Bellator 157 “Dynamite 2” was this past week. Let’s get right to the rundown.
Bellator 157
GOOD/BAD: Matt Mitrione stops Carl Seumanutafa
Seumanutafa dropped Mitrione with a power right almost immediately. The ref let Mitrione continue, though, and he ended up dropping Seumanutafa with a power shot of his own. This was Mitrione’s debut in Bellator and he’s also slated to fight on the next Bellator card. That’s odd to say the least considering that he got dropped the way he did, but with it being Bellator he’ll probably pass any tests they make him take. The BAD is for Mitrione being booked again so quickly despite nearly getting finished.
GOOD: Denise Kielhotlz vs. Gloria Peritore
This was one of the kickboxing fights on the card, and it delivered some pretty good action. They went for three rounds, with Peritore able to clinch and get the judges on her side. I think Kielholtz probably did enough to get the win, but it was a split decision in a really close fight so I can see both sides.
GOOD: Ilima-Lei Macfarlane submits Rebecca Ruth
Back to MMA for this fight. Macfarlane was all over Ruth from the start, constantly attacking her back and looking for the submission. She ended up getting the choke about halfway through the second round as Ruth was too exhausted to resist.
GOOD: Kevin Ross vs. Justin Houghton
Back to kickboxing and Ross pummeled Houghton throughout most of the fight, though Houghton was much more active in the first round to win that one. Ross was constantly attacking and got the decision win at the end of three rounds. Good fight.
GOOD: Michael Chandler stops Patricky Freire
Chandler dropped Freire about two minutes into the first round with a vicious shot to win the vacant Bellator Lightweight Title. Big time win for Chandler as he caught Freire with a massive right hand to end things.
BAD: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Satoshi Ishii
This fight sucked. That’s actually probably too harsh, but Rampage got the split decision win despite not doing all that much. Not that Ishii did much more, but he did more than Rampage. I didn’t like this fight at all, it was more frustrating than anything else. Very disappointing fight. Ring rust likely played a role, as well as age and career punishment. Both guys seemed pretty even, leading to a close fight, and though that was understandable it’s still disappointing.
All in all, it was a pretty good event. The kickboxing was different, I liked the fights, most of the MMA was good, except for the main event which plodded along. We’re starting to gear up for a lot of UFC fights coming up next week, with three events in three days and four in a week. It’s going to be a busy time, including the massive and stacked UFC 200 card. With Bellator on the July schedule as well, it’s a good time to be an MMA fan.
Comments and suggestions can be emailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com and you can follow me on Twitter at @hydenfrank
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