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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
BELLATOR 102
OCTOBER 4, 2013
LIVE FROM VISALIA, CALIFORNIA
-Sean Wheelock and Jimmy Smith break down how the middleweight semifinalists got into tonight's event, and we go right to the cage for fight one.
FIGHT ONE: JOE PACHECO VS. BRENNAN WARD (MIDDLEWEIGHT TOURNEY SEMIFINAL)
ROUND ONE: Ward took the center early. Pacheco got in a right. Ward landed a nice combination. Ward connected on another short combo. Pacheco fired back. Ward pulled off a nice throw and got into half guard. Pacheco regained full guard and tried to hold Ward's posture. He kicked Ward off and worked to his feet. He pressed Ward to the cage and scored a big slam takedown, popping into Ward's guard with three minutes remaining in the round. Ward got loose and got to his feet and Pacheco pressed him back into the cage. Ward landed a couple of hard knees to the body. He tried to break loose, but Pacheco picked him up again and dropped him right into side control. Pacheco didn't do a ton in that position and John McCarthy warned him to work. He tried to go after an arm but Ward got the arm loose. Pacheco landed a couple of knees to the body. He went for the Americana and used that to transition to mount. He didn't have much time to work with and rode out the round on top.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Pacheco. He didn't do a ton with top position, but he had control for most of the round and only took a little damage early.
ROUND TWO: Pacheco shot in immediately for a takedown, but Ward held it off. Pacheco went for the single leg again, but couldn't score the takedown. Ward sprawled on another takedown attempt and landed several hard punches to the body. He got in a knee to the face. Pacheco kept on the attempt and Ward pulled off an excellent throw into half guard. Pacheco gave up his back and Ward briefly flattened him out. Pacheco got to his knees and Ward just stood up and let him up. Strange. He landed a left as Pacheco came forward. Pacheco had very little left in the tank at this point, but kept walking forward. Ward popped in with strikes. Pacheco landed one and shot in for a takedown. Ward sprawled. He went for a guillotine/front choke in the sprawl and Pacheco went out cold. Nice work from Ward in the second round.
WINNER: Ward via submission (announced as "front naked choke") at 2:41 of the second round
STAR RATING: (**) Really nice work from Ward in the second, but he took advantage of a completely gassed Joe Pacheco. That was still a fantastic submission, but Pacheco just had nothing to offer in that second round whatsoever.
FIGHT TWO: MIKKEL PARLO VS. JASON BUTCHER (MIDDLEWEIGHT TOURNEY SEMIFINAL)
ROUND ONE: Butcher came to the center early and threw a couple of kicks. Parlo fired back with a couple of strikes. Parlo hurt Butcher with a hard right in a combination, but he didn't follow up. He landed again and avoided the counter. Butcher tried to shoot in but was easily stuffed. Parlo caught a kick and dropped him but stepped away rather than going to the ground. He landed a couple more strikes. Butcher shot in and scored a takedown, but Parlo quickly got to his feet. He got separation and walked forward again. They traded punches. This was really sloppy action on the feet. Parlo landed hard body shot and they both swung wildly. Butcher tried to get in with a few strikes. Parlo caught another kick and threw him down before making him stand again. Another caught kick and Butcher was getting tired from the up and down. Parlo cracked him with a big strike. Butcher tried to pull guard after a kick but was forced to get up. Parlo started throwing a bunch of strikes and Butcher tried to drag him to the ground unsuccessfully. Butcher pressed in with wild strikes and Parlo grabbed a clinch to end the round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Parlo. He's doing all the damage on the feet, but it was extremely sloppy.
ROUND TWO: Butcher landed some strikes early. Parlo sent some strikes back. Butcher again connected on a few strikes. He tried to score a takedown but failed yet again. Butcher landed an uppercut. Parlo tried to rush in and swung some winging punches. Butcher again shot in, but Parlo sprawled and backed away. Parlo got in with a right. He landed a couple more as they traded strikes. Butcher tried to rush in and slipped as he threw some strikes. Parlo landed a two-punch combo. He stuffed another takedown attempt. The crowd booed Butcher for continually dropping to his but. Parlo got in with a right, but as he rushed in he got cracked by two strikes. Parlo landed a hard left, then a couple more strikes in combination. Parlo rushed with more strikes and Butcher dropped to his back again. He was forced to stand again. Parlo landed another combination. He backed Butcher up. Butcher came forward with a few strikes. He got backed up again and ate another flurry on the cage. The ref was about to step in but didn't, and Butcher made it to the end of the round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Parlo. This is one of the uglier fights you're likely to see. Just sloppy, winging strikes continuously.
ROUND THREE: Butcher again flopped to his back after an early rush and was forced to stand. Parlo stuffed another shot and landed a couple of strikes before backing away. Butcher popped in with a couple of punches and scored a few strikes. He shot in and almost got Parlo down. Butcher flopped again and tried to butt scoot to grab a leg. He was forced to stand again. More winging strikes thrown. Butcher again flopped to his back and had to get back up. Just terrible. Parlo landed a jab. Sean Wheelock said it looked like something out of 1995. That's accurate. In the worst way. Butcher tried to rush in but couldn't land. Parlo pressed him back. Parlo landed a brutal punch to the gut. Butcher flopped to his back again. He got up, then dropped to his back again and got warned about that. He dropped after a body punch and this time Parlo came with him to land a few strikes. Parlo then stood and made him get up again. They traded punches again. Butcher grabbed a leg and tried to again bring it to the ground. He failed. Parlo came in and threw more punches. More flopping from Butcher. Parlo landed a punch on the ground and stepped away at the bell. Such a bad fight.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Parlo. That was an embarrassing fight for Butcher, and even though Parlo dominated he still got busted up by a bad striker who couldn't bring the fight to the ground.
