Tag: Bellator 235

MMA rankings report: UFC, Bellator weekend fallout

Ilima-Lei Macfarlane and Chan Sung Jung had big wins over the weekend. How did they affect the rankings?

The final weekend of dueling UFC and Bellator events didn’t have a gigantic impact on the rankings. But there are still some items worth pondering in the aftermath of UFC on ESPN+ 23 and Bellator 235 and 236.

  • [autotag]Ilima-Lei MacFarlane [/autotag] had another impressive defense of her Bellator flyweight title in defeating a tough Kate Jackson, and both shows in Honolulu featured fights with solid showings from those who wish to be next in line for “The Ilimanator.”
  • [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag] put on a show at UFC Busan, as he finished former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar in the opening round and made it clear he is a force to be reckoned with at 145 pounds.

How did these results and more play out in this week’s USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings? Let “Gorgeous” George Garcia and John Morgan walk you through all the changes of note in the video above.

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Bellator 235/Bellator 236 reactions: Winning and losing fighters on social media

See how the Bellator 235/236 winners and losers reacted on social media outlets such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Since the early days when the sport was anything but a mainstream endeavor, the MMA industry has thrived and survived through various websites, forums and, perhaps most importantly, social-media platforms.

Fighters interact with fans, each other and many more through the likes of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, which helps outsiders get a deeper look into the minds of the athletes.

Following the organization’s weekend doubleheader in Hawaii, several of the winning and losing fighters from Bellator 235 and Bellator 236, along with their coaches, training partners or family members, took to social media to react to the event or share a message with supporters.

Check out some of those reactions.

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The defeated

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Repost. @leowsouza1 Fala galera, ontem lutamos aqui no Bellator Havaii e não tivemos um dia bom de trabalho. Foi a primeira vez que na minha opinião a bruna realmente perdeu na organização lutando com toda certeza com a melhor lutadora da categoria numa divisao que não é a dela. Estamos esperando uma possível luta na divisão de baixo, 115 pounds na Itália em abril, sendo assim, caso abra a categoria com toda certeza vamos dominar e a bruna vai ser a campeã da divisão. Ela é a mais baixa dessa categoria mas como todos podem acompanhar a que tem o maior coração, ela nasceu pra lutar e aqui é o lugar dela, nos maiores eventos do mundo. Agradeço muito a Deus por me dar saúde e a oportunidade de estar entre os melhores do mundo. Só isso já me faz um vencedor porque são poucas pessoas que chegaram ate aqui e sei que são muitos que gostariam de estar no meu lugar. Já foram 12 vezes participando em eventos internacionais somente com o suor do meu trabalho e dedicação. Agora vou aproveitar e descansar mais uma semana aqui nesse paraíso que é o Havaíi, voltar e focar na inauguração da nova academia e 2020 acreditem vai ser o meu ano sem decepções como tive nesse final de ano somente com muitas conquistas e glórias porque DEUS está comigo e eu só paro quando ele ordenar! Agradeço de coração a todos que mandaram mensagens de apoio com certeza isso sempre nos dá mais força!

A post shared by Bruna Ellen (@brunaellenmma) on

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I've just landed at Heathrow. Almost home ❤️ Performance aside, I had an absolutely amazing time and I even enjoyed the booing 🤣⁣ ⁣ Thank you so much to @therealscottcoker @rich_chou and all the @bellatormma staff for both the opportunity and for looking after us this week.⁣ ⁣ I'm incredibly grateful to @mrowlett, @kennybakerbjj, @lanchanagreen and my parents for flying out to LA and Hawaii, especially given how close to Christmas it is.⁣ ⁣ To all my teammates and coaches @flomartialarts, @konceptgym @puregrappling and @plymouthperformancegym, your support means the world to me, as does that of my friends, family and the rest of the UK who watched at 5am. 🇬🇧 Sorry I fell short. I'm better than I was a year ago and this is beyond anything I could even have imagined 10 years ago, and all I can do is work on improving going forward.⁣ ⁣ Thank you to @rainhafw, @apakswarriors, @gaetaguard, @mindsport.co.uk @duellosportsmanagement and @strikingokhan⁣ ⁣ Last, but not least, congratulations to @ilimanator!⁣ ⁣ #Bellator236 #BellatorHawaii

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The victorious

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Post fight interview @mmajunkiedotcom

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The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

Alejandra Lara apologizes for Bellator 235 weight miss, points to uncalibrated scale

Alejandra Lara missed weight by less than a pound for her Bellator 235 bout against Veta Arteaga.

