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BELLATOR 136 LIVE RESULTS: Penick's round by round report for "Brooks vs. Jansen" event
Apr 10, 2015 - 10:35:43 PM BELLATOR 136 LIVE RESULTS: Penick's round by round report for "Brooks vs. Jansen" event

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

BELLATOR 136
APRIL 10, 2015
LIVE FROM IRVINE, CALIFORNIA

-Heavyweights are in the cage to kick things off on tonight's televised card.

FIGHT ONE: ALEXANDER VOLKOV VS. TONY JOHNSON (HEAVYWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Johnson countered a kick with a left hand. He backed Volkov up, but Volkov got in some strikes. Johnson shot in for a single leg. He briefly got Volkov down, but the Russian popped back up. Johnson drove him to the cage in the clinch. Volkov got in some knees and defended another takedown attempt. They continued to trade shots in the clinch. Volkov got in some more hard knees to the body as his back remained on the cage. Things slowed as Johnson continued to hold the clinch. All of a sudden Johnson got a little separation and threw out several strikes, but he ate a few knees and went back to the clinch. The ref warned Johnson to work and then Volkov landed a couple knees. He then stuffed another takedown attempt. More stalling. Johnson got in an uppercut. Volkov back to the knees. Volkov finally got separation but got poked in the eye on the way out, bringing a halt to the action. As they restarted, Volkov got in a straight kick to the face. Johnson reached in for some strikes, but ate a few punches. Johnson missed a strike, then drove in and scored a sloppy takedown. Johnson just tried to finish dragging him down. He then tried to transition to Volkov's back. Volkov worked to his feet, but Johnson stayed on him on the cage. More knees from Volkov. Johnson held him at the cage some more. Volkov got in a knee and finally separated. He landed another front kick with a strike late. He got in a body kick and another punch before the horn.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Volkov. Yeah Johnson controlled the position on the cage and with the one takedown, but Volkov did all the offensive damage. I'll go effective striking over position any day.

ROUND TWO: Johnson scored an easy takedown and tried to work from the top. Volkov got him to full guard and mostly shut him down. Johnson landed a few strikes, but was quite inactive from the top. Volkov tried to escape, but to no avail. Johnson got in some short forearms, but got brought back to full guard. They were warned to work. Johnson tried to stay busy, but wasn't doing much. Volkov tried to attack for a kimura on Johnson's left arm. He sat up and Johnson wound up taking his back. Johnson got in some punches. Volkov stood and ate a knee as Johnson drove him to the cage for the clinch. The ref gave more warnings to work as Johnson was doing very little in the clinch. He dropped for a single leg but got stuffed. He just held Volkov on the cage. Wall and stall is just awful to watch. Volkov got in a couple of knees before the horn.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Johnson. Volkov didn't have the offensive output that round to negate the ground control, but Johnson's still not doing much with his positional advantage, and it's not fun to watch.

ROUND THREE: Johnson immediately clinched and it was more of the same. Very little work from Johnson on the cage, but Volkov couldn't get his back off the cage. He got a little space to land a couple of knees, but then Johnson closed in again. Eat. Sleep. Bore everyone. Repeat. That seems to be Tony Johnson's motto in this fight. The ref finally separated them. Volkov got in a few strikes, but it didn't take long for Johnson to go right back to the clinch. More of Johnson just holding Volkov on the cage. Volkov got in a few knees, but really couldn't do much. Johnson ate the knees to the body and just held onto the clinch. Volkov turned him around and landed a couple of knees to end the fight. That was terrible.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-10. No one did anything of note. Johnson's going to get it for the clinch, but that should be negated by him doing nothing offensively in said clinch. Just a really bad "fight."

WINNER: Johnson via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

STAR RATING: (*-) That barely constitutes as a fight. Wall and stall is the worst, and that was essentially Johnson's game start to finish. One of the worst televised fights of the year so far.


