HYDEN BLOG: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from Bellator 235, Bellator 236, and UFC Busan

Bellator 235, Bellator 236, and UFC Busan were all this past weekend. Let’s get to the rundown.

HYDEN BLOG: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from Bellator 235, Bellator 236, and UFC Busan

Bellator 235

GOOD- Tywan Claxton vs. Braydon Akeo

Claxton controlled things with his striking throughout this fight. Akeo tried for a takedown multiple times but was largely unsuccessful. Claxton won the decision, good win for him.

GOOD- Alejandra Lara vs. Veta Arteaga

Lara nailed Arteaga over and over again with big shots. The toughness on display from Arteaga was impressive, though perhaps her corner should have thrown the towel in. Arteaga got busted open by some elbows and had a crimson mask going but she kept coming. Lara repeatedly blasted Arteaga but couldn’t put her away and had to settle for the decision win. Good win for Lara.

GOOD- Joey Davis stops Chris Cisneros

Davis immediately gets a takedown and started unleashing some vicious ground-and-pound. Cisneros is cut open and eventually the referee has to jump in to stop the fight about four minutes into the first round. Good win for Davis.

GOOD- Toby Misech stops Erik Perez

This was the main event after Josh Barnett was ruled ineligible to compete and his fight was cancelled. Misech delivered a bigtime knockout as he caught Perez with a huge left hand that ended the fight a little less than a minute into the first round. Good win for Misech.

Bellator 236

BAD- Nainoa Dung vs Zachary Zane

I didn’t care much for this fight. It was primarily Zane getting a takedown and smothering Dung. There were some decent moments of striking from on top or working for submissions, but you just knew Zane was going to win by decision. Zane wasn’t going to be able to finish Dung nor was Dung going to be able to stop the takedowns. Zane won by decision, which was a good win for him, despite my disliking this fight.

GOOD/BAD- Raufeon Stots vs. Cheyden Leialoha

This was another solid fight. Nothing bad necessarily but also one that doesn’t stick with you. Stots got the decision win, as he did more throughout the fight. Good win for Stots.

GOOD/BAD- Juliana Velasquez vs. Bruna Ellen

This fight started very slowly then picked up some steam to the point where the third round was pretty exciting. It was also a brutal round for Ellen as she absorbed a lot of punishment from Velasquez. This was almost more of a sparring match for Velasquez, who did whatever she wanted when she wanted. However, she didn’t do as much as she could have against an outmatched opponent, which is where the BAD comes in. Not that she should have fought more risky, but more aggression would have been nice. Regardless, good win for Velasquez as she picks up the decision.

GOOD- Jason Jackson vs. Kiichi Kunimoto

They fought on the mat early and Jackson almost got caught in a submission so from that point on, he decided to keep the fight standing. He blocked several of Kunimoto’s takedown attempts and punished him with his striking. Jackson clearly won all three rounds, though this was a close fight that was one mistake from Jackson away from ending. Good win for Jackson.

GOOD- A.J. McKee submits Derek Campos

McKee seemed to have the advantage a lot in this fight but Campos used his experience to pose enough of a threat to keep McKee from steamrolling him. He could only do that for so long, though, as McKee was able to lock in a submission and get the win about a minute into the third round to advance in the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix. Good win for McKee.

GOOD- Ilima Lei-Macfarlane vs. Kate Jackson

Jackson was tough and fought hard but Macfarlane was clearly the better fighter here and was in total control. She threatened Jackson from pretty much everywhere. She also fought very well on the feet, outstriking Jackson and doing good damage there. Macfarlane successfully defended her Bellator Flyweight Title, good win for her.

UFC Busan

GOOD- Kyung Ho Kang vs. Pingyuan Liu

This was a really close fight, as evidenced by the split decision victory for Kang. Both guys fought hard, but Kang got the nod from the judges.

GOOD/BAD- Jun Yong Park vs. Marc-Andre Barriault

Another solid fight. I’m a bit more restless with this one, though it’s a fine fight. Park picked up the close decision victory, good win for him.

GOOD- Da Un Jung stops Mike Rodriguez

A couple of big right hands from Jung crumples Rodriguez just over a minute into the first round. Good win for Jung as he shows some nice power.

GOOD- Charles Jourdain stops Doo Ho Choi

The both enjoyed success with their striking in this fight. The finish came when Jourdain caught Choi with a big right hook followed by some follow-up shots that forced the referee to jump in and stop the fight with about thirty seconds left in the second round. Good win for Jourdain.

GOOD- Volkan Oezdemir vs. Aleksander Rakic

There was a lot of legkicks during this fight. They fought through them, though and traded just about every other strike you can think of for three rounds. Oezdemir won the split decision, nice win for him.

GOOD- Chan Sung Jung stops Frankie Edgar

Jung stunned Edgar early and tried to pound him out, but Edgar showed his toughness and survived. He fought back to his feet, but was met with a big uppercut from Jung followed by a combination that ended things a little over three minutes into the first round. Big win for Jung as we all know how tough Edgar is.

Comments and suggestions can be emailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.comand you can follow me on Twitter at @hydenfrank

More from MMATorch