Post#23 » by Bernman » Fri Jan 18, 2013 10:25 pm
Bellator averaged 938,000 viewers. Could have went over a million but there was a drop off for the Petruzelli fight, naturally. They may have been able to get there if they changed the order. That's still a favorable start. I expected like 750-800. Then leveling off at 700-750. That still might happen. Bellator's MTV2 numbers were long skewed by simulcasting, airing on Fridays, going up against the UFC, etc. They were pulling 250+K their final season of non simulcast on MTV2, and it seemed like their popularity increased a bit from there, so maybe all told they were drawing more like 300 between MTV2, Epix, and Spike.com.
Patricio-Pat was a good, close fight. There's nothing for Patricio to be criticized about. He even got one of the 3 judges in his favor. I gave Curran a slight edge, but I expected a split. I'd like to see that fight again after Straus gets his shot, if Patricio is willing to wait until July or so. Curran was a sharpshooter and more aggressive than usual. Stock up a little bit in my eyes. Patricio is stock neutral. Talented muay thai guy with counter wrestling, which got him 2 of the first 3 rounds, but his cardio didn't hold up. That has been an issue in the past. He just needs to tweak that aspect of his game a little bit.
Michael Chandler is a beast. He's got a case for #2 WW in the LW division now with nobody stepping forward to claim that spot. Maynard hasn't had an impressive win in a while, Melendez is coming off a narrow win over a gimpy top 15 when healthy, Diaz' wrestling is garbage, and Pettis needs to beat Cerrone to jump into the conversation even. The quick shots, and transitions on the ground from Chandler were very impression. He moved into position and sunk in that choke quickly and viciously.
The rest of the fights were just alright. Zayats is a decent semifinalist. He would have beaten Vinny if that was a 3-round fight, but he was chinny against Vinny. Noe is a weak semifinalist. He's somewhat of a plodder with limited skills. Zayats should run through him unless he gets clipped again. Mo will ironically draw the next toughest guy in the tourney, Manny Newton. I don't remember the last time Newton didn't give someone a tough time. Arguably beat Jimmo, Vegh, and Prangley. Super strong dude, and durable. That's likely to be a 3 round striking fight that tests King Mo before the finale.
