By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist
Bellator Champion Series 5 and UFC 306 were this past weekend and
featured some exciting fights and finishes. Who won and who lost?
Let’s get to the rundown.
Bellator Champion Series 5
GOOD/BAD- Marc Diakiese vs. Tim Wilde
They trade kicks all throughout the first round, with Diakiese landing
more. The second round begins with Diakiese getting some takedowns and
wins the round that way. The third round starts with Wilde staggering
Diakiese with some strikes and stuffing his takedowns as Diakiese
coasts in this final round since he knows he won the first two rounds.
You never like seeing that stuff. The fight ends so we go to the
judges to render their verdict.
Diakiese wins the decision to improve to 18-7 while Wilde drops to 17-6-1. Good for Diakiese.
GOOD- Luke Trainer submits Laurynas Urbonavicius
Urbonavicius starts with kicks while Trainer goes with jabs before he
mixes in kicks. They trade knees and clinch then Trainer gets a
takedown and immediately locks in a rear-naked choke to get the tap a
bit over four minutes into the first round.
Trainer improves to 9-1 and has won 4 straight fights while
Urbonavicius drops to 14-2 and has his 8 fight winning streak snapped.
Good win for Trainer.
GOOD- Simeon Powell vs. Rafael Xavier
They’re trading strikes early and Xavier is showing his power. He
hurts Powell then later drops him with a power left hook. Powell is
saved by the bell. The second round begins with Xavier hurting Powell
again early but he starts gassing out and by the end of the second
round Powell has the advantage and is jabbing Xavier relentlessly. The
third round starts with more of the same, though Xavier is fighting as
hard as he can. It’s really close and either man can win it. The fight ends and we go to the judges to render their verdict.
Powell wins the Split Decision to improve to 10-1 while Xavier drops to 13-8. Good win for Powell.
GOOD- Sara Collins submits Leah McCourt
Collins gets an immediate takedown but McCourt is right back up.
Collins then drops McCourt with a big right hand and follows up with hammerfists and punches before transitioning to a rear-naked choke
that gets the tap not quite halfway through the first round.
Collins improves to a perfect 6-0 while McCourt drops to 8-4. Good win for Collins.
UFC 306
GOOD- Ronaldo Rodriguez vs. Ode Osbourne
They start off with a little striking until Osbourne knocks Rodriguez
down with a big right hand. Osbourne follows him down and locks in a
triangle choke but Rodriguez survives and escapes. Osbourne attacks
with elbows from the bottom and Rodriguez starts hammering Osbourne
back with everything he can. Osbourne is relentless with his attacks
and the first round ends. The second round begins with a little
striking exchange before they go to the ground off of an attempted
takedown and they spend the rest of the second round scrambling for
position, though they both land a few strong strikes during the
process. The third round starts with some good striking exchanges.
Both men are exhausted but giving good effort. They continue fighting until the fight ends. We go to the judges to render their verdict in this close fight.
Rodriguez wins the decision to improve to 17-2 and has won 7 straight
fights while Osbourne drops to 12-8 with 1 No Contest and has lost 3 straight fights. Good win for Rodriguez.
GOOD- Daniel Zellhuber vs. Esteban Ribovics
They begin trading strikes immediately. Ribovics is landing some powerful leg kicks. They continue trading strikes throughout a close
first round. The second round begins with more of the same, good
striking exchanges that are bringing the pain. This continues nearly nonstop as both men show their tremendous cardio. This is another
close round. The third round starts with yet more striking exchanges
until Ribovics gets poked in the eye. He doesn’t like that and after
the break, he shows that by attacking Zellhuber repeatedly with
punches. They end the fight with a great brawl and this Fight of the Year contender is heading to the judges to render their verdict.
Ribovics wins the Split Decision to improve to 14-1 and has won 3 straight fights while Zellhuber drops to 15-2 and has his 3 fight winning streak snapped. Good win for Ribovics.
GOOD- Brian Ortega vs. Diego Lopes
They start off striking until Lopes hurts Ortega then gets a takedown.
Lopes is all over Ortega with ground-and-pound strikes but Ortega is
battling back. They stand and resume striking until the first round ends. The second round begins with more striking. Ortega is landing
well but Lopes is landing just as strong and more often. Lopes lands
some powerful leg kicks and the second round ends. The third round starts with both fighters connecting with leg kicks and they trade strikes. Lopes is landing more but Ortega won’t back down and his face
shows the effects of this fight as it ends. We go to the judges to
render their verdict.
Lopes wins the decision to improve to 26-6 and has won 5 straight
fights while Ortega drops to 16-4 with 1 No Contest. Good win for Lopes.
GOOD- Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko
Grasso was looking to defend her UFC Flyweight Championship here. The
story of this fight is Shevchenko getting takedowns and laying on Grasso. She outstrikes her by a good margin but most of them were
short strikes for activity to avoid being stood up. The grappling was high level but it was too dull for my tastes. I’m not going to go BAD for this fight or anything because it’s a good smart strategy but
you’re not going to win any fans with this fight. But the goal is to win, though, so…you do what you have to.
Shevchenko wins the decision to become the new UFC Flyweight Champion
and improves to 24-4-1 while Grasso drops to 16-4-1. Good win for Shevchenko.
GOOD- Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili
O’Malley was looking to defend his UFC Bantamweight Championship here.
Again, the story is Dvalishvili getting takedowns then doing just
enough to not get stood up. I’m trying not to be too harsh here but
this is the second straight five-round dull fight that is the opposite
of “Blink and you’ll miss it.”
I’m not saying I want every fight to be “Just bleed!” but I also
wouldn’t be against that. I don’t know, maybe that’s just my boredom
talking. Anyway.
Dvalishvili wins the decision to become the new UFC Bantamweight
Champion and improves to 18-4 and has 11 straight fights while
O’Malley drops to 18-2 with 1 No Contest and has his 3 fight winning streak snapped. Good win for Dvalishvili.
*************
Jon Jones (27-1, 1 No Contest will finally defend his UFC Heavyweight
Championship against Stipe Miocic (20-4) on November 16th at UFC 309.
We can finally have this fight and get it done. Miocic hasn’t fought
in over three and a half years but Jones wants to fight him so Dana White is going to give him what he wants.
Charles Oliveira (34-10, 1 No Contest) is expected to face Michael Chandler (23-8) at this card also. Chandler hasn’t fought in two years himself, as he unsuccessfully waited for a fight with Conor McGregor (22-6 MMA, 0-1 Boxing).
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
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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
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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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