Tag: Bellator 236

Bellator 236 results: Late sub Jason Jackson rolls over Kiichi Kunimoto

Jason Jackson came all the way out from Florida on a few days’ notice to earn his victory at Bellator 236.

It takes confidence to call yourself “The Ass Kicking Machine” and accept a fight on a big Bellator main card all the way across the country on just a few days’ notice.

But then, [autotag]Jason Jackson[/autotag] sure looked confident in the cage Saturday night against [autotag]Kiichi Kunimoto[/autotag].

Jackson (11-4 MMA, 2-1 BMMA), a welterweight from Jamaica who is based out of the South Florida Hard Knocks camp, put on an impressive show in beating his veteran foe Saturday at Bellator 236. The judges’ scores were 30-27 across the board for Jackson.

Jackson made his intentions for the fight clear when he dropped Kunimoto (20-9-2 MMA, 0-2 BMMA) early with a huge right hand. He refused to go to the ground with Kunimoto, who has 10 of his 20 career wins via submission, and took it back to the feet. Kunimoto managed to make the round competitive from there, but Jackson punctuated things with a gigantic slam late.

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In the second, Jackson’s striking continued to puzzle Kunimoto, who didn’t seem to have an answer. This continued in Round 3. Kunimoto managed to pull guard and briefly get Jackson into a guillotine, but Jackson popped out, and finished his performance with another slam.

Jackson, who has previously fought in Bellator, LFA, and on Dana White’s Contender Series, has won four of his past five. Kunimoto has lost two straight and four of his past six.

Jackson was a substitute for Neiman Gracie, who withdrew midweek due to an undisclosed injury.

The welterweight bout was part of the Bellator 236 main card at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The main card streamed on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Up-to-the-minute Bellator 236 results include:

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Bellator 236 results: Juliana Velasquez dominates Bruna Ellen to make case for title shot

Juliana Velasquez strengthened her argument for the next shot at the Bellator women’s flyweight title with a one-sided win at Bellator 236.

[autotag]Juliana Velasquez[/autotag] strengthened her argument for the next shot at the Bellator flyweight title with a one-sided beatdown of [autotag]Bruna Ellen[/autotag] on Saturday at Bellator 236.

Velasquez (10-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) kept her undefeated record in tact as she put on a striking clinic over the course of three rounds, bloodying Ellen (5-3 MMA 3-3 MMA) to take a clear-cut unanimous decision on scorecards of 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26.

The bout was part of the Bellator 236 main card at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The main card streamed on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Velasquez came out of the gate looking to send a message. Roughly 90 seconds into the opening round, Velasquez connected with a huge right hand that dropped Ellen to the mat. She swarmed on the mat, but was unable to get the stoppage. Ellen survived and got back to her feet, but she quickly found herself on the wrong end of Velasquez’s striking flow for the remainder of the round.

It was clear by early in the second round that Velasquez had Ellen figured out. Ellen’s height and reach disadvantage made it near-impossible for her to land anything meaningful, and Velasquez offered relentless pressure on the feet. She wasn’t able to seriously hurt Ellen, but the round winner was clear.

The third round was desperation time for Ellen, and it was clear she wasn’t keen to quit. She tried with all her might, but Velasquez had control of the range and just picked her opponent apart with jabs and all sorts of striking combinations. She cruised to the final bell and got the decisive win.

Up-to-the-minute Bellator 236 results include:

  • Juliana Velasquez def. Bruna Ellen via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26
  • Raufeon Stots def. Cheyden Leiloha via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Zach Zane def. Nainoa Dung via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Swayne Lunasco def. Kaylan Gorospe via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 3:29
  • Ben Wilhelm def. Kealii Kanekoa via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:24
  • Dustin Barca def. Brandon Pieper via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 0:58
  • Kai Kamaka III def. Spencer Higa via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Keoni Diggs def. Scotty Hao via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:23

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Bellator 236 results: Raufeon Stots outworks Cheyden Leialoha for decision victory

Raufeon Stots is a former NCAA Division II wrestling champion, and his skills were apparent in his Bellator debut.

[autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] was a two-time NCAA Division II wrestling champion at Nebraska-Kearney, and it’s clear his wrestling base is guiding his MMA career.

