By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist
Bellator 284 and UFC Fight Night: Vera vs. Cruz were both this weekend.
Bellator 284
GOOD- Aaron Jeffery stops Austin Vanderford
Jeffrey drops Vanderford early in the first round but he gets back up,
only to be dropped again and Jeffery finishes him off with
ground-and-pound for the win not quite a minute and a half into the
first round. Jeffery improves to 13-3 and has won 3 straight fights
while Vanderford drops to 11-2. Good win for Jeffery.
GOOD- Said Sowma vs. Gokhan Saricam
They trade kicks early and often until Sowma gets dropped and they
fight on the mat for the rest of the first round. More kicks to start
the second round before Saricam gets taken down. They quickly get back
to their feet and exchange more kicks. The third round sees them start
with more kicks and they exchange strikes throughout the third round
of a very close fight. Saricam gets the Split Decision victory and
improves to 8-1 and has won 4 straight fights while Sowma drops to 8-4
and has lost 3 straight fights. Good win for Saricam.
GOOD- Ilima Lei-Macfarlane vs. Bruna Ellen
They started striking in the first round before Macfarlane went to her
grappling. Some more striking in the second round before Ellen nearly
cinched in a guillotine in the third round but Macfarlane survived and
got the decision victory. This was a pretty close fight but Macfarlane
improves to 12-2 while Ellen drops to 6-4. Good win for Macfarlane.
BAD- Valentin Moldavsky vs. Steve Mowry ends in a No Contest
Mowry gets poked in the eye just under a minute into the fight and
can’t continue so Moldavsky stays at 11-2 while Mowry stays undefeated
at 10-0. That’s an unfortunate and dud end to a fight. Moving on.
GOOD- Goiti Yamauchi stops Neiman Gracie
Gracie starts aggressive with some strikes before Yamauchi returns
fire. Gracie gets dropped to a knee from a tough jab and gets taken
down. Gracie quickly gets back up and they exchange strikes for the
rest of the first round. The second round opens with Yamauchi tripping
Gracie to the mat off an attempted leg kick. Gracie wants Yamauchi to
join him on the ground but Yamauchi waves him up and then destroys him
with a huge uppercut to get the stoppage win. Yamauchi improves to
28-5 and he’s won 3 straight fights while Gracie drops to 11-4. Good
win for Yamauchi.
UFC Fight Night: Vera vs. Cruz
GOOD- Gerald Meerschaert submits Bruno Silva
They trade kicks early before Meerschaert gets a takedown. The second
round starts with more kicks. Silva’s throwing punches with such force
that he’s either missing by a mile or falling to the mat. In the third
round Meerschaert smashes Silva with a huge left hand and locks in a
guillotine to get the submission almost a hundred seconds into the
third round. Meerschaert improves to 35-15 while Silva drops to 22-8.
Good win for Meerschaert.
GOOD- Priscila Cachoeira stops Ariane Lipski
Cachoeira nails Lipski with a big left hook and drops her with more
strikes before swarming her with hammerfists to force the referee to
jump in to stop the fight just over a minute into the first round.
Cachoeira improves to 12-4 while Lipski drops to 14-8. Good win for
Cachoeira.
GOOD- Azamat Murzakanov stops Devin Clark
Tentative first round until they both land some nice strikes towards
the end of the round. The second round opens with Murzakanov attacking
the body. Clark gets hurt but survives the round with no problem. The
third round sees Clark get dropped by a huge body shot and Murzakanov
swarms him with punches to force the referee to jump in to stop the
fight not quite a minute and a half into the third round. Murzakanov
improves to an undefeated 12-0 while Clark drops to 13-7. Good win for
Murzakanov.
GOOD- Yazmin Jauregui vs. Iasmin Lucindo
They both bust each other up in the first round, throwing and
absorbing some stiff strikes. The second round saw Lucindo throwing
lots of kicks as Jauregui returned fire with big punches. The third
round was more of the same. Both women came to fight. I love their
willingness to get hit and keep coming. I love the toughness, the
tenacity, this was a very good fight. This was a war on the feet.
Jauregui won the decision but what a debut for both. Jauregui improves
to an undefeated 9-0 while Lucindo drops to 13-5 and has her 7 fight
winning streak snapped. Good win for Jauregui.
GREAT- Nate Landwehr vs. David Onama
Onama started strong with some stiff strikes. Things heat up just
before Onama knocks Landwehr out but when Landwehr hits the mat he’s
woken up and the fight continues. Holy hell. More heavy striking as
the first round ends. The second round opens with Landwehr landing a
lot of big right hands. Onama is so tough as he’s getting smashed here
but is fighting on. Everything I said about the last fight is
applicable here, this is another war. The third round opens with
Landwehr ready to go and Onama willing himself to continue. This is
pure grit and tenacity here from Onama. Landwehr is beating the living
hell out of Onama but he can’t finish him. Onama is putting everything
he has into these huge bombs he’s throwing. He actually drops Landwehr
but can’t finish him. This is unbelievable. The fight ends and
Landwehr wins the Majority Decision. What a fight, definitely a
candidate for Fight of the Year. Landwehr improves to 16-4 while Onama
drops to 10-2. Good win for Landwehr.
GOOD- Marlon Vera stops Dominick Cruz
Cruz comes out aggressive but gets dropped by a Vera left hook.
Nothing happens, though, and Cruz continues striking. The second round
is more of the same, Cruz outstriking Vera. He’s not doing a ton of
damage but he’s doing some. Vera drops Cruz again in the third round
but again, not much happens and Cruz is back to popping away at Vera.
Cruz isn’t having a lot of success with his takedowns but he’s got a
couple of them. Vera drops Cruz for a third time early in the fourth
round but he pops right back up. Cruz continues to do some damage here
and there before getting blasted into unconsciousness by a Vera
headkick. Vera swarms and finishes him at 2:17 of the fourth round.
Vera improves to 20-7-1 and has won 4 straight fights while Cruz drops
to 24-4. Good win for Vera, who calls for a title shot post-fight.
My new fantasy book is now out. It’s called Kingdom of Zarias: The Steep
Price of Revenge. It’s the second book in my epic fantasy Kingdom
of Zarias series and follows the adventures of the Summers siblings as
they seek revenge for the wrongs inflicted on them. This book also
introduces lots of other characters as the scope of the world
continues to expand. 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 new 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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