HONOLULU – Bellator fans didn’t get to see the scheduled main event on Friday, but they were able to witness a frenetic scrap between [autotag]Alejandra Lara[/autotag] and Veta Arteaga.

The two women used all 15 minutes in order to determine a winner. When the judges scorecards were read, Lara (9-3 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) swept Arteaga (5-4 MMA, 4-4 BMMA) across the board.

It had been six months since Lara stepped foot in the cage. The name of the game in between fights was improvement. Post-fight, Lara voiced her pleasure with her performance and putting her improvements on full display.

“It’s what I’ve been working for,” Lara told MMA Junkie. “I was expecting a war, and it was that. … I have the surprise factor. In my last fight no one saw my development with my striking and my base. It’s been a half a year since my last fight, so it was a lot of time working on my stance. I think everyone could see that tonight.”

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While Lara impressed inside the cage, her weight miss by less than a pound at Friday’s weigh-ins garnered negative attention. However, the Colombian fighter believes she can make the proper adjustments to avoid a repeat issue.

“Maybe I had to adjust better my diet,” Lara said. “We’re doing a good weight cut, but my scale was not calibrated. We had short time to adjust, and we’re very sorry. It’s the first time it’s happened, but it’s not going to happen again.”

Check out Alejandra Lara’s full post-fight interview in the video above.

Bellator 235 (“Bellator and USO Present: Salute the Troops 2019″) took place Friday at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The main card aired on Paramount and streamed on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

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Bellator 235 video highlights

Check out highlights from the main card of Bellator 235 in Honolulu.

The first half of Bellator’s weekend doubleheader in Hawaii went down Friday with Bellator 235, which took place at Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, with a main card that aired on Paramount following prelims on MMA Junkie.

In the makeshift main event, Hawaii’s own [autotag]Toby Misech[/autotag] pulled off a stunning upset when he spoiled the promotional debut of UFC veteran [autotag]Erik Perez[/autotag] with a brilliant first-round knockout.

[autotag]Alejandra Lara[/autotag], [autotag]Tywan Claxton[/autotag], and [autotag]Joey Davis[/autotag] also were victorious on the main card.

You can watch highlights of the four bouts in the video above.

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Complete Bellator 235 results include:

Scott Coker backs Josh Barnett on last-minute illness withdrawal at Bellator 235: ‘I feel bad for the guy’

The hope is for Bellator rebook Josh Barnett vs. Ronny Markes; it’s just a matter of when.

HONOLULU – Bellator president Scott Coker won’t knock [autotag]Josh Barnett[/autotag] for his withdrawal just hours prior to his scheduled Bellator 235 main event against [autotag]Ronny Markes[/autotag].

Following the second leg of the promotion’s Hawaii back-to-back showcase, the Coker had high praise for Barnett (35-8 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), calling him a “warrior” and a “legend.”

“I was texting back and forth with Josh,” Coker told MMA Junkie on Saturday night. “He is a warrior. He is a legend. He’s done everything in this sport already, and so he was sick to the point he couldn’t even stand up. He just wasn’t good enough to fight. … I talked to the doctor. She said, ‘Hey look, this guy needs to get an IV in him. He’s not good enough to fight. I’m pulling him.’ She pulled the plug.”

Coker has been involved in fight promoting for 34 years, so it’s not the first time he’s faced a same-night headliner withdrawal. At Bellator 172 in February 2017, Coker watched his highly anticipated headliner between Fedor Emelianenko and Matt Mitrione get axed due to Mitrione having kidney stones.

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However, Coker said he’s never faced a headliner cancellation that close to the fight before. It was just hours before the two heavyweights were supposed to make the walk when he got the news. All in all, Coker thinks it was the right decision.