In a main-card bantamweight bout featuring a pair of competitors making their big-league debuts, Stots (13-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) used that wrestling knowledge to grind out a victory in Honolulu over Hawaiian son [autotag]Cheyden Leialoha[/autotag]. The judges’ scores were 29-28, 30-27, and 30-27 for a unanimous decision.

The first half of the opening round was a clinch war along the fence which ended with Leialoha attempting to throw Stots. Stots, however, ended up on top after the scramble. He maintained dominant position the rest of the way, but did not score much in the way of offense.

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Round 2 saw Leialoha shoot for a takedown, and while Stots resisted, Leiloha eventually wrapped him up and slammed him to the mat. Once they got there, though, Stots shook off a Kimura attempt and once again took over the round with his grappling.

Leialoha showed a sense of urgency in the third as he came out firing kicks and punches, but it didn’t take long for Stots to once again implement his grappling game to seal the victory, despite Leialoha’s attempts to find submissions from the bottom.

Stots, a member of Milwaukee’s Roufusport, won his fifth fight in a row and now has seven career decision wins. Leialoha has now dropped two of his past three.

The bantamweight bout was part of the Bellator 236 main card at Neal S. Blaisdell Center. The main card streamed on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Up-to-the-minute Bellator 236 results include:

  • Raufeon Stots def. Cheyden Leiloha via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Zach Zane def. Nainoa Dung via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Swayne Lunasco def. Kaylan Gorospe via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 3:29
  • Ben Wilhelm def. Kealii Kanekoa via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:24
  • Dustin Barca def. Brandon Pieper via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 0:58
  • Kai Kamaka III def. Spencer Higa via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Keoni Diggs def. Scotty Hao via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:23

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Bellator 236 results: Zach Zane survives late rally from Nainoa Dung, takes decision

Zach Zane’s grappling advantage and MMA experience was more than Nainoa Dung was prepared for at Bellator 236.

HONOLULU – [autotag]Zach Zane[/autotag]’s grappling advantage and MMA experience was more than [autotag]Nainoa Dung[/autotag] was prepared for on Saturday at Bellator 236, and it showed in the result.

Although Dung (3-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) nearly staged a final-round comeback, Zane’s (14-9 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) overwhelming success with takedowns in the first two rounds put him ahead on the scorecards for the unanimous decision win. The judges’ scores were 29-28 across the board.

The lightweight bout opened up the Bellator 236 main card at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The main card streamed on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

The difference in grappling ability was evident in the first round. Zane shot in for an early takedown and planted Dung on the mat for a long period. Dung managed to get up once, but was put on the mat, controlled and peppered with shots once again for the remainder of the round.

It was more of the same in Round 2. Zane needed less than a minute to find an opening for his first takedown, easily putting Dung on his back. Dung had no answers from bottom position, and Zane was able to posture up, land punches and advance position and out-scramble Dung on his get-up attempts. All he couldn’t do is finish the fight.

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With the fight clearly going against him, Dung came out desperate in Round 3, and it nearly got him the win. He stung Zane with some heavy body kicks and went all-in on a pair of guillotine choke attempts. Zane survived, though, and while he lost the round, his work in the first two rounds spelled the difference.

Up-to-the-minute Bellator 236 results include:

  • Zach Zane def. Nainoa Dung via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Swayne Lunasco def. Kaylan Gorospe via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 3:29
  • Ben Wilhelm def. Kealii Kanekoa via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:24
  • Dustin Barca def. Brandon Pieper via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 0:58
  • Kai Kamaka III def. Spencer Higa via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Keoni Diggs def. Scotty Hao via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:23

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Ilima-Lei Macfarlane starting to embrace life as one of Bellator’s most popular champs

There are times when one of the most popular fighters on the Bellator roster forgets she’s a champion.

(Editor’s note: This story published in Friday’s print edition of USA TODAY.)

HONOLULU – There are times when one of the most popular fighters on the Bellator roster forgets she’s a champion.

[autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] has been Bellator’s women’s flyweight titleholder a little more than two years now. On Saturday, Macfarlane seeks her fourth title defense when she headlines Bellator 236 in the city where she grew up against British challenger Kate Jackson.