FIGHT TWO: MARCIN HELD VS. ALEXANDER "TIGER" SARNAVSKIY (LIGHTWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Held circled around on the outside and Sarnavskiy opened with a jab. He landed a hard kick to the body. Sarnavskiy got in some more strikes as Held tried to close the distance. Held got in a knee, but had to separate when Sarnavskiy landed several more strikes. Held shot in and tried to take Sarnavskiy down. Sarnavskiy held it off initially, then Held rolled for a leg. Sarnavskiy avoided the heel hook, but Held used the opening to get on top in his guard. Sarnavskiy shot his legs up to attack for something, but Held got free. He tried to stay busy in Sarnavskiy's guard. Sarnavskiy tried to be active from the bottom. He rolled to attack Held's left arm. Held used it to pass to half guard. Once he established that, he passed to side control easily. Held tried to pass to mount, but got swept, and Sarnavskiy got on top. Held went for an omoplata. Sarnavskiy got cut somehow. He stood and Held threw a couple of upkicks before attacking for a nasty looking heel hook. Sarnavskiy got out of the attempt, and the round ended on the ground.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Held. Competitive round. Sarnavskiy clearly had the edge on the feet, Held won the battle on the ground. Could possibly be seen either way, here, but I think Held did enough to take the frame.

ROUND TWO: Sarnavskiy got in a hard body kick early. Held got him to the cage and shot in. Sarnavskiy stuffed the takedown attempt, but Held was relentless and eventually tripped him up, getting ride into side control. Sarnavskiy tried to sweep off the cage, but Held remained on top. Held landed a big elbow after being warned to work. Held passed nicely to full mount. Sarnavskiy bucked out of the mount and back to half guard. Held got back to mount. Sarnavskiy did his best to tie up. Held went for an armbar, then tried to set up a mounted triangle. Sarnavskiy turned into him to get on top, but Held went to attack for the triangle. He lost it as Sarnavskiy postured up. Held tried to attack for an armbar, then a triangle, but then Sarnavskiy stood up and got out. Sarnavskiy came forward with a jumping knee and got easily taken down. Sarnavskiy grabbed a guillotine, but he was in the wrong position to finish it. Held popped out and ended the round on top.

Penick's Scorecard:10-9 Held. Things got a bit methodical that round, and Sarnavskiy's quickly falling behind here.

ROUND THREE: Held tried for an almost immediate takedown, but got stuffed on the low ankle trip. He shot in, then tried to roll for a leg, but Sarnavskiy stepped out. Held came forward with a strike. Sarnavskiy landed a body kick. Held went for a spinning back fist that connected. Sarnavskiy got in close, and Held rolled for the leg again. He got the kneebar on this time and Sarnavskiy screamed out for the verbal tap. Wow. Two Bellator events in a row with a verbal submission due to kneebar.

WINNER: Held via verbal submission (kneebar) at 1:11 of the third round

STAR RATING: (**+) The rest of the fight is mostly skippable, but that finish was excellent. Love watching Held do what he does best. That kneebar was sick and the replay made my leg hurt just watching it.


FIGHT THREE: JOE SCHILLING VS. RAFAEL CARVALHO (MIDDLEWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Schilling took the center and forced Carvalho to circle around on the cage. However, neither seemed all that eager to engage off the bat. Schilling landed a leg kick, but stayed patient. Carvalho landed a strike. They both swung but neither landed. Schilling clinched, then threw a knee to the groin and the round was stalled. On the restart they traded leg kicks. Carvalho caught a body kick and drove in or a clinch. They jockeyed for position. Things stalled in the clinch. Schilling then got in a knee and an elbow, but Carvalho kept holding him on the cage. Carvalho went for a trip to no avail. They finally separated after getting a warning to work from the referee. Schilling landed a nice counter left hand. Carvalho caught a kick and scored a hard takedown into half guard. Schilling then immediately swept and got on top. Carvalho patiently got to his feet, landed a strike, and made Carvalho stand. Schilling landed a hard right. Carvalho connected on a right of his own. They clinched. Carvalho got in a couple of knees. Schilling landed a short elbow. Schilling started running his mouth into Carvalho's ear. Carvalho got in a knee and Schilling landed a strike at the horn.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Schilling. Close round, but Schilling did some more damage and had the nice sweep after his caught kick caused the takedown.