“The commission I think made a good call,” Coker said. “I was texting with him today, and he was even sick today. He said, ‘I’m still in bed, I have the chills, my body aches, my kidney’s hurt. I’ve been throwing up all morning.’ I feel bad for the guy. It’s an unfortunate situation. It’s happened twice in my career. Let’s hope it doesn’t happen again.”

Coker is hoping to rebook Barnett’s Bellator debut against Markes. He’s just not sure when. According to Coker, Barnett wants Jan. 25 in Inglewood, Calif. However, the Bellator president isn’t so sure that’ll happen.

“I would like to, but when? I’m not sure,” Coker said. “Josh said, ‘Please let me fight in L.A. on (Jan. 25).’ But the L.A. card is pretty packed already. I’ve got to figure it out, but I feel like I would like to put that fight together again in fairness to everybody.”

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Tywan Claxton cracked the code to his evolution in Bellator 235 win

After bouncing back from his first loss, Tywan Claxton is going to take his career at his own pace.

HONOLULU — [autotag]Tywan Claxton[/autotag] wasn’t just happy to get the victory Friday night at Bellator 235. He was also glad to show how far he’s progressed as a competitor.

Claxton (6-1 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) earned a unanimous decision in a main-card featherweight bout against Braydon Akeo (3-1 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) at Neal S. Blaisdell Center, winning with across-the-board scores of 30-27. It was a solid rebound from his first career loss to Emmanuel Sanchez in September.

But Claxton, a blue-chipper who was in just his seventh pro fight, fully utilized his 15 minutes in the cage to show off all he can do.

“You’ve seen how calm I was on my feet,” Claxton told reporters, including MMA Junkie, backstage after his fight. “You saw a variety of strikes. You saw me throw some spinning (expletive) in there today, man. C’mon, you saw me throw some spinning (expletive), right? So that just shows you the evolution. You saw some boxing. You saw some kickboxing, some leg kicks. You saw some taekwondo. You saw some elbows, you saw some knees. We gettin’ there.”

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This was important, because the Cleveland native was coming off what could have been a demoralizing loss to Sanchez in the opening round of the Bellator featherweight grand prix.

Claxton, who also works as a coder, doesn’t regret taking the huge step up in competition in Sanchez, given the winner of the Bellator tournament gets $1 million. But with that experience out of the way, he doesn’t see himself in any rush to get back to fighting the top guys just for its own sake.

“I think we continue to fight guys that are my experience level,” Claxton said. “Just because I dominate, that means I gotta go and fight guys who fought for the world title? You know? I have a goal. My goal is to grow like this with MMA. And continue to grow like this with coding. And I’ll decide if I want to fight or if I want to code. They’re both slow processes, and if you put a million dollars in my face damn right I”m going to go fight anybody. You put what I’m getting paid? We build. We fight guys with our experience.”

So from here on out, Claxton will continue to fight at his own pace and continue building his skills. Once he’s where he wants to be, then he’ll give the big dogs another go.

“Go and look at who everybody has fought (in the tournament). From (Adam) Borics to (A.J.) McKee, go and look at everyone they’ve fought,” Claxton said. “Who’s Tywan Claxton fought? I ain’t the smartest guy in the world, but we know how to debug some (expletive), and that just wasn’t it. We know that ain’t the route. We going to use another server.”

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Joey Davis after Bellator 235 win: ‘My skillset is the best in the division’

Joey Davis is confident his talents stand up right next to the very best welterweights Bellator has to offer.

HONOLULU – [autotag]Joey Davis[/autotag] is confident his talents stand up right next to the very best welterweights Bellator has to offer. He’s ready to prove it, but said it falls on the Bellator brass and top-ranked names to make it happen.

Davis (7-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA), who is among the top blue-chip prospects in the sport, continued the undefeated start to his career Friday when he defeated Chris Cisneros (17-10 MMA, 0-3 BMMA) by first-round TKO at Bellator 235, which went down at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Hawaii.