“It’s still very surreal,” Macfarlane told USA TODAY Sports after a Wednesday workout in front of fans in Honolulu. “There are days I wake up, and I’m like, ‘OK, I’m going back to school.’ I don’t realize I’m a professional fighter – I’m the champion. I still have to pinch myself sometimes.”

Macfarlane (10-0 MMA, 9-0 BMMA) won the 125-pound title with a submission of Emily Ducote in November 2017. Her three successful title defenses all have been stoppages, as well. In April, she cut Veta Arteaga’s forehead so badly the cageside doctor stopped the fight in the third round.

She’s been one of Bellator’s most dominant champions, and with that comes some luxuries, including the fact she gets to defend her title in her native Hawaii for the second time. Bellator first came to the islands in 2018 for a doubleheader of events centered largely around Macfarlane as a homecoming. Based in Southern California, she hadn’t fought in her home state before that.

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Now she’ll do it again, sandwiched around a title defense close to her training home in California. It’s a chance to represent her heritage, and not a duty she takes lightly.

“I feel as if I carry the islands on my shoulders whenever I’m on a platform like this,” Macfarlane said. “I’m OK with that. I welcome it now. My main goal is to defend my belt, but my other really big goal is to represent my culture and my home and my people to the best of my ability.”

Bellator president Scott Coker said the promotion essentially has been able to build its two trips to Hawaii around Macfarlane, which may bode well for future trips.

“Last year’s event in Honolulu was incredible, and we couldn’t wait to come back,” Coker said. “Ilima-Lei is a big part of this weekend, and the Hawaiian fans have really embraced her. She’s got another tough opponent on Saturday in Kate Jackson and can establish herself as one of the best female fighters in the world with a win.”

Jackson (11-3-1, 3-1) will try to become the first to solve the Macfarlane riddle. She’s also the first British woman to fight for a major MMA title.

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Riding only a two-fight winning streak, the 33-year-old thought she was close to title contention after a first-round TKO against Lena Ovchynnikova in June. But the call to take on Macfarlane in hostile territory came a little out of the blue.

“Initially, I was more surprised than excited,” Jackson said. “I thought maybe I’d have one more fight before this (title shot). … But once it sunk in, I was definitely excited. I needed to let it sink in a bit. There was some talk of my last fight being a No. 1 contender fight, but I knew there were a couple of others in the mix. I thought maybe it would go to one of them first, and then I’d get the opportunity.”

Bellator 236 (DAZN, 10 p.m. ET) is the second of the promotion’s back-to-back events at Neal S. Blaisdell Center. Bellator 235 on Friday (Paramount/DAZN, 10 p.m. ET) is the promotion’s second year of a “Salute the Troops” event in conjunction with the USO and will be attended exclusively by military members from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu.

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Bellator 236’s Juliana Velasquez has title ambitions, but won’t look past Bruna Ellen

Brazilian women’s flyweight contender Juliana Velasquez talks to MMA Junkie ahead of her bout with Bruna Ellen at Bellator 236.

HONOLULU – Undefeated women’s flyweight contender [autotag]Juliana Velasquez[/autotag] will have half an eye on the main event at Bellator 236, but says she won’t be getting ahead of herself when she steps into the cage to face Bruna Ellen.

Velasquez (9-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) heads into the matchup with Ellen (5-2 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) looking to position herself for a shot at the winner of the night’s main event between defending champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane and Kate Jackson.

But the 33-year-old, who has finished three of her four opponents inside the Bellator cage, knows that she has to stay focused on the job at hand against Ellen, who has similar title aspirations to her own.

To hear from Velasquez about Saturday’s fight, check out the full interview above.

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Bruna Ellen knows ‘it’s gonna be a war’ with Juliana Velasquez at Bellator 236

Bruna Ellen speaks to MMA Junkie ahead of her bout with Juliana Velasquez at Bellator 236 in Hawaii.

HONOLULU – Now 23, flyweight prospect [autotag]Bruna Ellen[/autotag] has been growing her skillset and developing her career on the big stage after making her debut at the tender age of 20.

