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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Bellator was once again pre-empted here in the Twin Cities area due to a Minnesota Twins game, but thankfully Alvin Carter was cageside for MMATorch tonight and provided his live event report. With all of the action from the event covered by him earlier tonight, I'll again simply focus on the fights themselves for this report. Let's get to the action.
FIGHT ONE: CAREY VANIER VS. TOBY IMADA (LIGHTWEIGHT SEMIFINAL)
ROUND ONE: Both fighters come out to the center and Vanier lands the first blow with a straight left. He pops in with another one and lands a nice leg kick. Imada continues to walk Vanier down and then sprawls nicely when Vanier shoots in. Vanier stays on Imada to the cage and completes a takedown into side control. He tried to pass but Imada scrambled and got to his feet. Vanier landed a nice high kick that got partially blocked. He landed a good straight kick. Imada continued to walk him down. Vanier pushed him back with another left and then got in again with it. Imada is still the one pressing but he's not landing much. Imada missed a right and Vanier got him down after both fighters slipped. Imada grabbed a hold of Vanier's leg and Vanier tried to pass. Imada went for a knee bar but Vanier rolled out and got to his feet. Vanier got a takedown to full mount and landed a couple of punches. Imada controlled his body and moved to half guard. They scrambled and Imada got back to his feet. Vanier landed a couple of good knees and they both swung punches at each other. Vanier got Imada's back standing and suplexed him to the ground, but Imada grabbed a kimura and got to his feet. Imada landed a couple of punches. Vanier tried to shoot but went nowhere. Vanier is getting very tired here. Imada swung Vanier around against the cage and landed a knee. Vanier landed a knee and an uppercut. Imada separated with a good combo. Vanier landed a left late. Imada landed a big right as the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Vanier. He won the round but he doesn't appear to have much left. Imada may take this fight over in the second.
ROUND TWO: Vanier tried to land a high kick. Imada walked him down and landed a good leg kick. He sprawled as Vanier shot in and he landed a knee to the head as he got to his feet. Vanier walked around the outside and landed a couple of straight punches. Imada landed a right and continued to press. Vanier landed a good leg kick. Imada landed a right to the shoulder. Imada landed a good lef kick of his own as he continued to press forward. Vanier landed a left. They traded leg kicks. Imada got in a good combination. Imada landed a knee. He rolled to the ground and wrapped up Vanier's leg in an awesome sequence. Vanier tried to roll out and Imada landed a punch from between his legs. Vanier rolled and got top position, but Imada swept and turned him around. Imada got to side control. He stepped up and over and grabbed for an armbar. Vanier valiantly tried to roll out again and Imada locked on the armbar and Vanier tapped. Excellent stuff from Imada.
WINNER: Imada via armbar at 3:33 in the second round.
STAR RATING: (***) That was just a fun, fun fight. The first round had a lot of technical work on the ground, a nice suplex from Vanier and some stalemate stuff on the ground, and Imada pulled off a beautiful sequence in the last minute to get that submission.
FIGHT TWO: ROGER HUERTA VS. PAT CURRAN (LIGHTWEIGHT SEMIFINAL)
ROUND ONE: Huerta lands a leg kick and Curran responds with one of his own. Curran lands a high kick that grazes Huerta in the face. Curran lands another leg kick. Curran with a straight kick. They trade kicks. Curran landed a big body kick and Huerta tried to clinch and bring him to the cage. Curran separated and broke free. Curran landed another leg kick. Another straight kick from Curran. Huerta's starting very slow here. Curran lands a big body kick. Huerta with an outside leg kick. Another straight kick from Curran. Curran backed off from some kicks thrown by Huerta. Huerta lands a leg kick. Curran has a high kick blocked. Huerta slips and hits the ground but pops right back up. Curran lands a couple of kicks and Huerta clinches and brings it to the cage. Curran lands a couple of knees. Curran is doing a good job against the cage and holds off the takedown attempt. Curran landed a good knee. Huerta got in one of his own. Huerta with a couple more knees. Curran breaks free with a right. He lands a push kick to the face. Huerta catches a kick and lands a combo. Curran lands another kick and the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Curran. Huerta just didn't do much in that round, while Curran continually landed kicks to the leg and body.
