Bellator General Discussion and Info

REDDzone · Post #81 » by **REDDzone** » Sat Mar 17, 2012 5:34 am

Very impressed with Brian Rogers. He wasn't going against an ncaa champ here but his defensive wrestling looked good, and he is a powerful dude.

Was surprised to see Vasilevsky, as a "sambo world champion" and longtime judo practicioner be seemingly outgrappled until his ground and pound took over. I hated how he grabbed the fence for 2-4 seconds as O'Donnel (who is a tough ass dude) tried to finish with a knee bar. Aside from that, good showing.

The weird throw-in Houston/Riggs fight honestly was kind of ridiculous. Its a good thing both were so technically deficient on the feet or else one may have gotten his head knocked off. Absolutely no defense at all, no bringing the hands back after strikes to protect themselves, no footwork, and no setting anything up. Haymakers in place of jabs. Its exciting though I guess.

Santos is a beast. He's pretty much Palhares in terms of frame. Good fight there, third round was a no brainer though.

Still really disappointed that bellator brought in Falcao. Dirty fighter, no other way around it. Was there a round where he didn't throw a punch/kick after the bell? Has anyone ever seen this guy fight without him throwing several illegal strikes? Doesn't matter what the announcers said, that knee was a good second after the first bell, and the ONLY reason he got punched after was because his opponent knew of his dirty tendencies and wasn't going to stand for it. Also tried a head kick with his opponent on the ground. Hope to see him ktfo soon.

Bernman · Post #82 » by **Bernman** » Sat Mar 17, 2012 4:14 pm

Houston's movement was a little off and he opted to stand and trade much more than usual, possibly because this was his first fight in a big organization. Taking a good wrestler like Riggs down a couple times was impressive, and Riggs couldn't last much time on the ground with a guy like Houston because his ground game is sick.

Houston seemed really dismayed by his performance afterward looking at him. As an intelligent guy he'll learn from this just like Anthony learned from his first fight in the UFC. He'll be a future star, trust me.

REDDzone · Post #83 » by **REDDzone** » Sat Mar 17, 2012 5:01 pm

Well he's fought strikeforce before, granted a challenger's card.

And his ground game definitely seemed impressive but he showed about as much defense on the feet / striking fundamentals as someone in Dana White's early boxercising classes. As you say he is a smart dude so hopefully he cleans it up, seems like a dude who would be easy to root for as well.

Post #84 » by **CPT** » Sun Mar 18, 2012 12:33 pm

Came away from this event very impressed by Rogers and Vasilevsky.

Knew what Falcao was bringing to the table, so not overly impressed, although I guess it was a good performance minus the dirtiness.

Not at all impressed by Santos. Good defense I guess, but he had barely any offense in the first two rounds, and he wasn't exactly pouring it on in the 3rd either.

Should be a good semi-finals though. I saw that the matchups are going to be Rogers-Santos and Falcao-Vasilevsky.

cowboyronnie · Post #85 » by **cowboyronnie** » Sun Mar 18, 2012 12:41 pm

Falcao must have had an injury or a bad weight cut (he was over), though. Falcao vs Cyborg.

cowboyronnie · Post #86 » by **cowboyronnie** » Sun Mar 18, 2012 12:45 pm

I can't say I believe in their MW division too much. Wasn't that impressed by anyone. But it's hard to gauge.

Bernman · Post #87 » by **Bernman** » Sun Mar 18, 2012 4:01 pm

CPT wrote:Not at all impressed by Santos. Good defense I guess, but he had barely any offense in the first two rounds, and he wasn't exactly pouring it on in the 3rd either.

He's went 13-0 without so much losing a fight on one judge's card, facing Brazilians with a winning record since the 2nd fight of his career, employing that same style. It's boring, but you can't argue with its effectiveness. He's unimpressive in the same way that Fitch and Maynard are unimpressive. But BFC did a smart thing by pairing him with Rogers in the semis. I think he's the one opponent in the tournament Santos can't pull that act against because of his defensive wrestling, reach, movement, and technique, and relative patience. I'm pretty sure Santos could have pulled off an l&p/wall and stall clinic against Vasilevsky. And I think he would have top controlled Falcao, who he's even more powerful than, and is short while coming in aggressive throwing combos.

Very strong MW division and semis. Looking forward to that next round.

REDDzone · Post #88 » by **REDDzone** » Sun Mar 18, 2012 6:36 pm

How do you guys see the rest of the tourney shaping up? I think Falcao/Vasilevsky is intriguing.

Bernman · Post #89 » by **Bernman** » Sun Mar 18, 2012 7:05 pm

Rogers over Santos - analyzed that one in my previous post
Falcao over Vasilevsky - Falcao won't be concerned by VV's punching power or lack there of, close the distance, and throw him to the ground if he's getting stuck with jabs and straight punches.

And Brian Rogers FOR THE WIN against Falcao. Rogers won't let Falcao be the aggressor like he prefers. He'll back Falcao up with a series of power shots, avoid the takedown with his strong TDD, and finish him like Maldanado did, twice.

REDDzone · Post #90 » by **REDDzone** » Mon Mar 19, 2012 12:34 am

I don't know about Rogers over Santos, but I definitely agree with the Vas/Falcao analysis. Vasilevsky didn't show me anything to demonstrate that he has finishing ability against a tough guy like Falcao.