After picking up a solid victory against Elina Kallionidou at Bellator 224, Ellen (5-2, 3-2 BMMA) faces the toughest assignment of her young career against the undefeated Juliana Velasquez at Bellator 236.

The all-Brazilian battle could potentially produce the next challenger for the Bellator women’s flyweight title, and Ellen told MMA Junkie that fans should expect her bout with Velasquez (9-0, 4-0 BMMA) to produce plenty of action in Hawaii.

Check out the full interview with Ellen ahead of Saturday’s fight in the video above.

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Nainoa Dung proud to represent Hawaii on home soil at Bellator 236: ‘This is my life’

Nainoa Dung tells MMA Junkie he wants to prove he’s the best 155-pounder from Hawaii at Bellator 236.

HONOLULU – [autotag]Nainoa Dung[/autotag] says he is ready to topple Hawaii’s No. 1 lightweight and take the mantle as his own as he looks to kick off his Bellator career with a significant scalp in his promotional debut.

Dung (3-0, 0-0 BMMA) takes on fellow debutant – and fellow Hawaiian – [autotag]Zach Zane[/autotag] (13-9, 0-0 BMMA) at Bellator 236 in a bout that should determine the unofficial No. 1 155 pounder in Hawaii, and although he may be conceding an experience advantage to his opponent, Dung says his skillset, and his training at Hard Knocks 365, will stand him in good stead for the biggest fight of his career.

Dung is unbeaten, with two of his three fights producing finishes while Zane, who will be competing in his sixth fight in 2019, has swapped wins and losses through his last four outings, including a decision defeat on Dana White’s Contender Series back in June.

Check out the full media day interview with Dung in the video above.

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Cheyden Leialoha ‘100 percent confident’ he can defy oddsmakers at Bellator 236

Cheyden Leialoha says he’s ready to prove the oddsmakers wrong against Raufeon Stots at Bellator 236.

HONOLULU – Hawaii’s [autotag]Cheyden Leialoha[/autotag] takes on hot prospect Raufeon Stots as the two bantamweight prospects make their respective promotional debuts Saturday at Bellator 236. And although his opponent has been strongly favored by the oddsmakers, the man known as “Steadfast” is appropriately strong in his belief that he can get the job done on home soil.

Leialoha (7-1, 0-0 BMMA) has four rear-naked choke submissions to his name, including in his most recent outing back in April 2018 at Neal S. Blaisdell Center.

And now, after an 18-month layoff, Leialoha returns to the same venue looking to score the biggest win of his career against Stots (12-1, 0-0 BMMA) as he looks to make a big first impression on his Bellator debut.

Watch Leialoha’s full media day interview with MMA Junkie in the video above.

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Bellator 236 live and official results (8:30 p.m. ET)

Bellator 236 takes place Saturday. Join us for a live video stream and official results beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET (5:30 p.m. PT).

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Bellator 236 takes place Saturday, and you can join us for a live video stream and official results beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET (5:30 p.m. PT).

The event takes place at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

In the main event, women’s flyweight champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (10-0 MMA, 9-0 BMMA), who fights in front of her home fans against challenger Kate Jackson (11-3-1 MMA, 3-1 BMMA). In the co-feature, Derek Campos (20-9 MMA, 9-7 BMMA) takes on A.J. McKee (15-0 MMA, 15-0 BMMA) in a quarterfinal bout in the ongoing featherweight grand prix.

Official Bellator 236 results include:

MAIN CARD (DAZN 10 p.m. ET)

  • Champ Ilima-Lei Macfarlane vs. Kate Jackson – for women’s flyweight title
  • Derek Campos vs. A.J. McKee – featherweight tournament quarterfinal
  • Jason Jackson vs. Kiichi Kunimoto
  • Bruna Ellen vs. Juliana Velasquez
  • Cheyden Leialoha vs. Raufeon Stots
  • Nainoa Dung vs. Zach Zane

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 8:30 p.m. ET)

  • Keoni Diggs vs. Scotty Hao
  • Spencer Higa vs. Kai Kamaka III
  • Dustin Barca vs. Brandon Pieper
  • Kealii Kanekoa vs. Ben Wilhelm
  • Kaylan Gorospe vs. Swayne Lunasco
  • Chas Dunhour vs. Nate Yoshimura