ROUND TWO: Carvalho missed a winging overhand right. Schilling dropped his arms and started taunting on the outside. Carvalho landed a push kick, but ate a punch. Carvalho clinched and drove Schilling to the cage. Schilling turned him around and landed some knees. He pushed Carvalho down. Carvalho pressed through and put Schilling on his back. Carvalho got a little offense, then tried to do some work on top. Schilling tried to escape, but Carvalho wound up passing to side control. Carvalho tried to attack for a kimura, but lost the hold. Schilling kicked off the cage to get to his knees, and used it to stand with a minute left. Carvalho tried for a takedown but got stuffed. He got in a knee to the body but couldn't get separation. The clinch stalled. More trash talking from Schilling close in the clinch, but he couldn't get his back off the cage. Lots of warnings from ref Mike Beltran but he didn't separate them before the horn.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Carvalho. Schilling let himself be controlled that round, and Carvalho was happy to play the stifling stall game with better position.

ROUND THREE: They came out swinging a bit, both landing. Schilling came I with a couple of strikes and a knee. Schilling rocked Carvalho with a right hand. He tried to engage but Carvalho clinched. That slowed things down, and then Carvalho scored a takedown. Missed opportunity for Schilling. He went for a heel hook He landed a couple of heels to the body. Carvalho got out of the attempted hold and got back on top. Schilling rolled to his knees. Carvalho landed some offense, then Schilling rolled through. However, he didn't get back to his feet, and Carvalho dropped back down to half guard. He passed over to side control. The crowd got restless as Carvalho held an arm down and landed some knees. Carvalho ended the round on top, and is probably going to win this one.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Carvalho. Schilling looked like he was going to stop it after landing that right hand, then got in close without engaging and cost himself the fight. Not a good one there.

WINNER: Carvalho via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

STAR RATING: (*) Surprisingly bad fight I.Q., an inadequate gas tank, and bad takedown defense all added up to the loss for Schilling.


MAIN EVENT FIGHT FOUR: WILL BROOKS VS. DAVE JANSEN (LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP)

ROUND ONE: Jansen threw a front kick to the body to kick things off. He drove Brooks back with some more kicks, but Brooks was mostly out of range. Brooks landed a solid right hand. Jansen kicked out Brooks' leg. Brooks got back up. He came forward and landed a solid kick to the body. Brooks landed a few strikes and avoided a rush. They traded big shots with Brooks getting the better of the exchange. Jansen came forward, landed a hard right hand, then grabbed a thai clinch. He got in some hard knees to the body as he drove Brooks to the cage. Jansen tripped out his leg and got in some more strikes before Brooks got separation. Good sequence for the challenger. Brooks landed a hard jab. Jansen drove in and connected on a body punch. Brooks landed an inside kick then scored with a few more strikes in combination. Brooks landed a hard kick to the body. He avoided a few strikes from Jansen. Jansen came in sqinging wildly, but didn't connect. He got a clinch and scored with some knees to the body and legs. Jansen tried for a throw, but got turned around on the cage. Brooks got in a knee to the body with an uppercut behind it. Brooks landed another uppercut as Jansen backed off. Brooks got in a big combination of knees and punches in a short clinch. He rocked Jansen again with another knee and a couple of uppercuts. He avoided a return rush. Jansen missed several strikes again and they clinched. They clinched tight and then Brooks scored a couple of strikes to separate. Jansen landed a right hand and missed a kick before the bell. Crazy activity in that round.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Brooks. Jansen did have some nice offense, but Brooks got in several big combinations and did some significant damage.

ROUND TWO: Note: had a sudden power outage here and missed much of round two. Catching up into round three, but from what I saw late the second seemed to be Brooks' round.