ROUND TWO: Huerta came out more aggressive right off the bat, landing a few kicks and pressing Curran to the cage with a clinch. He tried for a takedown and landed some punches to Curran before Curran broke free. He threw a high kick and it was blocked. Huerta lands a few kicks to the lead lek of Curran. Some more land from Huerta. Huerta pushes Curran off briefly with a couple of jabs. Curran lands a push kick. Huerta with another kick. Huerta with a hard kick to the body. Huerta continues to land kicks to the lead leg of Curran. Huerta gets in with a left hook. Curran with another push kick. Curran lands a right and Huerta counters with a combo. Huerta walks Curran down. Curran clinches but Huerta separates with a combo. Huerta lands another combo. Curran lands a good right as Huerta pushes forward. Huerta held off a takedown attempt and then came right at Curran with a combo. Huerta landed a good jab.Huerta landed a few more rights as Curran clinched. Huerta pushed him to the cage. Huerta went for a single leg but couldn't get it. He landed a left and kept Curran's back on the cage. Curran landed a knee. Huerta landed a few knees to the thigh of Curran. Curran went for a standing guillotine but Huerta pushed him off. Curran had a high kick blocked. He landed a quick right as the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Huerta. He was much more aggressive and had a much better round there. This is anyone's fight at this point.
ROUND THREE: Huerta came out with some jabs early and landed a body kick. Curran pushed him off with a kick and landed another kick to the body. Curran landed a combo. Huerta with a leg kick. Huerta missed a left and pushed Curran to the cage. He landed a knee in the clinch and some punches to the thigh of Curran. Curran landed some hard knees to the body. Huerta stayed on him against the cage. Curran with another knee and then he landed a combo to break free. Huerta landed a big kick to a sore looking lead leg of Pat Curran. Curran landed a soft combination. Curran with a high kick. Huerta pushed forward and tried for a takedown but Curran held it off. Curran landed a push kick. Huerta continues to press here halfway through the round. Curran lands a combo. Huerta pushes forward and Curran lands another combo. Curran landed a knee in a clinch. Huerta lands a left. Huerta pushes forward and they trade punches. Curran pushed forward and landed a knee. Huerta got Curran's back standing and got a takedown. Curran stood up and pulled off a switch. He landed a knee as they got to their feet. They clinched in the center of the cage with a minute left. Curran got a trip takedown against the cage. Huerta got back to his feet, however. Curran landed a short combo. Huerta pushed in and tried to land a combo. Curran landed a punch. Huerta pushed forward again. They trade punches. They're both trading punches again and the round ends. Extremely tough round to score, that could go to either fighter.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Curran. Huerta was pressing the action but Curran was getting the better of their exchanges. Both negated the takedown of the other in that round, but this could go either way. This was not Huerta's best performance tonight.
WINNER: Curran via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
STAR RATING: (**+) That's a hell of an upset by Pat Curran. Roger started really slow in this one, and just didn't do enough to sway the third round his way. He's going to be kicking himself for this performance, as he cost himself a big payday for the tournament final and a big fight against Eddie Alvarez in season three. I'm shocked by how that played out, but the Curran-Imada final is going to be a great fight.
FIGHT THREE: EDDIE ALVAREZ VS. JOSH NEER (CATCHWEIGHT SUPERFIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Alvarez bounced around the outside. Alvarez got in close and landed a couple of punches in the clinch. They got into the clinch again and Alvarez pushed Neer to the cage. He landed a couple of short elbows as he separated. Alvarez landed a good combination as Neer pressed forward. Neer landed a knee. Alvarez grabbed a single leg and tripped Neer for the takedown. Alvarez pushed Neer to the cage in his guard. Alvarez landed a couple of big right hands. He stood and ate an upkick before dropping back down. Alvarez postured up and landed a big right and dropped back to the guard. Alvarez got a warning for holding the fence. Alvarez stood and moved to side control but Neer got it back to his guard. Alvarez landed a couple of punches. He landed some more big punches to the body and continued to rain down punishment in Neer's guard. Alvarez stood and landed a straight right to the face. Alvarez passed beautifully to the mount and landed some big strikes. Neer gave up his back but bucked Alvarez off of him as he rolled. He got in Alvarez's guard but Alvarez scrambled and got back to his feet. Neer got in close and Alvarez took him to the ground. Alvarez landed a couple of punches and moved to side control and got the mount. He landed a few punches as the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-8 Alvarez. He dominated that round and kept Neer on his back for most of the frame. Good stuff from the Champ here.
