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With Bellator once again airing late by tape delay here in Minnesota, and Alvin Carter covering the fights live for us last night, I'll just be giving some quick thoughts on the fights here with my star ratings for this debut show for season three.
FIGHT ONE: NEIL GROVE VS. EDDIE SANCHEZ (HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINAL)
FIGHT THOUGHTS: Grove looked excellent here. He physically manhandled Sanchez throughout the few minutes of action the fight contained, and I thought the referee was justified in his stoppage. Sanchez twice took his time getting back to his feet and was grabbing at his head. He had taken a ton of punishment and was saved from even more.
WINNER: Grove via TKO in the first round
STAR RATING: (**) It was an impressive beating, but it was a short fight without a spectacular finish. Still entertaining, though, and Grove looked good.
FIGHT THOUGHTS: I was impressed by Esparza and how she hung in there against a fighter that clearly had her outclassed. She showed a lot of heart in trying to go back and forth with Megumi in the first round, but Fujii was simply far too experienced and just too good for Esparza at this stage of her career. Fujii beat her to the punch and outgrappled her, though Esparza had a couple of sprawls and scrambles in the first. Fujii was great in the second round, first going for the kneebar and then grabbing the armbar as soon as she saw it. There's a reason she's 21-0.
WINNER: Fujii via submission (armbar) in the second round
STAR RATING: (**) This was an enjoyable fight to kick off the women's tournament. The armbar finish was slick and Esparza, despite being severely outmatched in her 4th career fight (she had her first pro fight in February), didn't look terrible at all as a late replacement.
FIGHT THREE: HECTOR LOMBARD VS. HERBERT "WHISPER" GOODMAN (MIDDLEWEIGHT SHOWCASE)
FIGHT THOUGHTS: I really have no idea why this fight was put together, and based on how it played out it never should have been. Goodman was a sacrificial lamb in this one, put in the cage to give Lombard yet another highlight win - which it was - but when he's got to defend his title later in this 12 week season I don't understand even giving him a chance to injure himself. He headhunted Goodman with winging punches from the onset, and he caught him early and put him out in violent fashion.
WINNER: Lombard via KO early in the first round
STAR RATING: (**-) This was such a mismatch it shouldn't have even been put together. Everyone knew what to expect, and it's exactly what was delivered. Right now, Lombard needs to be facing world class competition, because he can be a world class fighter. Goodman doesn't cut it.
FIGHT THOUGHTS: Aguilar put on a great performance on the ground here. She knew where she wanted to get it, brought the fight to the ground and continually looked for the arm triangle submission. After Alvarez broke free of one close attempt, it was impressive to see Aguilar stay on her and go right back to it. She finally locked it on late in the first round and forced the tap.
WINNER: Aguilar via submission (arm triangle choke) in the first round
STAR RATING: (**) Good technique and ground work from Aguilar in this fight. She put on a good show, and both quarterfinal fights here in this tournament were entertaining.
LOCAL FEATURE FIGHT: YVES EDWARDS VS. LUIS PALOMINO (LIGHTWEIGHT)
FIGHT THOUGHTS: This was a decent back and forth fight with the right fighter earning the correct decision. Edwards picked up his 38th professional win, and the longtime veteran looked pretty good against Palomino. It was a close fight, not dominating in any way, but I had Edwards doing enough to win the first and third, and arguably could have gotten the second round as well. Still, he earned it with two clear rounds and got the win.
WINNER: Edwards via unanimous decision (29-28 across the board)
STAR RATING: (**) It wasn't anything special, but it was an enjoyable fight.
This was a good start to Bellator's third season. The women's tournament got off to a very good start, and Neil Grove looked better than he has in a long time in the heavyweight division. Hector Lombard really should be moving up in the MMA world, he's not going to get anywhere fighting this type of competition. But this was an enjoyable show and it's nice to have fights back on Thursday nights, even if Fox Sports Net never airs them live here in MN.
RELATED STORY: BELLATOR 24 RESULTS: Carter's Live Report - Season Three Debut Show : [CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE]
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