ROUND THREE: Brooks came out with some body kicks. Brooks fired a hard head kick that was partially blocked. He got in a spinning back kick to the body. Jansen closed the distance and clinched. They jockeyed for position. Jansen grabbed for a standing guillotine, but Brooks got free and landed a hard knee. Brooks landed several strikes in a row. Brooks landed another combination. Brooks landed 50 strikes the last round based on a graphic shown, yeah, likely his. Brooks snuck behind Jansen and took him down. Jansen scrambled and worked to his feet, eating a hard knee to the body. More clinch work, with Brooks landing some solid strikes. Jansen missed an elbow and ate a right hand. He connected on a body kick and some other body strikes. Jansen shot in, but Brooks landed some short strikes and stepped free. Brooks landed a hard right hand, then sprawled on a takedown attempt. Jansen's face bloodied up. Something happened to Brooks' right eye and things were stalled. On replay, a clear, unquestioned eye poke from Jansen. They restarted. Jansen landed a body punch. Brooks landed a knee. He got in a hard jab. Jansen swung and missed on several strikes. Brooks landed a body kick. Brooks with a jab. Jansen got in a body kick, but missed a few other strikes. Brooks got in some knees and a hard right hand, then got in another knee to the body at the bell.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Brooks. Jansen's just missing a lot of what he's throwing here, while Brooks is finding a home for a lot more of his offense.

ROUND FOUR: Jansen threw out a kick, then a short punch. Brooks fired back with a combination. Brooks landed a hard inside leg kick. Jansen shot in for a takedown, but Brooks nicely kept his balance and stuffed it on the cage. Jansen stayed on it, but Brooks continued to hold off the attempt. Jansen threw hammerfists to the legs. He landed a hard foot stomp. They were separated as Jansen wasn't trying to improve his position. Brooks landed a hard combination, ending with a knee to the body. He got in a few more hard strikes and sprawled on a takedown attempt. Brooks with an uppercut and several strikes behind it before Jansen tried to tie him up. Jansen again tried to attack for the standing guillotine but Brooks easily popped his head free. Brooks landed some short strikes in combination. He landed a hard knee, then a big right hand. He followed with more strikes and it was tied up again. Lots of activity from Brooks in the clinch. He backed off, but came straight ahead with another combination. He clinched as Jansen was bleeding from the bridge of his nose now. Jansen got separation but his strikes were blocked. Brooks got in a step-in knee to the face, then clinched again. Brooks landed some strikes in combination. Jansen tried to fire some off. Brooks with another big combo. Jansen landed a strike. Brooks got in a head kick. Jansen with a clinch, he ate a knee, landed a foot stomp, and grabbed for a headlock at the bell.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Brooks. He's so active with his strikes, and he's doing tons of damage in the clinch and in those close exchanges.

ROUND FIVE: Jansen tried to move in with strikes, but missed them. Brooks with a combination and it was in to a clinch. Brooks landed several punches to the body. The clinch battle continued with both throwing punches and knees. Brooks again was busier. Jansen briefly snuck behind Brooks, but Brooks turned back into him. They were warned to work as things stalled out a bit. They finally separated. Brooks landed a combination again on Jansen. They clinched again. Much slower round at the moment than the last four. They traded knees. Brooks got in several punches. Jansen threw out one. They were separated with a minute and a half left. Brooks came ahead with a short combo and it was right back to the clinch. Brooks got in a few strikes after separating. Jansen got in a body kick and it was back to the clinch. Brooks landed a couple more as Jansen circled out. Jansen landed a body kick. Brooks shot in and scored a late takedown. Brooks landed some strikes on the ground as Jansen tried to scramble through to the bell.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Brooks. He tired out for that final round, but that was still very much in control of the round.

WINNER: Brooks via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)

STAR RATING: (***-) Tons and tons of activity through the first 20 minutes, brought down a bit by the dull final frame. Still, clear win for Brooks to defend the title.

-That's the card for tonight, thanks for following along! We'll be back in the morning for coverage of the UFC Fight Night 64 event on UFC Fight Pass.