Twitter reacts to Fedor Emelianenko’s knockout of ‘Rampage’ Jackson at Bellator 237

See the top Twitter reactions to Fedor Emelianenko’s win over Quinton Jackson at Bellator 237.

[autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] added another legendary name to his prestigious resume on Saturday when he defeated [autotag]Quinton Jackson[/autotag] in the Bellator 237 main event.

Emelianenko (39-6 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) returned to Japan for the first time in more than four years and earned a first-round knockout win over “Rampage” (38-14 MMA, 5-3 BMMA) in the heavyweight headliner, which took place at Saitama Super Arena in aired on Paramount.

Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Emelianenko’s victory over Jackson at Bellator 237.

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https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1211162075290120192

http://twitter.com/DerekBrunson/status/1211163658375569408

Notre Dame Football: Today Sucks, but a Big Thank You

I’m genuinely excited for what 2020 is going to bring to Fighting Irish Wire. I just hate that we’re 244 days until Notre Dame plays another football game.

Greetings Fighting Irish Wire readers:

First off a very happy Sunday to each and everyone of you and a sincere thank you for being part of the FIW community this season.

I was offered a part-time job by the Team Wire group at USA Today back in October and took it thinking I’d be contributing a few posts a week and have a more logical outlet to share some of my Notre Dame and college football thoughts than my day-job really does.

Little did I know within just a couple of days of accepting that offer that Marek, who was the original publisher of FIW, would take a full-time job elsewhere and I’d be offered his position. After a day or so of figuring out how I would attempt to make it work with a full-time job already and my first child three weeks out at the time, I decided to accept.

It would be tough but it would be worth it.

Notre Dame’s win over Iowa State in the Camping World Bowl puts a bow on the 2019 season and wraps up the first run I’ve had at this.

I just wanted to share a sincere thank you to all of you for helping make this site grow like you have in the few short months I’ve been a part of it.

I took it on without fully knowing what I was getting into and have loved my first couple of months on the job.

With the season now a wrap I can tell you we have a ton planned for the months ahead.

We’ve recently added Geoffrey Clark to the staff. Geoffrey has been handling a lot of our basketball coverage and was able to contribute some valuable help during his first football game-day with us today.

Jeff Feyerer continues to be a part of the team here as well and we’ve collaborated on a ton of off-season plans that will include historic debates, Irish in the NFL Draft information and plenty of outlook to the 2020 campaign.

I’ll be here as well and encourage you to stay with us through the off-season. If you are interested in possibly joining our team here or know someone who might be, my email address is linked in on every one of my posts here. Shoot me a message and let’s see what we can figure out together.

I’m genuinely excited for what 2020 is going to bring to Fighting Irish Wire. I just hate that we’re 244 days until Notre Dame plays another football game.

Thanks again and all the best to you and yours in 2020.

Go Irish,

Nick Shepkowski

LSU and Clemson set up National Championship for the ages

SportsPulse: One team is an electric buzzsaw with a Heisman winning quarterback putting up record numbers, the other is an entrenched dynasty looking for their third title in four years. Jan. 13 can’t come soon enough.

SportsPulse: One team is an electric buzzsaw with a Heisman winning quarterback putting up record numbers, the other is an entrenched dynasty looking for their third title in four years. Jan. 13 can’t come soon enough.

Bellator 237 results: Fedor Emelianenko KOs ‘Rampage’ Jackson, hints at retirement

Fedor Emelianenko became the first since 2005 to stop Quinton Jackson with strikes at Bellator 237, then he appeared to end his career.

SAITAMA, JAPAN – [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] became the first since 2005 to stop [autotag]Quinton Jackson[/autotag] with strikes on Saturday when he picked up an opening-round finish in the Bellator 237 main event.

Then, he retired from MMA.

Emelianenko’s (38-6 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) speed advantage far exceeded anything a heavy, slow-moving Jackson (38-14 MMA, 5-3 BMMA) was prepared for as he put together smooth striking combinations before landing a fight-ending haymaker that dropped “Rampage” face-first into the canvas inside three minutes.

The heavyweight bout headlined Bellator 237, which took place at Saitama Super Arena in Japan. The card aired on Paramount and streamed on DAZN.

Emelianenko came out of the gate strong with pressure on Jackson and some multi-strike combinations. The speed advantage from Emelianenko was evident, and Jackson had a difficult time making up for it. After landing strike after strike, Emelianenko finally found a home for the shot that end of the fight. He crushed Jackson with a powerful shot that sent the UFC champ to his knees, causing the referee to step in and wave off the fight at the 2:33 mark of Round 1.

Although Bellator president Scott Coker said pre-fight he intended to do a three-fight retirement tour for Emelianenko, starting with Bellator 237. Emelianenko appears to have had other plans, though, because he said the win over Jackson would be the last of his career.

“Perhaps my career stops here in Japan where I started,” Emelianenko said through an interpreter during his post-fight interview. “Thank you for supporting me in my career. This is the end of my tour.”

Complete Bellator 237 results included:

Multiple Sixers react to loss to Heat, suggest inconsistency in effort

Multiple players on the Philadelphia 76ers suggest that the team does not play hard enough consistently in order to win.

Once again, the Philadelphia 76ers let a game slip away on Saturday night as they fell to the Miami Heat in overtime 117-116. They made a lot of mistakes late and it cost them another winnable game.

The Sixers had stretches where they played well and then there were other stretches that allowed the Heat to really play their style and get what they wanted offensively. That inconsistency killed them down the stretch as they let another one slip away.