ROUND TWO: Neer landed a leg kick early. He lands another as Alvarez pushed in and went for a takedown. Neer went for a kimura but Alvarez shook it and stayed on Neer on the cage. Neer got back to his feet and got separation. Alvarez pushed in and landed a nice elbow to Neer. Neer got separation. Alvarez got another takedown and landed a big right hand. Alvarez landed some more good shots and then took Neer's back and locked on the choke as Neer got to his feet. Neer did not submit and crashed face first to the floor as he went out cold. Hell of a fight by Alvarez.
WINNER: Alvarez via technical submission (rear naked choke) at 2:08 of the second round.
STAR RATING: (***) Alvarez was awesome in this fight. His ground and pound was very impressive and that was just a brutal submission finish. Neer was standing with Alvarez choking him out and he crashed and burned hard as he went unconscious.
FIGHT FOUR: COLE KONRAD VS. PAT BENNETT (HEAVYWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Bennett landed an early jab. Konrad's not in great shape here, and he's got a bit of a Roy Nelson thing going on. Bennett landed a jab and Konrad got in with a body lock. He completed the takedown with a nice trip. He got to half guard. He landed a couple of short forearms and some punches to the body. Konrad lands a left and some more body punches. Konrad landed a forearm and Bennett got to guard. Konrad postured up and landed a couple of punches. He continued to land strikes and then passed to half guard again. Bennett tried to kick Konrad off of him but Konrad stays on and continues to land punches. He's definitely doing damage as Bennett is bleeding from the nose. Konrad gets to the full mount and Bennett gives up his back. Bennett scrambled and Konrad stayed on him and got back to the mount. Konrad was landing punches and the referee briefly halted the bout to put Bennett's mouthguard back in. Konrad continued to rain down punches until the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-8 Konrad. Bennett was on his back the whole round and Konrad was blasting him with punches from the mount for nearly the entire last minute.
ROUND TWO: Konrad landed a couple of early rights and pushed Bennett to the cage. Bennett landed a knee to separate. He looks almost like a light heavyweight compared to Konrad here. Konrad landed a couple of jabs, but the action has slowed considerably. Konrad missed a big punch. Bennett lands a jab. Konrad landed a left and got in with a clinch. Bennett tried to stay on his feet as his back was put on the cage. Bennett did a great job of holding off the takedown attempt from Konrad and got separation. Both of these guys are gassed here already. This is reminiscent of the fights in the TUF 10 house. Konrad landed an overhand right. They got in close with a clinch and Konrad landed a knee. Konrad landed a big right. He got in a nice left hook. Konrad threw one of the more awkward straight kicks that's ever been thrown in MMA. Bennett landed a left. He again went for the awkward kick to the leg. Konrad got in with a right as the crowd booed the ending of the round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Konrad. Not a whole lot going on there, but Konrad connected on some hard punches to Bennett, while Bennett didn't do much outside of holding off the takedown attempts.
ROUND THREE:Bennett landed a leg kick early. Bennett pulled off a spinning back kick and came forward with a combo. Bennett landed another leg kick. Konrad pushed forward and landed a combo before clinching and pushing Bennett to the cage. Konrad landed a couple of knees and a foot stomp> Bennett got separation and landed a good combo. He landed a knee. Bennett is cut over his left eye pretty bad. Konrad grazed him with another right. Konrad missed the big right. Bennett landed a punch. Konrad clinched but Bennett separated. Bennett landed a knee as Konrad failed on another takedown attempt. They're just standing around here. The crowd is booing the lack of action. Konrad missed another big right and Bennett countered. Konrad through a half-assed push kick. Konrad landed the right and then a jab. Another jab from Konrad. Bennett landed a kick. Konrad got in with the right again. Bennett cracked him with a right. Konrad missed the looping right again and then landed a left. Bennett landed a left as the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Konrad. Not much going on there again, as both fighters were completely gassed, but Konrad again landed more and did more damage.
WINNER: Konrad via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-28)
STAR RATING: (**-) Well, that was certainly a fight between two guys with a combined three professional bouts, but the hype train on Konrad will still slow a bit. It just wasn't a great performance, and he was a bit out of shape. Still, it was only his third career fight, and as a young up and comer he's got plenty of time to improve. He'll need to drastically improve his cardio if he's going to participate in a heavyweight tournament later this year, as three fights over 12 weeks is not going to be an easy task.
Well, that's another event in the books! We had a big upset from Pat Curran, some great action from Toby Imada and Eddie Alvarez, and then an expected but slightly disappointing bout from Cole Konrad. Next up is UFC 113 on Saturday night!
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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