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Bellator MMA * General News Thread


Egg Shen

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Well, that was Tito Ortiz. He wasn't subtle, and was more than a bit daft. However, he was a massive part of the Western MMA boom. Bellator over did it with the praise, but there's no denying that some of the events he headlined - such as UFC 40 and UFC 66 - took the UFC to new areas commercially.

 

If Sonnen is to carry on, he needs to go back down to 185lbs. He didn't do much better than Shlmenko. I kind of wanted him to win. His act is old hat, but the pre-fight package proved he can still churn out some decent one-liners.

 

Elsewhere, Daley's knockout was brutal. Sportscentre worthy.

Edited by jimufctna24
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What first stood out to me was Chael's lesser physique; while still in good shape, it definitely reeked of a fella that's off the PEDs.

 

Anyway, I agree with jim. At 39 there is a very good chance Chael lacks the explosiveness that made his takedowns so incredible during his peak. Fighting bigger guys isn't going to help him. Him getting choked out by super old Tito is awful for Bellator, mind.

 

I've noticed a few are calling bollocks on the finish.

Edited by ColinBollocks
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Why is it that a lot of Bellator main events look fixed? Not that it was - but whenever I watch, I always feel short changed by their main events. Probably because they have so many out of shape veterans fighting when I occasionally watch.

 

Tito went for the RNC, and Chael even didn't try to stop it by peeling Tito's arms off or pushing up on Tito's elbow. Tito never even had it under the chin when Chael tapped. He essentially tapped from a lesser version of what Carmouche had Rousey in. Lame. Chael looked terrible.

 

Daly looked great though - wow.

Edited by herbie747
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Chael's face was going purple, and Tito didn't let go of the choke until Big John intervened. For me, that is enough proof that it wasn't fixed. Jimmy Smith also pointed out that the submission occurred early on in the fight. Tito was therefore fresh and had enough reserves to really put some power behind it. Chael being a blown-up Middleweight without his goodies probably helped.  Also as stated above, what would the upshot be of Chael losing? He's one of the fighters who Bellator are banking on for the immediate future. Tito is fucking off. 

 

I never feel short changed by Bellator's novelty attractions. My expectations are low. I just watch for the star power and nostalgia fix. I'll be tuning in for Fedor vs Meathead. I was never the biggest Fedor fan, but I hope he polishes off the man whose "cheese has fallen off his cracker" 

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Jimmy Smith is such a clown. During the prelims he was prattling on and on about one guy fighting for a draw as he probably lost the first round 10-8 due to the new rules. While his broader point about the new rules leading to more drawn fights is valid, nowhere in the new rules does it say that only one round in a fight can be scored 10-8, so even if you lose a round 10-8 it's still possible to win on points or, gasp, by stoppage.

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Finally got around to watching this, and I wasn't overly impressed by much bar Daley's flying knee. Ralek looked shit, and Chael looked terrible. His after-fight presser made it look as though he seriously couldn't give a flying fuck at this point, and is only in it for the payday. All the chat about his promises to his dad in the build up and he performs like that?

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Luke Thomas is speculating he maybe had staph infection, which maybe goes someway to explaining why he was so bad. Chael is proper shady, though. It always seemed odd the UFC allowed him to join Bellator, seeing how much money he could potentially deliver for the promotion and is one of their better 'B' show options. I mean, they have no issues sticking a well past it BJ Penn out there.

Edited by ColinBollocks
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Being off the gas had to seriously play a part in his performance. Training for years aided by PED's compared to 3 years inactive, being 39 and trying to get back into fight shape without extra chemical help, the training camp must have hit him like a Scania heading downhill. It's payday city for him for a couple of more fights I think and then he'll have to call it a day as he definitely got old in this fight, and I don't expect he'll look much better in his next couple of outings.

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He'll probably still beat Wanderlei pretty comfortably. As depressing as that is for me to admit.

 

I think he'll be solely after name fights now before he finally does hang the gloves up for good. The Wandy fight is a no brainer. After that, they could do Chael vs Fedor. Even Chael vs Rampage, although I can't see Rampage being too enthusiastic about fighting someone like Chael who's going to be trying to 100% wrestle him. Can't really think of much else for him at this stage.

 

I do think Bellator is the best fit for him in 2017 though. I can't think of many fights I even want to see him in in the UFC now. At least in Bellator they have a few guys who are at the end of their career and he's got history with a couple of them. If he insists on fighting, I'd rather see him vs Wanderlei or Fedor than anyone in the UFC.

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All the chat about his promises to his dad in the build up and he performs like that?

Yeah, that reminded me a bit of Only Fools and Horses, just in reverse. "I remember what Mum said to me on her deathbed Rodney"  

 

Wanderlei is probably the most competitive and viable fight for Chael now. Rampage is a decent style match-up, but his tied up with King Mo. Plus as alluded to, would Rampage want to fight two wrestlers on the bounce? (3 if you include his first fight with Mo) 

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the main event was pretty good whilst it lasted, Chael didn't look in great shape but he was doing ok up until he tried a guillotine from his back. The last place he wanted Tito was on top of him, especially given the size difference, Bellator's main events are always rife with 'fix' chat buti didn't feel any of that here, Tito just got into a good position and squished Chael's head...if there's one quality Tito kept post-prime it's his strength and ability to choke people, people always say Tito is freakishliy strong and his chokes prove that.

 

Nice to see him get the mic time to lay down the gloves and stuff, it was pretty mushy but he deserved the spotlight.

 

Ward/Daley delivered as expected, Ward seemed to have every intention of standing but got cracked early and shot for a takedown...the finish was just spectacular. Daley has to have the best KO highlight reel in MMA ever.

 

Rest of the card was a bit of a letdown besides a good opener between Anderson & Campos.

 

Gracie/Kato was the expected mess of a fight it always promised to be, i just expected Kato to be a little more aggressive...the final round probably proved why he chose not to be though. Commentary were really ripping Gracie a new asshole.

 

Not sure what to make of King Mo/Rampage 2. That's purely a fight for the sake of it. Rampage looks like he's been tucking in.

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Yeah, I watched the press conference thing with Rampage and Mo and, while he's always been the type who balloons up between fights, I don't think I've ever seen Rampage this big. His face was the size of my fucking Sky dish. His head alone could probably make welterweight right now.

 

And Paul Daley is the man to beat for the next 11 months for KO Of The Year. The bar's been set high early.

Edited by wandshogun09
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