Cammo101 · Post #91 » by **Cammo101** » Mon Mar 19, 2012 8:34 pm

I don't think Bellator's MW division is anything to write home about. Outside of Lombard, who is headed to the UFC, most of these guys would be on undercards in the UFC. They have a couple good prospects, but we will have to see how they pan. Santos did not impress me at all the other night.

Bernman · Post #92 » by **Bernman** » Tue Mar 20, 2012 2:27 am

Well I'm 9 for last 9 betting Bellator, 8 of those on dogs, 1 slight favorite. The lack of knowledge about Bellator's fighters is certainly good for my account. I just feel bad for them that they aren't recognized for what they are.

Chris Weidman, a fellow 185 pounder top prospect like the names we are discussing, under normal circumstances would be fighting in Bellator right now. He was set to sign until a main card spot opened up at what would be his UFC debut. The UFC was pretty desperate because there was only 1-2 weeks notice, so they offered it to him and 10k/20k instead of their normal 4k/8k at the time, and as they say the rest is history. This is the kind of 185 pounder Bellator showed they can lure. If he had wound up in Bellator as was originally planned, would he be regarded close to the fighter he is today and better than Hector Lombard sans beating him or even afterward (like many still don't consider Chandler better than Alvarez)? No effing chance!

Bernman · Post #93 » by **Bernman** » Fri Mar 23, 2012 12:31 am

Now Thiago Santos missed weight by 11 pounds! With a week extra to cut! I guess those rumors about him blowing up to around 300 were true.

How terribly unprofessional and self destructive of him. According to his Twitter account, he was this same weight all the way back in January, and said his intended goal was to come into the cage at 264 this time around. He missed that mark by 13 pounds, after an extra week of cutting. What a joke. He just screwed himself out of 100K, maybe Prindle out of a chance of it, and muddies the Bellator HW title picture even further. They might just have to make Prindle the default tourney champion now and give him 100K, after winning two fights against ho-hum competition.

Frankly, between this debacle, Ivanov literally being on life support, and Cole Konrad still not having defended his title since earning it in '10, they should just have one match ASAP between Prindle and Konrad for the amount of money that was originally going to be on the line, and just dissolve the division allowing Konrad to go to the UFC. If they have heavyweight fights they should just be features with guys on one-match contracts.

cowboyronnie · Post #94 » by **cowboyronnie** » Fri Mar 23, 2012 1:20 am

For guys cutting predominantly water weight, that extra week might screw their calculations. You've saturated yourself with carbs and potassium a week out in order to _gain_ water weight with the intent of flipping the switch and draining it in the last week. It's really complex and takes a lot of long-term preparations.

I don't know if that's the case here. But I think someone like Alves or that other guy from ATT, adding an extra week would be difficult. They practically have every calorie consumed and every calorie burned planned-out at the beginning of a camp.

REDDzone · Post #95 » by **REDDzone** » Fri Mar 23, 2012 2:17 am

Fat Monster.

cowboyronnie · Post #96 » by **cowboyronnie** » Fri Mar 23, 2012 4:29 am

That bout is off entirely. Even without the title/money, they could have gone ahead.

I'm not sure if it was vetoed by one of the fighters or not.

Really tough luck for Prindle. Dude is a sweetheart.

Cammo101 · Post #97 » by **Cammo101** » Fri Mar 23, 2012 5:29 am

Bellator is a mess this season. Every card is marred by these changes. Foster is now out of his tourney and the HW fight is off entirely. Why is it when Prindle can't make weight he gets an extra week, but when Santos can't the fight is off and Prindle is the winner?

Bellator is dropping the ball at the worst possible time for them. Their ratings have never been lower and they seem to be going out of their way to look amateur hour.

REDDzone · Post #98 » by **REDDzone** » Fri Mar 23, 2012 12:45 pm

Was the original issue that Prindle couldn't make weight? The report I read said it was just the flu, and the fight would have just been delayed, but due to the weekly show they were able to just re-schedule for the next week.

And cammo, do you really think it would make bellator look more professional if they delayed it another week so fat monster could make weight? Again, I've read conflicting reports on this, but would he have even made weight last week?

Starkiller · Post #99 » by **Starkiller** » Fri Mar 23, 2012 2:50 pm

Question, and I'll explain why I'm asking after it's answer, depending on the answer, but is Ron Sparks fighting anytime soon?

Bernman · Post #100 » by **Bernman** » Sat Mar 24, 2012 2:06 am

*spoilers*

Man, what an awesome night of fights in Bellator capped by one of the better fights this year anywhere in MMA. I didn't think Woodard would win, but I knew he was tough, had good power, and is very well-rounded. He's underrated. Been one of my faves since his debut against Vanier. And frankly he gave Chandler a tougher fight than Patricky did.

Kudos to Judo Rick Hawn. He KTFO a guy who was even with Ben Henderson through 2 rounds, undefeated otherwise, and is still an outstanding prospect. Hawn could be one to look out for at 155 now that he doesn't have sizable reach disadvantages to contend with.

Michel showed great technique and good enough TDD against Nazare to edge him. I thought he was going to get screwed.

And Weedman has always been super slick on the ground. If he fights smart, and gets it to the mat, I think he could beat 95% of fighters there. He was content to use his average stand-up at this level to bang with Lozano in his last fight.

Those who didn't see the prelims, you should check out Dave Jansen vs. Jacob Kirwan. That was a fun fight to watch as well.