Paid Members Egg Shen Posted April 11, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted April 11, 2022 (edited) I know on weekends when the UFC and Bellator have shows there can be a debate as to which one is stronger. This weekend these is no debate, Bellator's offering smokes the UFC card, this is the MMA show to watch...note, they are on different nights. Live on iPlayer, Friday night... Main Card: Antonio McKee vs. Patricio Pitbull - Featherweight Title Fight Vadim Nemkov vs. Corey Anderson - Light Heavyweight Title/Grand Prix Final Aaron Pico vs. Adli Edwards Tim Johnson vs. Linton Vassell Prelims: Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov vs. Rafael Carvalho Tyrell Fortune vs. Rakim Cleveland Kyle Crutchmer vs. Michael Lombardo Rhalan Gracie vs. Tyson Miller Gaston Bolanos vs. Isaiah Gonzalez Theo Haig vs. Alan Benson Laird Anderson vs. JT Donaldson Socrates Hernandez vs. Rogelio Lima Bobby Seronio III vs. Calob Ramirez That's how the card is structured according to the Bellator website. Don't know if it'll change or they a presenting this Showtime Boxing style as a true MMA Double-header with extra anlysis and a that kind of thing. The two title fights here are as good as Bellator can present. In the 205lb fight I think Bellator can rightly make a claim that the winner is the best 205lb fighter in the world, in any promotion. Then in the Featherweight fight, they have Antonio McKee who is Bellator's real true breakout star, McKee has crossover appeal and Bellator have to be banking on him winning again here (though a trilogy is a certainty if he loses). As a feud, series, fight it's as good and relevant as Bellator has ever put on. I'll add some more thoughts and prelim notes in the week, just wanted to get the thread up. Edited April 17, 2022 by Egg Shen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted April 12, 2022 Author Paid Members Share Posted April 12, 2022 full press conference/pre show type thing on location. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted April 12, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted April 12, 2022 Shit this is this week? Completely passed me by. McKee vs Pitbull 2 is gonna be class. That on its own pisses all over this week’s UFC offering for me. Really, really hope Nemkov batters that Beastin 25/8 pillock as well. Get that date changed in the thread title @Egg Shen, genuinely made me think this was still a month away! 🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted April 12, 2022 Author Paid Members Share Posted April 12, 2022 oh shit yeah, it's April! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted April 13, 2022 Author Paid Members Share Posted April 13, 2022 Card updated* There will be a 4 four fight main card. Johnson/Vassell as well as Aaron Pico fighting Adli Edwards which has been added late. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zebra Kid Mark Posted April 13, 2022 Share Posted April 13, 2022 Great addition to the main card with Aaron Pico on there. That has improved the card massively. Bellator need to sort out their social media advertising, this card has barely come up on my feed. The only traction I've seen are a few clips of AJ saying Bellator has a better BW division than the UFC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted April 15, 2022 Author Paid Members Share Posted April 15, 2022 all set! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zebra Kid Mark Posted April 15, 2022 Share Posted April 15, 2022 Why does Coker look confused and shocked in everyone of those photos? Has anyone seen Pico's opponent before? Are they feeding him an easy win or does the guy have a good record? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted April 15, 2022 Author Paid Members Share Posted April 15, 2022 Not seen him but he's coming in as a late replacement, 9-1 and recently won on the XMMA 4 show. The odds tell you that Pico should have little issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted April 15, 2022 Author Paid Members Share Posted April 15, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted April 15, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted April 15, 2022 Gone with McKee and Nemkov in the poll. I’m a fan of both the main eventers but I never root against Pitbull so I’m slightly pulling for him. Plus that would lead to a trilogy decider down the line and that’s no bad thing! I’ve got a feeling McKee’s got his number though. The first fight ended so quick we didn’t get a proper read on how their styles really match up but I think McKee is gonna cause him problems regardless. I hope we get a longer fight this time though. I think everyone went in expecting a war last time and it was all done and dusted in 2 minutes. A spectacular performance from McKee but it did feel a bit anti-climatic. My Nemkov pick is part what I’m expecting but mostly what I’m hoping for just because fuck Corey Anderson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfogg1991 Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 Fucking hell when everything is stacked in bellators favor to go out and really show what they can be for MMA and a strong number 2 company in the world it just goes to absolute shit. Because of what happened in the co main and the main event its taken away from how great the Pico vs Edwards fight was, Edwards coming in on just 2 weeks notice to face Pico and that kid had heart and took a total