Tag: Bellator 284

MMA Junkie Radio #3287: Guests Kayla Harrison and Chris Wade, UFC 278 preview, more

Thursday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.

Thursday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.

On Episode 3,287, the guys chat with two-time PFL champion [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] and featherweight [autotag]Chris Wade[/autotag] ahead of their 2022 PFL Playoffs 3 bouts. They also preview UFC 278 card headlined by Kamaru Usman vs. Leon Edwards 2. Tune in!

Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at OmnyStudio. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.

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MMA Junkie Radio #3286: UFC, PFL, Bellator recaps, plus guest Joe Corley

Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.

Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.

On Episode 3,286, the guys bring on guest Joe Corley to discuss his new kickboxing league, which is hoping to attract some MMA talent. Plus, they recap the eventful results from UFC on ESPN 41, the second PFL playoff event and Bellator 284, and much more. Tune in!

Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at OmnyStudio. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.

After quick upset of Austin Vanderford, Aaron Jeffery ready to get right back to work

Aaron Jeffery wanted to show off his Canadian wrestling, but a quick knockout of a recent title challenger will have to do.

[autotag]Aaron Jeffery[/autotag] wanted to show off his Canadian wrestling, but a quick knockout of a recent title challenger will have to do.

Jeffery took his fight with Austin Vanderford on short notice for Bellator 284 this past Friday in South Dakota. Vanderford was looking to rebound from a title loss to now-former middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi. But Jeffery had other ideas.

Jeffery (13-3 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) shut down Vanderford (11-2 MMA, 5-2 BMMA) with a TKO just 85 seconds into their main card opener for an upset. The fight didn’t exactly play out like he imagined it, not that he has any complaints.

“It was short,” Jeffery said at his post-fight news conference. “I was just saying to my coaches I kind of wanted to see if I could hang with him in the wrestling and break him, but this is cool, too. … It felt different this time, maybe it was because it was short notice. Maybe it was kind of less pressure, even though it was a huge fight.

“It wasn’t a lot of time to prepare. I wrestle with the top university in Canada. I come from a strong wrestling gym. I felt like it was a good fight for me. … Knocking a guy out in a minute probably doesn’t do too much for Canadian wrestling, but I keep saying I can wrestle, so maybe one of these days (I’ll show it).”

Vanderford was No. 2 in Bellator’s middleweight rankings. Jeffery was unranked after his promotional debut in June, which was a second-round TKO of Fabio Aguiar. But considering two of Jeffery’s three losses came when he was trying to get to the next level on Dana White’s Contender Series to fighters who went on to get UFC contracts, it’s fair to say most were overlooking him against Vanderford.

It’s doubtful Jeffery will jump right up to Vanderford’s spot at No. 2, but he’s at least hopeful he’ll have a number next to his name. And he would prefer to get right back in there for some more action.

“I don’t know if they put me in right at No. 2, or if they put me somewhere arbitrary like No. 5,” Jeffery said. “We’ll see in a few days. … I know there’s still going to be haters, but this is big, man. That’s why I took this fight on eight days’ notice. I’ll get back in the gym and I’ll stay ready, and maybe I’ll get back in here soon. Scott Coker, put me on that (Bellator 286) card in Long Beach. Let’s go.”

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

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Bellator 284 winner Pat Downey vows to not let ‘cancel culture’ get to him, has unfinished business with Bo Nickal

It was a big week for NCAA wrestling All-Americans transitioning into MMA.

[autotag]Pat Downey[/autotag] is officially carving a new career path as a professional mixed martial artist. He left wrestling behind, and with it, he hopes the negativity, too.

At Bellator 284, Downey (1-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) defeated Keyes Nelson (0-4 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) by submission 36 seconds into the first round of their middleweight bout. The maneuver capped off a long-awaited MMA debut after much athletic controversy and adversity.

“My perspective is nothing but positive,” Downey said in a post-fight news conference. “I have a really, really good feeling, and I’m not going to let any negativity or any haters or any cancel culture or any of that sh*t – none of that is going to ruin my parade and ruin this career for me. I’m here to take over this middleweight division.”