“We were right there,” said Ben Simmons. “It starts in the first quarter. We’ve got to carry the same energy all the way through. We can’t wait for the last minute to pick it up.”

Philadelphia led by five after the first quarter and then maintained that five-point lead heading into halftime, but then they were outscored by 11 in the third quarter, then had a chance to win the game late, and then made some mistakes down the stretch that blew it.

“There were some plays throughout the game that I wish we had back,” said Josh Richardson. “It was a tough game versus a good team and they just came out on top.”

However, this is a team that has a lot of high expectations. This is a team that should be playing with a high level of intensity each and every time out there. Like on Christmas Day when they beat a very good Milwaukee Bucks team only to follow that up with a lackluster loss to the Orlando Magic and then Saturday’s loss to the Heat.

“If we want to be a championship team, we can’t be picky and choosy when we want to play with that kind of intensity,” Trey Burke added. “I’m sure these last few losses sting, but we’ll watch film and grow from it.”

The Sixers next chance to grow as a team will be on New Year’s Eve when they face the Indiana Pacers on the road. [lawrence-related id=22387,22381,22372]

Clint Capela likely to miss second consecutive game for Rockets

With Clint Capela (heel) out Sunday in New Orleans, the Rockets could use another big performance from young center Isaiah Hartenstein.

The Houston Rockets will likely be without starting center Clint Capela for a second consecutive game on Sunday in New Orleans.

Capela missed Saturday’s home win against Brooklyn with a right heel contusion, and given the brief turnaround time until Sunday’s game in a new city, it wouldn’t make sense to rush the 25-year-old back so quickly.

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Capela was first placed on the injury report prior to Monday’s win in Sacramento, though he played through the heel issue for two games.

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The 6-foot-10 big man is averaging 13.9 points (64.2% shooting), 14.4 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks in 33.6 minutes per game this season.

Though Capela still averaged 12.5 rebounds in two games since being listed with the injury, he wasn’t as explosive near the basket and struggled to finish. In those two games, Capela shot 45.5% from the field — down from 65.8% over his first 25 games of the 2019-20 season.

With Capela out Saturday, young center Isaiah Hartenstein stepped up with nine points and 13 rebounds in 24 big minutes off the Houston bench. The Rockets (22-10) could use another similarly strong performance from the athletic seven-footer against Derrick Favors and the Pelicans, who have won four of their last five games.

Tip-off from New Orleans is scheduled for 7 p.m. Central on Sunday. Though Hartenstein appears likely to receive more playing time overall, veteran Tyson Chandler is set to again start in Capela’s place.

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Bellator 237 results: Michael Chandler punches out Sidney Outlaw in less than three minutes

Michael Chandler punched his way back into the win column.

SAITAMA, JAPAN – [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] is back in the win column.

Coming off of a belt-losing effort against Patricio Freire in May, Chandler (20-5 MMA, 17-5 BMMA) returned to form at Bellator 237 on Saturday night. The former Bellator lightweight champion finished [autotag]Sidney Outlaw[/autotag] at 2:59 of Round 1.

The fight took place on the feet, with Chandler being the aggressor. Less than three minutes into the opening round, a straight right hand from Chandler crumpled former Titan FC champion Outlaw. Before a dazed Outlaw could regain his bearings, Chandler landed another hard right hand to finish off the fight.

Chandler’s victory lands him back in the win column after losing to Freire. At Bellator 221 in May, Freire finished Chandler in just 61 seconds. Chandler has now won eight out his most recent 10 outings.

The loss snaps Outlaw’s nine-fight win streak and signifies his first loss under the Bellator banner. Outlaw’s previous defeat came to UFC lightweight contender Gregor Gillespie at Ring of Combat 55 in June 2016.

Outlaw was not Chandler’s originally scheduled opponent. Taking the fight on short-notice, Outlaw replaced UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson. Chandler vs. Henderson was supposed to be a rematch of the two fighters’ November 2016 bout, which saw the former win by split decision.

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The 160-pound catchweight bout served as the Bellator 237 co-main event, which took place at Saitama Super Arena in Japan. The card aired on Paramount and streamed on DAZN.

Up-to-the-minute Bellator 237 results include:

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Brett Brown explains reason for Trey Burke over Al Horford in OT

Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown explains the decision to go with Trey Burke instead of Al Horford.

The Philadelphia 76ers were in overtime against a very good Miami Heat team on the road, but they mixed up the lineup a bit. Instead of prized free agency acquisition Al Horford, the Sixers went smaller and went with Trey Burke as the shooting guard and moving Tobias Harris to the power forward spot.

It had some success offensively as Burke scored 11 points and four assists off the bench compared to Horford with seven points on 3-for-6 shooting. The Heat also playing a zone defense forced coach Brett Brown to make a decision.

“They were small and sitting in a zone,” Brown explained. “I felt like Trey Burke could come in and give us a spark. Whether it was pushing the ball in early offense or getting into the seams of the zone. I thought he really helped us. I thought he came in and provided those things I said.”

That’s the dilemma the Sixers face whenever there is a zone defense thrown at them. Stay large with Horford and Joel Embiid and try to attack it that way? Or try to go small like they did on Saturday. This isn’t an indictment on Horford or anything, it’s just the way the scheme is.

“Al Horford didn’t do anything wrong,” he added. “We needed to go a little smaller, a little bit quicker, and get into the teeth of their zone.”

At the end of the day, the Sixers did take another disheartening loss and they now have to try and move forward on New Year’s Eve when they face the Indiana Pacers. [lawrence-related id=22381,22372,22359]