The former amateur wrestling standout, who famously went 133-0 in his collegiate career, was listed as high as a -2000 betting favorite for the matchup. His performance showed why, and pleas from fans for a bigger test followed. Davis said he’s ready for it, but said the onus doesn’t fall on him to bring that to reality.

“I guess if the top guys want to fight me they’ve got to sign the contract,” Davis told MMA Junkie post-fight at Bellator 235. “I’m here to be the best. I will be champion eventually. When my time comes it’s going to come. Do those top guys want to fight me? That was a question you should be asking them, because I’m the one they should be worrying out for. I’m the young prospect, I’m the one that came with a great background. I need to get back to the drawing board. I’m only 7-0 in the sport. That’s very young. I’m happy with tonight, but I want to get better.”

MMA is a game of constant evolution, and at just 25, Davis thinks he still has significant room for growth. He already sees himself as ahead of the pack, though, and his goal is to create as much distance between his counterparts as possible.

“Where I stand, I know that my skillset is the best in the division,” Davis said. “I know that if I go against the top three guys right now, they will have trouble with me. If I’m in the best shape, if I’m in the gym, if I have no injuries and I’m good to go, I’ll be a tough one to deal with. I said that when I first signed with Bellator. That’s just my mind and determination and who I am as a champion.”

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Ilima-Lei Macfarlane thinks Juliana Velasquez should be next – but Scott Coker not sold

Despite five straight wins, Juliana Velasquez might not be the next to challenge flyweight champ Ilima-Lei Macfarlane after Bellator 236.

HONOLULU – Despite five consecutive wins in the Bellator flyweight division, [autotag]Juliana Velasquez[/autotag] might not be the next to challenge [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] for the title after Bellator 236.

According to Bellator president Scott Coker, the next contender for Macfarlane (11-0 MMA, 10-0 BMMA) is contingent on whether the organization opts to move forward with plans of a flyweight grand prix in 2020.

Macfarlane defended her title against Kate Jackson by unanimous decision in Saturday’s headliner in Hawaii, a result which came just minutes after Velasquez (10-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) battered Bruna Ellen for three rounds. Macfarlane said post-fight the Brazilian should “100 percent” be her next challenger, but Coker wasn’t convinced.

“Honestly, Juliana Velasquez is definitely somebody that has some potential,” Coker told reporters, including MMA Junkie, post-fight at Bellator 236. “To me, if she would’ve come in there and had a knockout or a stoppage or went in there and dominated – she had a dominant performance – but when you’re in fights like that, you should finish, too. It’s kind of like: We’ll see.”

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Coker said he’s not trying to take away from Velasquez’s talents. However, he said he saw more out of Alejandra Lara the night prior at Bellator 235. Lara, who missed weight for her bout with Vera Arteaga, got a bloody unanimous decision win.

“Velasquez is a killer,” Coker said. “She’s a great fighter and she’s going to earn her shot here eventually, or maybe next. We’ll see. But, the thing that I liked about Lara was, it was something that Veta said to me, she said, ‘This girl got better. She surprised me. I knew she was going to try to take me down and grapple with me and she didn’t and started trading with me and surprised me and caught me off guard.’ That’s a fighter that is getting better and better. That’s another amazing 125-pound fighter we could put in this event if we do it.”

Ultimately the next move for Macfarlane is going to come down to Bellator’s big-picture plans for 2020. If an eight or 16-fighter tournament comes to fruition, history indicates the promotion would try to sprinkle the best fighters into various corners of the bracket.

Coker said no firm plans are in place as of yet, but he thinks there’s some real intrigue with a grand prix at flyweight.

“We’ll go back to the drawing board and we’re not committing to the tournament yet,” Coker said. “It’s looking a little more attractive to me every time I speak to my team and think about it myself because we have so many potential stars in this weight class. I think it would be a very interesting tournament and that could change the entire landscape of who fights who. It’s nice to see a division that has so much depth like our 125 female division.”

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Bellator 236: Raufeon Stots full post-fight interview

Bellator 236: Raufeon Stots full post-fight interview

Bellator 236: Raufeon Stots full post-fight interview