beating, however I think he gained alot of respect and notoriety from the mma world tonight. Okay the co main was a fucking disaster in probably the worst way possible, this isn't just a title fight this is a fight for 1 million dollars so the stakes are potentially life changing for both fighters in that cage. I had Anderson winning 2 rounds to 1 until that accidental headbutt, Anderson literally told the ref and the ref originally said keep fighting, Then he decided shit no maybe not with 3 fucking seconds left in the round which would have given us a clear and decisive winner......but nope he called it 3 seconds before which meant no one won, the million dollars wasn't claimed and the champion retained. This is the worst case scenario and instantly pissed the crowd off so that put even more pressure on the main event delivering to bring it back for bellator. And then the main event happened and I was shocked how fucking bad it was. They both were so cautious about pushing forward to the point there was about 10/13 minutes where they both stayed in in middle and did nothing. I really like pitbull but he did not look good here and did not deserve to get the unanimous decision and the belt after this outing. So with 2 huge fights that had alot of buzz and stakes both of them fucking failed and left a black cloud over the company when they really could have showed the MMA world what they can do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zebra Kid Mark Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 I kind of disagree, I haven't read any of the reviews or Twitter comments but I don't think it was that bad of a display from Bellator. Obviously there cash cow losing is not great but I don't think it would have soured anyone of the product. The ending of the co-main just sets up a very obvious rematch where they can headline a show. The underdog was coming out on top so it now makes the rematch all the more interesting as we can now see it wasn't as one-sided as the bookies made out. I felt sorry for Anderson when he found out he hadn't won the title or the cash but why was he surprised? He knew it was a clash of heads that caused the stoppage and he was very vocal and honest about that so why did he think he won the fight? I look forward to seeing the rematch headline another show but thankfully this wasn't how the night ended. The main event wasn't a barn burner but it was always gripping and extremely even, I was never bored watching it and Bellator have another ready made main event coming out of it. I don't think AJ had a clear next challenger coming out of it so Bellator are now going to be able to make another main event with a lot of intrigue. I noticed UFC commentators never give predictions of who they think will win during pre fight analysis and I can see why now. John McCarthy predicted AJ was going to win and he was unbearable with his praise for him during the fight. He seemed to ignore everything good that Pitbull was doing and scored the fight 4-1 to AJ. He quite clearly had an agenda whilst calling the fight and it was worse than anything Rogan has ever done. Aljo going in on him this week has now validated everything Sterling said. I had it 3-2 to AJ but it was razor close, it could have gone either way. Pico looked great. I'd love to see him avenge one of his loses and then get him in the title picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted April 17, 2022 Author Paid Members Share Posted April 17, 2022 (edited) I'll be honest, my jaw dropped when i heard that decision read. I had 48-47 for AJ, but when the the first score was read and it was gonna be a unanimous decision I thought AJ had won. I dont think it was a robbery or anything and maybe Pitbull was the rightful winner, i just didn't think he'd get the nod in those close rounds. It wasn't a classic, but it was nip & tuck and kept me on the edge of my seat. It's a reality check for McKee though who seems to have been getting ahead of himself in terms of where he stands in the MMA landscape. For the most part I don't think he looked great, he's gangly and pretty unconventional. He throws his combos so fast he almost looks uncoordinated, its an odd style. Corey Anderson was well on his way to beating Nemkov, Corey looked great. Nemkov is known to fade and a cardio machine like Corey would have dominated those last 2 rounds. The headbutt was clear though and it was right call. Guess they run it back. Aaron Pico looks the finished article now. I know he's fighting limited opposition but if he fought Pitbull next i honestly think i'd pick Pico. Vassell/Johnson was a sloppy superbowl opener too. Johnson did the ol' Lesnar-on-Herring tackle and split his dome wide open. Good opener. I think its about time Linton Vassell started getting some props. Edited April 17, 2022 by Egg Shen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted April 17, 2022 Author Paid Members Share Posted April 17, 2022 On 4/16/2022 at 7:46 AM, Kfogg1991 said: Because of what happened in the co main and the main event its taken away from how great the Pico vs Edwards fight was it wasn't a great fight, wasn't even a good fight, it was a legalised beating. Pico battered Edwards. Pico is the probably the best body puncher in MMA too. Edwards is beyond tough though, hopefully Bellator cut him a break next time oug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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