Hyden's Take
HYDEN BLOG: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from WSOF 23 and Bellator "Dynamite 1"
Sep 23, 2015 - 12:05:21 PM HYDEN BLOG: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from WSOF 23 and Bellator "Dynamite 1"

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By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributor

WSOF 23 and Bellator "Dynamite 1" both took place this past weekend. Let's get to the rundown.


WSOF 23

GOOD: Brian Foster stops LaRue Burley

Not much to this, as Foster blasted Burley and got the stoppage within thirty seconds or so. It was sloppy, but fun and Foster picked up a good win.


BAD/GREAT/UGLY: Phoenix Jones submits Roberto Yong

This fight had a finish that was simultaneously the greatest and worst thing I've ever seen in MMA. Jones and Yong were having a bad fight that was on the same level as beginners in a dojo when Jones got Yong in a North-South head scissors...and Yong tapped. I'll just let that lay there. Some dude tapped to a head scissors. This was horrible, but also awesome at the same time. You want to look away because it's so bad but you can't do it, you have to watch it.


UGLY: Timur Valiev vs. Tito Jones

What a garbage fight. Neither guy did much of anything. Just an absolute embarrassment for the fighters, WSOF, and the fans. I'm pretty sure Valiev won the decision but I don't care enough to check for sure. (Note- that's a joke, Valiev won the decision)


GOOD/GREAT: Dave Branch submits Teddy Holder

Branch is now a two-division champion in WSOF. That's just awesome. Branch, who came in as the Middleweight Champion, took care of business quick to become WSOF's first Light Heavyweight Champion. He got the submission about halfway through the first round, and though the fight itself was GOOD, it's the two-division champ part that's GREAT for me. I just love this kind of stuff. It's very rare to see this happen and I'm always ready for some rare stuff.


GREAT: Justin Gaethje stops Luis Palomino

Not the most technical of fights, but this was extremely entertaining. Some of the shots that these guys were taking were ridiculous, it's amazing they were able to keep going. Gaethje retained his WSOF Lightweight Title with this win, but you really have to applaud the effort of both guys here. They were both trying to win from the outset, that's what you love to see. Gaethje proved yet again that he's the kingpin of the division in WSOF. The power he has behind his strikes is just crazy. He's also got an ultra tough chin, but he really should work on his striking defense more. The shots he takes are going to add up and shorten his reign and career. Still, if you want excitement in WSOF, he's your man.


Bellator "Dynamite 1"

BAD/UGLY: Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal vs. Linton Vassell

Boring fight. You could tell that both guys didn't want to take any chances, considering the winner was supposed to fight later in the night. King Mo won the decision in a fight you forget about as soon as it's over. I don't want to go full UGLY, though, because I'm sure some of the tentativeness was due to the possibility of fighting again later in the evening. Still a really bad fight, though.


GOOD: Phil Davis submits Emmanuel Newton

Davis was just the better fighter. He fought smart, and took advantage of any opportunity he had. Nice win for him. He played it slow at first, then started taking Newton down and worked towards the submission. Very slow start, but then things picked up quickly.


GOOD: Keri Anne Taylor-Melendez vs. Hadley Griffith

This fight was ok. I haven't watched a lot of kickboxing lately but there was some decent stuff in here. There was nothing too explosive here, but things were solid. Taylor-Melendez won the decision.


GOOD: Paul Daley vs. Fernando Gonzalez

This was a better fight, but it did slow down considerably in the third round. Daley started very strong but then started to gas and had to settle for the decision win.


BAD/GOOD: Josh Thomson submits Mike Bronzoulis

This fight was pretty boring except for the nice finish. For the first two rounds Thomson seemed content to control Bronzoulis, then in the third round he woke up and submitted him. Weird and BAD fight, but a nice finish for Thomson.


GOOD: Saulo Cavalari vs. Zack Mwekassa

This one was pretty good. It had some bad spots, but they weren't a big part of the fight. Cavalari won the decision to close out the kickboxing portion of the evening.


GOOD: Phil Davis stops Francis Carmont

Somehow neither King Mo nor Vassell were healthy enough to compete again so Carmont stepped in, as he won earlier in the evening in the alternate fight. I don't get that as, quite frankly, that fight sucked. Neither King Mo nor Vassell did much of anything in their fight so I have no idea where their injuries came from. Anyhow, this was just like the earlier Davis win. There wasn't much going on for the first few minutes, then Davis revved up and finished things. In this case, he dropped Carmont with a left out of nowhere and followed up on the ground with a few more punches to force the finish. This is why Bellator brought Davis in. If he can keep up this level of fighting and continue to try for the finishes instead of decisions, it'll be well worth it for them.


GOOD: Liam McGeary submits Tito Ortiz

McGeary is the Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion and Ortiz the challenger. Ortiz controlled things early as he got McGeary down and worked some ground-and-pound. McGeary defended well, though, and never seemed to be in a lot of trouble. He ended up turning the tables on Ortiz as he locked on an inverted triangle from the bottom out of nowhere and got the submission late in the first round. Highlight win for McGeary, and a crazy way to end the evening. Very fitting way to close out the evening, though.


Comments and suggestions can be emailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com and you can follow me on Twitter at @hydenfrank