However, that peace is only temporary. In a shocking act of violence,
the monstrous villain Galren strikes from the shadows and changes the
world forever. This is Book 4 in the series. 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
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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