Bellator News

BJPENN.COM News - September 20, 2015

Diehard fans of mixed martial arts who have been dreaming of watching Fedor Emelianenko throw down in the octagon let out a collective groan when it was announced he would be fighting in a new Japan-based promotion on New Years Eve. On the bright side, “The Last Emperor” will be returning to the “Land of the Rising Sun” where PRIDE helped him make a name for himself! Check out what some of the biggest names in the mixed martial arts community had to say about Fedor’s return to action in Japan:

BJPENN.COM News - September 20, 2015

It was arguably one of the biggest events in Bellator history on Saturday night when the mixed martial arts promotion and GLORY joined forces for the first “DYNAMITE” event in California. The card featured a slew of matches including one night light heavyweight tournament and a light heavyweight championship bout featuring Liam McGeary and Tito Ortiz. Bellator Champion Will Brooks felt like he and other champions were left in the dark in favor of other fighters making their first appearance in the cage, jumping ship from the UFC. While fighters like Phil Davis, Fedor Emelianenko and Josh Thomson got some much-deserved airtime for their fantastic performances, home-grown talent Brooks wasn’t happy former UFC talent got all the attention. Brooks took to social media to voice his disproval:

BJPENN.COM News - September 20, 2015

There are moments in fighters’ careers that they will always remember. For kickboxers, it could be anything from signing with your first major organization to making your walk down to the ring in your first major fight in front of a major audience. Jose Palacios would like a second chance to make a first impression, however, as he will be remembered for busting his a** on his way to the ring in his second GLORY bout.

BJPENN.COM News - September 19, 2015

Bellator MMA put on one of the craziest nights of combat sports ever with ‘Dynamite 1’. We saw GLORY kickboxing and Bellator MMA going on throughout the night and saw some pretty wild fights. Perhaps most exciting was the light heavyweight tournament, which Phil Daivs ended up winning. King Mo was supposed to fight in the final but was injured, so alternate Francis Carmont stepped in. He got TKO’d by Davis in the first round.

BJPENN.COM News - September 19, 2015

First off, King Mo was injured an unable to fight in the final. Also, his opponent Linton Vassell was not cleared to fill in, so alternate Francis Carmont stepped in to fight Phil Davis. The fight didn’t last long. There was a feeling out process where both fighters sort of stayed patient and didn’t really throw much.

BJPENN.COM News - September 19, 2015

Just announced on the Bellator ‘Dynamite’ broadcast, Fedor Emelianenko will return and headline a new years eve event held in Japan. It is not a Bellator event, it’s the new promotion run by the former PRIDE boss and might feature some Bellator fighters on the card.

BJPENN.COM News - September 19, 2015

In basically the only GLORY kickboxing match that actually featured GLORY kickboxers, Saulo Cavalari took on Zack Mwekassa. Cavalari seemed to be the aggressor, landing some nice kicks to start the fight. The real action started in the second round. Cavalari came out with a bunch go heavy kicks to the body and leg. At one point it looked like Zack might have gotten hurt. He also dropped him with a big head kick, but that might have been more of a slip. They continued to scrap. Towards the mid point of the round the referee stopped it and took a point from Cavalari, for holding? That was weird.

BJPENN.COM News - September 19, 2015

Former UFC fighter Josh Thomson made his Bellator debut in front of his home crowd at Bellator ‘Dynamite’ against Mike Bronzoulis. These guys didn’t waste time getting after it. Both fighters got after it. They exchanged on the feet. Thomson almost landed a big head kick but it was blocked. Mike slipped and Thomson capitalized and got top control. He worked from top with Mike pressed on the cage. Thomson looked to transition to a better position. He made his way to full mount, with his legs triangled over Mike’s legs. From here Thomson couldn’t’ really posture up. Finally he gained normal full mount, but then the round ended. Good round for Thomson.

BJPENN.COM News - September 19, 2015

In the first GLORY kickboxing match of the main card, Keri Anne Taylor-Melendez took on Hadley Griffith. Melendez came out firing, landing leg kicks than a body kick. Early on, it was clear Melendez was the more aggressive fighter. While Griffith threw out soft jabs, Melendez was putting together quick and powerful combos. Yup, this was pretty lopsided. In the first it was all Melendez, basically beating the carp out Griffith who seemed stiff and wooden (that’s a Conor McGregor quote).

BJPENN.COM News - September 19, 2015

Phil Davis and Emanuel Newton fought in the second tournament fight, with the winner advancing to face ‘King Mo’ in the final. Both fighters came out and went through a feeling out process. Newton looked to land some of his spinning kicks. Davis stayed patient. Davis moved in as Newton threw a spin kick. Davis grabbed him and took him down. Newton was able to get up but Davis dragged him bad down. Right away Davis start working for a kimura. Newton got out and worked to he knees, with Davis on his back. Davis landed some punches on the ground. Newton was able to get to his feet, but not for long. They scrambled and Newton tried to grab a leg for a takedown but Davis got out and once again got his own. He had Newton’s back on the cage and started working for a kimura. Davis pulled guard and cranked it.

BJPENN.COM News - September 19, 2015

In the first fight on the main card ‘King Mo’ Lawal took on Linton Vassell in the night’s opening tournament fight. The winner of this would move on to face the winner of Phil Davis and Emanuel Newton. There’s no question Vassell is the massive underdog in this tourney going into it.

BJPENN.COM News - September 19, 2015

The first round most likely went to Gabe Carrasco. Joe Neal had issues with his footing and slipped on a few occasions. Carrasco stayed busy, and for the most part seemed to be the aggressor. In the second round Carrasco really came out on fire. He landed some nice body kicks early. Neal continued to slip almost every time he threw punch or got hit. He just didn’t seem to have his legs underneath him. Carrasco didn’t really look to take advantage of that though. Carrasco landed a few nice leg kicks. Eventually Neal shot in for a takedown. He pushed him to the cage. Carrasco was warned about grabbing the cage. They broke away. Neal really couldn’t do anything to get Carrasco out of his rhythm.