WINNER: Parlo via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
STAR RATING: (*) An ugly, awful fight. Parlo fought smart, but he still got busted up, and the whole thing was just really bad.
FIGHT THREE: RAFAEL SILVA VS. ANTHONY LEONE (BANTAMWEIGHT TOURNEY FINALS)
ROUND ONE: They circled each other early, looking to figure out the range. Silva landed an inside leg kick. They each pawed out strikes that didn't get to their target. Silva tossed out a spinning back kick but it didn't cover the distance. He landed a hard jab. Leone rushed in but Silva side-stepped the rush. Leone missed more punches as he tried to connect on a few combinations. Silva had a couple of strikes blocked. Silva shot in and scored a takedown. Good timing on the shot. Leone tried to scramble and he got his back to the cage. Silva powered him down and tried to take his back. Leone scrambled out of a choke attempt. Silva planted him and Leone went for a triangle choke. Silva powered out and then took his back. Leone got to his feet but Silva was on his back. Leone got him out of that position, but Silva stayed on him. Silva sprawled as Leone grabbed a single leg. They got to their feet and Leone pressed in for a takedown. Silva remained standing to the bell.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Silva. Closely contested round. A lot of good work from both on the ground offensively and defensively, but the action was essentially a stalemate.
ROUND TWO: Leone came out fast and scored a couple of strikes. Silva landed a counter left. He got in a right and avoided the counter. Leone landed a nice right. Timed it well. Silva got in with a jab. He threw a spinning kick but Leone was far away. Leone landed a nice overhand right. Silva avoided it the next time. Leone arched him again. Silva shot in and just powered Leone to the ground. Leone defended well from his half guard, but Silva held position. Silva passed to side control. Leone tried to use the cage to get free, but it gave Silva an opening to take his back. Leone tried to stand, but couldn't get Silva off. Silva landed some strikes. Leone continued trying to defend. The crowd booed as Silva wasn't scoring tons of offense. He got warned for a punch to the back of the head as the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Silva. Leone was winning the round on the feet, but Silva took it back with his ground work. Leone's got to go for broke in the third.
ROUND THREE: Silva went to the spinning kick again early but again didn't close the distance with it. Both fighters were throwing quite a bit but not landing. Silva landed a kick. Leone almost caught the spinning kick. Leone landed a leg kick that caused Silva to slip. Silva shot in again and scored another takedown. Leone's inability to stop the takedown in the last half of rounds has cost him this one. Leone tried to simply hold control of Silva in his half guard, and there were more boos from the crowd. Silva tried to stay active, but Leone continued to defend well and they were actually stood up this time with a minute left. They traded jabs. Leone scored a takedown of his own but Silva quickly swept him. The round ended with Silva in Leone's guard.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Silva. Zero sense of urgency from Leone, and they were just evenly matched to the point Silva couldn't do much offense after he scored takedowns.
WINNER: Silva via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
STAR RATING: (*+) It wasn't a horrible fight, just entirely forgettable. It was mostly a stalemate, with the only difference being Silva's power with his takedowns. Leone couldn't stop them, so he lost each round. Simple as that.
FIGHT FOUR: LAVAR JOHNSON VS. VINICIUS "SPARTAN" QUIEROZ(HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNEY SEMIFINAL)
ROUND ONE: Quieroz landed an immediate right hand behind Johnson's ear and he stumbled and face planted. He woke up once he hit the ground, but got hit by a couple more strikes and it was all over. He tried to protest the stoppage, but that's not going to work when you face plant like that. Brutal loss for Johnson.
WINNER: Quieroz via KO at :23 of the first round
STAR RATING: (**) Nice quick finish from Quieroz, caught Johnson with a shot in the right spot there and it was over quick. That was Johnson's first loss from strikes ever.
MAIN EVENT FIGHT FIVE: CHEICK KONGO VS. MARK GODBEER (HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNEY SEMIFINAL)
ROUND ONE: Godbeer landed a left. They clinched after missing some strikes and Kongo scored a takedown into half guard. Godbeer got his back to the cage and got to his feet. Kongo landed a knee to the thigh. He tried to drag Godbeer down but failed to do so. The crowd booed as the action continued in wall and stall fashion before they got separated. But it looks like Kongo took a low blow right before that. As they restarted it was back to the clinch, and more wall and stall action. Kongo kept Godbeer pressed on the cage and they traded knees for a while. They were separated with a minute left. Godbeer tried to rush in with a strike and Kongo immediately clinched and landed a knee. Loud boos from the crowd. They were separated again. John McCarthy's going to lose patience with Kongo quick here. He went back to the clinch in the center and landed a knee to the head before the bell.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Kongo. I guess. This is already among the worst versions of Kongo fights, but Godbeer didn't do much while he was getting pressed against the cage.
ROUND TWO: After a couple of early exchanges from Godbeer, Kongo grabbed a clinch, taking Godbeer's back standing. He landed several knees to the thigh up against the cage. Godbeer got turned around. Kongo landed several knees to the body and Godbeer dropped from the strikes. He shot in for a single leg in desperation. Kongo kept up the attack and delivered a bunch more knees to the body and head against the cage, along with a few punches, and Godbeer went down again. This time, McCarthy stepped in to put an end to the beating. Much more entertaining second round from Kongo.
WINNER: Kongo via TKO at 2:04 of the second round
STAR RATING: (**) The first round was just the worst style version of Kongo's clinch game, but he turned on the offense with it in the second. Those knees and punches were brutal in that round, and he did what he needed to do to score the finish.
Thanks for joining us here tonight, we've got two live events coming up next week, with UFC Fight Night 29 on Wednesday and Bellator 103 on Friday, so make sure to stick with us here at MMATorch!
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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