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We had live coverage this evening of this Bellator 15 event from our own Alvin Carter, who was in attendance at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., so this will just be my run down of the night's fights on the delayed Fox Sports Net broadcast.
FIGHT ONE: PATRICIO "PITBULL" FREIRE VS. WILL ROMERO (FEATHERWEIGHT QUARTERFINAL)
ROUND ONE: Both fighters tried to gauge the other's range early on. Romero missed a big right and they clinched briefly before Romero got out. Pitbull pushed Romero back to the cage, landed three good punches and dropped for a double leg and got the takedown. Pitbull stepped up and ate a couple of upkicks before going for a toe hold. He then transitioned to a heel hook. He let it go and went for the other leg. He got a heel hook on that leg and forced a scream and a tap from Romero. Impressive stuff from Freire. That is just a nasty move, and thankfully he let it go as soon as he heard the scream and knew he had the tap. No need for further unnecessary damage there.
WINNER: Freire via submission (heel hook) at 2:01 of the first round.
STAR RATING: (**+) The very technical stuff from Freire on the ground was quite impressive. He transitioned nicely to grab an open leg to exploit it, and even though it was quite short it was fun to watch. The Freire-Wilson Reis semifinal is going to be sick.
FIGHT TWO: JACOB MCCLINTOCK VS. RYAN THOMAS (WELTERWEIGHT QUARTERFINAL)
ROUND ONE: Thomas came forward first and landed some good kicks. He tags McClintock with a couple of punches and Jacob drags him to the cage. McClintock goes for a kimura as Thomas tries to take him down and he sweeps and gets on top. Thomas gets up to his feet and McClintock takes his back. He gets both hooks in and drags Thomas to the ground. He tries to work the position and Thomas nicely gets out of it and on top in McClintock's guard. Thomas postured up and landed some good shots. Thomas stays active and lands some punches to the body and the head. Thomas starts landing a ton of punches. He steps up and drops back down with another punch. He gets McClintock into a crucifix on the cage and unleashes a ton of left hand punches to the head. He is landing tons of punches and McClintock can't get out right now. He traps the arm again and lands a bunch more short shots. Thomas lets the position go and postures up again. McClintock tosses up for a triangle but can't lock it in. Thomas gets back on him with punches. He keeps unleashing punches and McClintock just covers up. Dan Miragliotta has finally seen enough and stops the fight! Thomas made the best of this second chance, there's no doubt about that.
WINNER: Thomas via TKO at 4:11 of the first round.
STAR RATING: (***-) That was a fast paced and fun fight to watch. McClintock tried to break loose but Thomas hung around relentlessly and kept landing punches. That was a great performance by Thomas, and now he's one step closer to a rematch with Ben Askren to avenge the unjust stoppage from last week's fight.
FIGHT THREE: DAN HORNBUCKLE VS. TYLER STINSON (WELTERWEIGHT QUARTERFINAL)
ROUND ONE: Stinson lands an early punch and Hornbuckle comes back in with a short combo. Stinson eats a punch and then lands a knee. They trade punches near the cage and then kicks to the body. Hornbuckle lands a right and Stinson lands a left. Hornbuckle shoots in but Stinson holds him off and gets to north-south. Hornbuckle pulls to guard and goes for an armbar. Stinson gets out of it but then Hornbuckle gets a tight triangle locked in. Stinson lands a right and tries to hold off from the tap. Hornbuckle stays with it and holds on tighter, forcing the tap from Stinson. Good stuff from Hornbuckle.
WINNER: Hornbuckle via submission (triangle choke) at 2:03 of the first round.
STAR RATING: (**+) Awesome submission after a good effort from Stinson. He gave it his all in this big break opportunity for him, but Hornbuckle was just way too good off his back.
