Mixed Martial Thoughts: The Warren Stoppage, Bellator Heavyweight Finals, and The Verbal Submission
Last Friday, Bellator returned to action with the event being headlined by defending featherweight champion Joe Warren versus tournament winner Pat Curran. The fight ended in the 3rd round when Curran put Warren away with a vicious flurry to get the knockout.
Joe Warren has tried very hard to mold himself as some type of Chael Sonnen rip-off. He talks a lot of trash and even calls himself “The Baddest Man on The Planet”. I enjoy the outside of the ring/cage entertainment that we’ve been seeing lately. From Josh Koscheck telling fans he doesn’t care if he’s booed or not, to Chael Sonnen delivering WWE type promos, I get a genuine kick of it. Not when it comes from Joe Warren.
While you have to respect anyone who can achieve championship status, especially for an organization such as Bellator, Warren hasn’t been the dominant fighter you would expect him to be. Going into his title defense against Curran, Warren sported a 7-3 record and most recently lost via knockout in his natural 135 weight class versus an old Alexis Vila. His previous three fights prior to Vila? Two controversial decisions and a comeback win against Joe Soto in which he had been rocked.
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind had the referee stepped in while Warren was still on his feet as Curran was blasting him, that he would have argued the stoppage. The most impressive feat in the finish of the fight was Pat Curran’s endurance. He threw about 40 strikes and didn’t punch himself out. Try doing that at full force for 30 seconds and tell me you don’t appreciate what Curran did.
Speaking of Bellator…
This Friday they’ll finally be able to put an end to the Heavyweight tournament that ended leaving a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. Eric Prindle faces off once again with Thiago Santos. In their first bout it was very evident that Santos is far more ahead in his MMA skills and was winning the fight when for reasons known to only Santos, he kicked a downed Prindle right in the crotch. While Prindle was given the full five minutes to recover he couldn’t continue and the fight was declared a no contest. Some might say he copped out and while no one knows but Prindle, I will say this. I have seen far worse nut shots in the sport and guys have continued on with the fight. The winner of the fight will earn the right to get smothered by current heavyweight champ, Cole Konrad.
The Verbal Submission
This past Sunday on The Verbal Submission we were joined by UFC flyweight Ian “Creepy Uncle” McCall, Bellator fighter and reality star Jeremiah Riggs, and Giva Santana who is competing in Bellator’s middleweight tournament.
Mccall talked about the possibility of countering Mighty Mouse Johnson who is sponsored by Xbox, and getting Playstation on his side and told us what he splurged on with his “Fight of The Night” bonus. It’s probably not what you expect from him. Jeremiah Riggs opened up about his experiences on WWE’s Tough Enough and VH1′s Daisy of Love. He also gave his insight on the infamous incident between MMA fighter Daniel Puder and wrestler Kurt Angle.
Make sure to listen to the archive to also hear Giva Santana, along with the rest of the interviews with McCall and Riggs. Click Here to Listen
Category: Bellator, Exclusive, Featured, MMA, Opinion, The Verbal Submission, UFC
About the Author (Author Profile)
I'm a freelance writer and photographer. I've been a fan of the sport since the very first UFC. I've been lucky enough to attend many mma events live; both as a fan and photographer. I began writing mma related article over 2 1/2 years ago and last year joined The Verbal Submission show with Brian Hemminger and Ben Thapa. I've had the pleasure to interview Roy Nelson, Bas Rutten, Cesar Gracie, Royce Gracie, Carlos Condit, Kimo, Shawn Tompkins, Chris Horodecki, Vlad Matyushenko, Jay Hieron, Demetrious Johnson, etc....keep checking back to see who I can add to the list.Subscribe
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The Warren KO was brutal, and could certainly have been stopped earlier than it was.