‘The Alpha Ginger’ Spike Carlyle pulls off improbable comeback at Bellator 272

“The Alpha Ginger” Spike Carlyle came back from the brink of defeat on multiple occasions to submit Dan Moret in Round 3.

[autotag]Spike Carlyle[/autotag] made quite the first impression in his Bellator debut Friday.

On the Bellator 272 prelims, Carlyle (13-3 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) took on fellow UFC alumnus [autotag]Dan Moret[/autotag] and pulled off an improbable comeback. Carlyle rallied from the brink of defeat on multiple occasions to technically submit Moret (15-7 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) with a rear-naked choke at 2:58 mark of Round 3 in a grueling battle.

Both fighters landed shot after shot through the first two rounds, but Carlyle absorbed the brunt of the damage. Entering Round 3, Carlyle was down 20-18 on all three judges’ scorecards.

However, he dug deep, reversed a late takedown from Moret, ended up on his opponent’s back, and put him to sleep with a rear-naked choke – much to the delight of the Mohegan Sun crowd.

“I feel like dog crap,” Carlyle said after the fight. “I don’t feel good at all right now, but I had to dig deep. This was not my power, that’s for sure. That was supernatural what just happened right there.”

“… I remember watching some of his interviews leading to the Goiti Yamauchi fight. He said he’s never tapped, he will never tap, and that’s true. That son of a b*tch didn’t tap.”

Check out the highlights below:

Bellator 272 took place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena. The main card aired on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.