Summer is here: Bellator 96 Results
Back from a long vacation, Bellator came back with a fury to heat up our Summertime MMA with tonight’s Bellator 96. With two tourneys in the works and some high-profile singles bouts, we had plenty of action in the cage, so check out the breakdown below if you missed out.
War Machine vs. Blas Avena: Coming back from a long legal hiatus, War Machine wanted to get the ball rolling on his career again, taking on WEC veteran Blas Avena. Avena came out hard in his signature style, hitting takedowns and ground and pound early, but War Machine was here for a fight and didn’t buckle under that early pressure. Working his way to standing, Machine found his rhythm with strikes and started working his own mat work, using superior strength and flow against Avena. While War Machine was the one away from the sport for years, it was Avena who looked rusty as War Machine ground him down and pounded him out from crucifix position.
War Machine wins via 1st Round TKO (ground and pound)
Ron Sparks vs. Vitaly Minakov: Iron-fisted American Ron Sparks looked to get deep into this Bellator Heavyweight tournament, taking on multiple time World Sambo Champion Vitaly Minakov. Fists were flying early from Sparks, but his hands never found the mark against the smart defense of Minakov. Backing away and lining up his shot, Minakov fired a perfect right straight into Sparks jaw and dropping him to the canvas. A couple of follow-up strikes sealed the deal, though Sparks was very much done as soon as he hit the mat. With that, Minakov finds himself in the tournament final and ready to continue his undefeated streak.
Vitaly Minakov wins via 1st Round KO (punch)
Ryan Martinez vs. Richard Hale: With Hale’s original opponent dropping out of the fight a day beforehand, Ryan Martinez was more than happy to step up at a moment’s notice for an once-in-a-lifetime shot. The fight had a slow start as both fighters shuffled around looking to find their range, with Hale landed a couple of long bombs with little effect. Finally bullying inside, Martinez got Hale against the cage and hit an easy takedown with raw force. Eating a upkick, Martinez pushed past his foe’s legs and dropped thunderous hammerfists to Hale’s jaw, knocking him silly with two shots and forcing the ref the downed fighter. (Preliminary bout that re-aired on Bellator 96 main card)
Ryan Martinez wins via 1st Round KO (hammerfists)
Renato “Babalu” Sobral vs Jacob Noe: Looking to redeem himself in the Bellator cage after his last disastrous outing, Sobral came in to scrap against mammoth 205lber Jacob Noe. This was a game of cat-and-mouse as Babalu played his experience against the size and strength advantage of Noe, with Noe’s simple power style giving Babalu fits early on. The first round saw Noe pushing forward consistently, eating Babalu’s kicking offense with little visible damage as he proved to be far too strong for his opponent, but the tide would turn slightly in the second round. Deciding to move forward himself, Babalu put together the better punches on target, and while he took some punishment, Babalu did enough to win that second round on my card. The third pivotal round saw Babalu slow down badly and resort to trading with his opponent, which proved to be a horrendous plan ad Noe’s power punches beat the snot out of Babalu. Badly rocked several times, Babalu stumbled around and forced the referee to call an uncommon standing TKO for Babalu’s own good; a terrific call that saved Babalu further harm.
Jacob Noe wins via 3rd Round TKO (Referee Stoppage)
Seth Petruzelli vs. King Mo Lawal: The long-awaited return of Bellator’s biggest name, King Mo was set tonight as he took on Florida’s Seth Petruzelli. The fight got off to an odd start as Petruzelli sprawled on a takedown and head butted Mo on the way down, but we were soon back in business, with Mo hitting a takedown with ease. Never even entering Petruzelli’s guard, King Mo launched a punch from standing position on his downed foe, dropping all of his weight into the blow and shutting Petruzelli’s brain off with one shot, making for one of the best KOs of the year so far.
King Mo wins via 1st Round KO (punch)
Bellator 96 preliminary results:
Chas Skelly defeated Jarrod Card via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Keith Berry defeated Cortez Coleman via Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Mike Maldonado defeated Chavous Smith via 1st round Submission (rear-naked choke)
Damon Jackson defeated Keith Miner via 1st round TKO (punches)
Raphael Butler defeated Jeremiah O’Neal via 1st round TKO (punches)
Brandon Halsey defeated Joe Yager via Split Decision (30-28, 28-30, 30-28)
Derek Campos defeated Brandon Girtz via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Justin McNally defeated Steven Artoff via 1st round Verbal Submission (triangle choke)
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