Downey, 30, was a NCAA Division-I All-American, Pan American Games medalist and U.S. Open National wrestling champion. His relationship with the wrestling community was rocky for a variety of reasons, including legal issues and comments Downey made on social media.

The Olympics originally was his goal. After finishing fourth in the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials in 2021, Downey decided it was finally time to pull the trigger on an MMA transition. He’s glad he did, despite the stress.

“The hype, seeing the world-class stage that Bellator has laid out for us, it was nerve-wracking,” Downey said. “I’m not going to lie, even being as world-class as I am and as well-traveled, there were some butterflies. I’m not going to lie. I couldn’t wait to get a finish because I just wanted to have this 1-0 record and say I’m an MMA fighter. That probably explains why I handled it so quickly out there.”

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Downey wasn’t the only high-level wrestler to enter the national spotlight this past week. This past Tuesday, 2019 Hodge Trophy winner [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] competed on Dana White’s Contender Series in his second professional fight. Nickal (2-0 MMA) ripped through opponent Zachary Borrego for a first-round rear-naked choke submission.

Downey and Nickal have history. In 2017, Nickal defeated Downey by technical fall at the U.S. Open. They rematched at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials. Nickal once again won by technical fall.

Their paths likely will cross again, this time with gloves on, estimated Downey. There is unfinished business, he said.

“Bo and I still have a lot of unfinished business,” Downey said. “We’ll be meeting down the road, once we’re in our tops and that fight makes sense. I’ll see his ass again for sure.”

Until that time, however, Downey plans to dominate anyone and everyone in the Bellator middleweight division. He’s eager to return to the cage, perhaps even as soon as next month at Bellator 285 in Dublin. His skillset and credentials, he thinks, are unique.

“I don’t want to be one of those wrestlers who is just one move and then holds,” Downey said. “I don’t want to be one of those guys who is not exciting. I want to do cool takedowns. You saw a slam, right to the full mount transition, into the kill. If I’m not trying to kill them with chokes or joints, I’m trying to beat the sh*t out of them. I want to be somebody that’s exciting, that is trying to finish fights. I’m happy I’m 1-0 with one finish.”

Bellator 284 took place Friday at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 284.

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Ex-champ Ilima-Lei Macfarlane eyeing perfect Bellator retirement storyline vs. friend Liz Carmouche

Now that she’s back in the win column, Ilima-Lei Macfarlane can allow herself to think about the perfect ending to her MMA career.

Now that she’s back in the win column, [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] can allow herself to think about the perfect ending to her MMA career.

Macfarlane (12-2 MMA, 11-2 BMMA), a former women’s flyweight champion, snapped a two-fight skid when she beat Bruna Ellen (6-4 MMA, 4-4 BMMA) by unanimous decision at Bellator 284 on Friday. That skid included the loss of her title to Juliana Velasquez in 2020, then an upset loss earlier this year in front of her home fans in Honolulu.

Macfarlane has been open about her desire to wrap up her Bellator contract with another title win, then retire. If she takes the belt back now, it’d be against her friend, teammate and current champ Liz Carmouche – which is exactly how she’d like it to go.

“Of course I want to freaking retire as the champ,” Macfarlane said at her post-fight news conference in Sioux Falls, S.D. “That’s the ultimate goal, is to go for it one more time. My ultimate dream retirement fight would be in Hawaii, fighting for the belt against my friend Liz Carmouche. It’s the ultimate fight. This is it. This is the perfect storyline, and I know that when the day comes when we fight each other, it’s going down. It’s going to be fun, and I say that with the ultimate respect for her.”

Macfarlane admitted she hit a bit of a funk during her back-to-back losses, especially considering she started her career unbeaten at 11-0. She was favored to win Friday against Ellen, but had to endure a tough guillotine choke from her to survive for the decision.

But getting the win may have been the kickstart she needed to get going again.

