Bellator 224 and UFC Sacramento were both this past weekend. Let’s get right to the rundown.
Bellator 224
GOOD- Ed Ruth stops Kiichi Kunimoto
Ruth was really aggressive with his striking, hurting Kunimoto several times over the course of the fight. The end finally came when Ruth dropped Kunimoto and poured on the strikes to get the stoppage not quite four minutes into round two. Good win for Ruth.
GOOD- Juliana Velasquez stops Kristina Williams
Velasquez was tenacious with her striking, peppering Williams with a variety of punches and kicks. She bloodied the face of Williams and kept bringing the heat until the ref jumped in for the stoppage just past four minutes into the second round. Good win for Velasquez.
GOOD- Rafael Carvalho vs. Chidi Njokuani
This fight was all right. It had decent action and was close, so that’s cool. I just wasn’t feeling it for some reason. Carvalho won the hard-fought decision. Good win for Carvalho.
GOOD- Julia Budd stops Olga Rubin
Budd successfully defended her Bellator Featherweight Championship here, pummeling Rubin with some heavy shots. She came out firing early and often, hurting Rubin with her power and precision. Budd handed Rubin her first loss, beating her in a little over two minutes into the first round and defending her title for the third time. Good win for Budd. I don’t know who’s next for her, but they better pack a lunch because it’s going to be a war. If you want to beat Budd, you’re going to have to bring your A game.
UFC Sacramento
GOOD- Cezar Ferreira vs. Marvin Vettori
Some parts of this fight were pretty good while other parts weren’t. Ferreira got beat up and busted open and that’s what lead to Vettori getting the decision. Good win for Vettori.
GOOD- Karl Roberson vs. Wellington Turman
This was like the previous fight, except without the blood. Turman had some good takedowns but Roberson had better striking and defense. That gave him the decision victory. Good win for Roberson.
GOOD- Josh Emmett stops Mirsad Bektic
They were trading shots early and often, and eventually Emmett connected and dropped Bektic then finished him off about four and a half minutes into the first round. Good win for Emmett.
GOOD- Urijah Faber stops Ricky Simon
Faber landed a big right hook that dropped Simon, then pounced and got the stoppage. All in under a minute into the first round. This was an impressive win for Faber after a few years away. I’m not sure if he’ll keep fighting or for how long, but he’s quieted the doubters a bit. I was one, I doubted him. I didn’t think he’d be able to come back and be this effective. Good for him. Big win for Faber.
GOOD- Germaine de Randamie stops Aspen Ladd
De Randamie dropped Ladd with a powerful right. One more punch on the ground to finalize things and that was it, ending the fight in 16 seconds. There’s been some talk of it being a bad stoppage, but I’m all right with it. Ladd was hurt. Could she have recovered? It’s possible but the more likely scenario is that she absorbs several more punches and still loses. I don’t expect Ladd to be happy about this stoppage but unbiased observers should have no problem with it. Big win for GDR.
Comments and suggestions can be emailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com and you can follow me on Twitter at @hydenfrank
More from MMATorch:
- ROUNDTABLE: Who should Urijah Faber fight next?
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- Bellator News Digest: Catching up on all the recent fight announcements
- Urijah Faber finishes Ricky Simon in UFC return: recap and fight video
- WATCH: Josh Emmett finishes Mirsad Bektic
- WATCH: Andre Fili KO’s Sheymon Moraes
- WATCH: Jonathan Martinez KO’s Pingyuan Liu
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