FIGHT FOUR: BRETT COOPER VS. STEVE CARL (WELTERWEIGHT QUARTERFINAL)
ROUND ONE: Carl walks Cooper down right off the bat and shoots for a single leg immediately. Cooper held off the takedown attempt and turned Carl over. He picked him up and slammed him nicely. Carl tries to keep Cooper negated in his guard. Cooper tries to posture up but got pulled back to Carl's guard. He landed some good body punches but Carl is doing a good job of body control. Carl rolls through and as Cooper tries to get away he stays on him and gets a takedown himself. He postured up and landed a couple of punches and Cooper rolled to his knees. Carl sprawls Cooper and holds control with a headlock against the cage. He tries to transition to the back and Cooper tries to drag him to the ground. Carl moves back up to his feet and they separate. Carl walks Cooper down and lands a good combo. Cooper turns him around on the cage and drags him down with a single leg. Carl transitions and then gets another takedown of his own. He takes Cooper's back as he rolled to his knees. He nearly got a hook in but Cooper held him off until the bell. Very competitive first round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Carl. He was more effective when on top in that round, and with both getting a few takedowns his significant offense was just slightly better and earned him the nod.
ROUND TWO: Carl lands a couple of punches to start the round and Cooper counters well. Carl walks Cooper down again but eats a big shot from Cooper. Cooper gets in close and the jockey for position on the cage. Cooper separates with a good two punch combo. Carl walks Cooper down some more and eats a right for his troubles. He comes forward some more as Cooper tries to stave him off with leg kicks. Carl lands a good body kick. Cooper tagged him with a straight left. Cooper barely misses a combo and pushes Carl to the cage. He lands an uppercut and they clinch on the cage. Carl tried to trip him up but Cooper got loose. Carl went back to walking Cooper down and they trade punches. Neither is connecting flush here. Cooper lands a couple of leg kicks and an overhand right. Carl lands a right but eats a counter left. Carl keeps moving forward as Cooper circles the outside. Cooper lands a good punch. Carl shoots in and gets a takedown. Carl tries to lock on an inverted triangle as Cooper tries to get out. Cooper gets out and winds up on top in side control. Carl bucks out and gets back to his feet. Carl misses a big uppercut attempt. Carl gets in and lands a short combo. Cooper lands a leg kick. Carl clinches as the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-10. Man that was a close round. Both fighters landed punches on the feet and both did a near equal amount on the ground. I can see it being given to either guy, but it was too close to be decisive either way.
ROUND THREE: Carl gets in close immediately and they clinch.Carl lands a couple of kicks to the body. Cooper tried to get a takedown but Carl dragged him down. Cooper gets back up and lands a good combo. He gets in a big left hook that looked like it hurt Carl. Cooper stayed on him and took him to the ground. Cooper passed to side control and then got to the full mount. Carl bucked him off, got to his feet and tried to attack. Cooper landed a good left and Carl countered with a right. Carl lands a body kick. He dropped for a single leg and Cooper held it off. Carl tried to stay on him and Cooper held it off again. Cooper pushed forward with a right. Carl walked Cooper down again and ate a left. Cooper held off another takedown attempt. Cooper landed a good right. Cooper then shot in for a takedown and completed it. He landed some short shots to the body and head. Carl tried to throw his legs up for a triangle or an armbar. Cooper drops down with two big rights. He lands some more short punches. He's staying on him right now. Cooper with two big punches. He's got Carl hurting here. He finishes the fight in side control.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Cooper. That was an awesome final round for Cooper, but it's going to come down to the scores of that second round, as I've got it a draw after three. He did more to Carl in the third round than Carl was able to do to him all fight, though.
WINNER: Carl via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-38)
STAR RATING: (**+) Carl was given more credit for moving forward in that second round, but the crowd booed the hell out of the decision. Cooper beat the hell out of him in the third, but fights are not scored as a whole and he wasn't able to do enough in the second round according to two of the judges. It was very close and I can't complain about the decision based on the rules set forth for judging, but Carl was definitely the one worse for wear after that fight.
-That's another Bellator event in the books! Once again, make sure to check out Alvin Carter's live coverage from the event as well as his post fight press conference report, and get ready to join us Saturday night for live round by round coverage of WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber on Spike TV and pay-per-view!
ALERT: Every Tuesday night, listen to the MMATorch Livecast from 9-10:30 p.m. ET or listen now to the most recent shows by clicking here. Listen live this coming Tuesday as Jamie Penick, Rich Hansen, and Matt Pelkey discuss the latest MMA happenings. Online listen at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mmatorch or call into the show at 646-716-8090 to either just listen or participate.
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