By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist
Bellator 253 and UFC 255 took place over the past few days and they featured some big title fights. Let’s get to the rundown.
Bellator 253
GOOD- Raufeon Stots vs. Keith Lee
Stots battered and peppered Lee with strikes throughout this fight. Stots beat Lee on the feet and on the ground, and he got the decision victory. Good win for Stots.
GOOD- Joey Davis vs. Bobby Lee
Lee showed good tenacity but this was all about Davis. He beat up Lee throughout the fight. Just like the previous fight, one guy dominated and got the decision. Good win for Davis.
GOOD- Benson Henderson vs. Jason Jackson
This was yet another fight that saw one guy dominate. Henderson got some stuff in, but this was about Jackson and how well he fought. He controlled Henderson and was rewarded with the decision win. Good win for Jackson.
GOOD- A.J. McKee submits Darrion Caldwell
Caldwell got an early takedown but McKee grabbed a submission and forced Caldwell to tap just a bit over a minute into the first round. McKee advances to the finals of the Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix. Good win for McKee.
UFC 255
GOOD- Paul Craig stops Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
Craig controlled things in the first round, peppering Shogun with strikes and getting a takedown and trying for a few submissions but not getting them. The second round saw more strikes and takedowns from Craig and he started laying into Shogun, forcing him to tap to strikes on the ground. Good win for Craig. I don’t know if Shogun wants to keep going or not but Dana White said he wants him to retire because he looked bad here. Shogun is clearly not what he once was, but that’s been true for years. We’ll see what his future plans are but I don’t think he’ll fight much longer if he does want to continue.
GOOD- Cynthia Calvillo vs. Kaitlyn Chookagian
Chookagian also controlled this fight and outworked Calvillo. She battered her with strikes and took the fight to her. She got the clear decision win and continues to impress. Good win for Chookagian.
GOOD- Tim Means vs. Mike Perry
Perry started strong in the first round, getting a takedown and landing some hard punches. Means returned fire but Perry probably took that round. From though, Means took the lead. He landed lots of heavy shots in the second round, though Perry did hurt him badly at one point. Means survived, though, and the third round saw multiple firefights break out. These guys were slugging it out and their faces told the tale. It was close but Means got the decision from the judges. Good win for Means.
GOOD/BAD- Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jennifer Maia
Shevchenko successfully defended her UFC Flyweight Championship but honestly, this was a slog. At least for me it was. Maia fought well but it was clear that Shevchenko was the better fighter. She controlled things and hurt Maia with her strikes. I started getting restless in the third round because by that point, you knew that Shevchenko was going to win but you still had to sit through two more rounds because Maia wasn’t likely to get finished. I don’t want to be too hard on this fight, but I just wasn’t feeling it. She fought well and this was a good win for Shevchenko.
GOOD Deiveson Figureiredo submits Alex Perez
Figueiredo successfully defended his UFC Flyweight Championship here in a big win. He did grab the fence to avoid a takedown, though, which I didn’t care for but whatever. They scrambled and Figueiredo got Perez in a guillotine to get the submission win not quite two minutes into the first round. Good win for Figueiredo.
Comments and suggestions can be emailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com and you can follow me on Twitter at @hydenfrank and you can check out my blog athttps://3pr117238763.wordpress.com/ where I talk about wrestling, sports, and videogames. Thanks for reading and have a good day.
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