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The following was sent in by Torch reader Kevin Seefeldt on the live Bellator experience at the Chicago Theater for last night's Bellator 14 event.
The lower level seats were probably not the place to be. Those in the balcony probably had a better view of the action given that i was about in the 17th row and couldn't see what was happening on the mat.
They have plans to come back to Chicago, but the Chicago Theater probably isn't the best place for them to come. The audience misses out on half the action and most likely won't be willing to pay the high price of admission for the next show.
The crowd was miserable. They showed more appreciation for the ring girls than most matches. Unless it was a fighter from Illinois the crowd was uninterested in the fight. Lots of boos and lewd comments were made during the fights, especially the women's fight. The one celeb i saw was siting across from me. Carlos Marmol, relief pitcher for the Chicago Cubs was in attendance.
The crowd was extremely disappointed with the early stoppage in the Ben Askren-Ryan Thomas fight, going as far as to boo the ref the next time he was in the ring. I have been to two UFC events in the past and watching this event live made Bellator seem very amateur.
The under card was dealt with after the main card, but a lot of people stayed because they wanted to watch Jeff Curran and the women fight. Overall I would give the event a "C" because the first few fights weren't active, the referee ruined one fight and the under card stole the show.
RELATED STORY: BELLATOR 14 RESULTS: Penick's round by round report on tape delayed event on Fox Sports Net: [CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE]
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