By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist
Bellator Champions Series 4 and UFC Fight Night: Burns vs. Brady was
this past weekend and featured some interesting matchups. Who won and
who lost? Let’s get to the rundown.
Bellator Champions Series 4
RESULTS
Jora Ayvazyan (15-1) def. Yancy Medeiros (16-9, 2 NC) by Decision
Sumiko Inaba (8-1) def. Mackenzie Stiller (3-1) by 2nd Round TKO (4:25)
Aaron Jeffery (15-5) def. Douglas Lima (33-12) by Decision
Lorenz Larkin (27-8, 2 NC) def. Levan Chokheli (13-3, 1 NC) by 1st Round TKO (1:53)
Usman Nurmagomedov (18-0, 1 NC) def. Alexandr Shabliy (24-4) by Decision to retain his Bellator Lightweight Championship
Inaba and Larkin had the best performances. Inaba used her
ground-and-pound to wail away on Stiller until the referee had to jump
in to stop the fight. Larkin smashed Chokheli with punches that
dropped him then finished him off with some more likely unnecessary
punches.
Nurmagomedov successfully defended his Bellator Lightweight Title with
his usual mix of grappling and some striking. It was a little dull for me but Shabliy didn’t seem to want to mix it up. It happens. Too little action to spread across five rounds, in my opinion. Lima vs. Jeffery was pretty dull too.
UFC Fight Night: Burns vs. Brady
GOOD- Yanal Ashmouz vs. Trevor Peek
They start off swinging before referee Herb Dean pauses the action to
tell Peek to quit sticking his fingers straight out at his opponent.
Good. They continue singing wildly until Ashmouz gets a takedown. Peek
gets up and they trade a bit more until the first round ends. The
second round begins with more striking exchanges until Ashmouz gets a
takedown. They’re up and back down several times until the second
round ends. The third round starts with a firefight in which both men are throwing and connecting with heavy leather. Ashmouz gets another
takedown but Peek gets back up and they swing wildly once more. One more takedown by Ashmouz and this fight is over. We go to the judges to render their verdict.
Ashmouz wins the decision to improve to 8-1 while Peek drops to 9-3.
Good win for Ashmouz.
GOOD- Cody Durden submits Matt Schnell
They start off with some quick striking exchanges. Durden attacks the
body but Schnell counters with some heavy strikes that make him reconsider things but they’re back to brawling until the first round
ends. The second round begins with Schnell shooting in for a takedown
that Durden turns into a guillotine then a Ninja choke that forces Schnell to tap out not quite thirty seconds into the second round.
Durden improves to 17-6-1 while Schnell drops to 16-9 with 1 No Contest. Good win for Durden.
GOOD- Matt Schnell retires
Schnell retired after this fight and I wish him well in his life after fighting.
GOOD- Steve Garcia stops Kyle Nelson
They fight for a moment to start things before Garcia trips and Nelson
jumps on top of him. They grapple for a while, with both men smacking
each other with strikes, until Garcia begins landing elbows that hurt Nelson. He tries to avoid them but Garcia is relentless and he smashes
Nelson with elbows and punches until the referee jumps in to stop the
fight almost four minutes into the first round.
Garcia improves to 17-5 and has won 5 straight fights while Nelson
drops to 16-6-1 and has his 3 fight winning streak snapped. Good win for Garcia.
GOOD- Jessica Andrade vs. Natalia Silva
They’re swinging right away, with Silva staying very active so she doesn’t get caught by one of the bombs Andrade is throwing. Andrade
keeps coming forward, in hopes of crushing Silva. Silva responds with
a side kick that sends Andrade flying back. Andrade is right back in
her face throwing and landing punches before the first round ends. The
second round begins with Silva turning up her output and she begins
popping Andrade consistently. Silva keeps it up, even as Andrade
advances and begins throwing back more. Silva cuts Andrade on her eyebrow and they slug it out until the second round ends. The third
round starts with more of the same. Andrade keeps coming forward and
attacking while Silva counters and lands a lot of good strikes of her own as they fight to the final bell. We go to the judges to render their verdict.
Silva wins the decision to improve to 18-5-1 and has won 12 straight fights while Andrade drops to 26-13. Good win for Silva.
GOOD- Gilbert Burns vs. Sean Brady
They start off striking fast until Burns gets a takedown. Brady is
right back up and they fight in the clinch for a moment before
separating. They exchange a lot of strikes until Brady gets a
takedown. Burns is right back up and they grapple until the first
round ends. The second round begins with more striking exchanges. Both
men are fighting hard and absorbing good strikes from the other. Good
toughness on display here as the second round ends. The third round
starts with a striking exchange until Brady goes for a few takedowns
that he can’t complete. Burns fights him off and lands several
strikes. Both men are landing powerful strikes. Some of them seem like
they could be fight-ending but they just keep going. Brady gets
another takedown right before the third round ends.
The fourth round opens with both men trading low blows. When the action resumes they go back to pounding on each other. Brady drops
Burns, who’s right back up before Brady slings him down. Then Burns
gets a takedown and the fourth round ends. The fifth round begins with
more striking exchanges. Brady has landed way more strikes but Burns
has done damage with his own strikes. Brady gets another takedown and
another slam after Burns gets up. The fight ends so we go to the
judges to render their verdict.
Brady wins the decision to improve to 17-1 while Burns drops to 22-8 and has lost 3 straight fights. Good win for Brady.
*************
Demetrious Johnson officially announced his retirement at ONE 168. He finishes his career in MMA with a 25-4-1 record and numerous accomplishments and achievements. He was the first UFC Flyweight
Champion, defending that title 11 times. He was also the One Flyweight Champion, defending that title once.
He had a 13 fight win streak, the latest submission (4:59 in 5th
Round) in history, and has wins over a slew of impressive fighters.
Johnson had a great career and I wish him well in his retirement.
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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