“I was like, ‘I feel like this is what drugs feel like.’ It’s weird,” Macfarlane said. “Fighting really is like a drug. Once you step in there, once you start fighting, it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, I love this sh*t.’ I still do love this sport, despite it being real sh*tty sometimes.

“It’s been a very long road. I feel like a lot of my feelings about fighting changed when I lost the belt. It’s been a roller coaster for the last two and a half years. This fight game is such an emotional roller coaster, but that win definitely helped me realize that (my heart is) still there.”

Macfarlane missed weight for the first time and came in three pounds heavy this week. She said that was a sign to her that she probably should shut things down for a while and come back strong in 2023 to continue her quest to get back to title contention.

“Before the missed weight and everything, I was like, ‘If I come out of this fight unscathed, I’m going to ask to be on the Dublin card.’ But then the weight cut came, and it was terrible,” she said. “My body needs to rest and heal. I think timeline-wise, I won’t fight again this year. (It’s) definitely going to be sometime next year – maybe the springtime.”

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Goiti Yamauchi looking for shot at interim champ Storley after Bellator 284 KO

After arguably the biggest win of his career, when the spotlight was on him the brightest, Goiti Yamauchi says he’s ready for a title shot.

After arguably the biggest win of his career, when the spotlight was on him the brightest, [autotag]Goiti Yamauchi[/autotag] says he’s ready for a Bellator title shot.

Yamauchi (28-5 MMA, 14-4 BMMA) became the first person to finish Neiman Gracie (11-4 MMA, 9-4 BMMA) when he knocked him out in the second round of their Bellator 284 main event in Sioux Falls, S.D. The win was Yamauchi’s third straight, all by finish, and second straight since he moved up to welterweight from lightweight earlier this year.

“It feels amazing,” Yamauchi said at his post-fight news conference. “It’s a product of hard work, courage and a lot of dedication – not just for this camp, but for my entire life, I’ve been working to have this moment. This moment, I consider the beginning of an era – my era, the best time of my life.”

Yamauchi is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu standout, just like Gracie. In his 28 career wins, a whopping 75 percent of them – 21 in total – have been by submission. He holds the Bellator record for most career submission wins.

So for him to put Gracie out with a punch the way he did might have even come as a surprise to him. When he shut down Chris Gonzalez with his hands in July 2021, hit was his first knockout in nearly eight years. Now he has KOs in two of his past three fights.

“”I don’t know what happened. I went beast mode,” Yamauchi said. “I just wanted to take some shots and make the fight dramatic – big drama show. I went for it in this fight, and it worked.”

“I watched (Gracie’s) fight (with champ Logan Storley) and saw I could make Neiman make some mistakes, and I exploited them. … We go to autopilot mode when we’re fighting – we just want to finish the fight as fast as possible. In the first round, I got him with the good left hand, but it was just a knockdown and I couldn’t finish. But when I threw the uppercut (in the second), I knew he was done. His body just dropped too fast, and I knew that was the end of the fight.”

Yamauchi has only been at welterweight for two fights now, but after a high-profile win over Gracie in his first Bellator main event in nearly eight years with the company, he’s shooting his shot for a booking with interim welterweight champ Storley, who beat Michael Page in May for that belt.

In his 18 Bellator fights, Yamauchi never has lost two straight and now is on his fourth three-fight winning streak. He’s also put together streaks at featherweight, lightweight and now welterweight.

“That’s one of the most important days of my life. It’s very meaningful beating such a hell of a fighter,” Yamauchi said. “… I’ve moved up twice here in my Bellator career, from 145 to 155, and now to welterweight. They’re both good and exciting weight classes. There’s a lot of top fighters. I think the best fighters are probably at lightweight and welterweight. I’m excited.

“This is my real weight class. I feel strong, powerful, and with a lot of energy. Hopefully, I fight all of the top fighters in front of me. … It would be amazing to fight with Storley. I love his style – he’s a hell of a grappler, and it looks like he has a gas tank, so it would be a war. It would be an honor for me to fight the champ, Storley.”

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Goiti Yamauchi def. Neiman Gracie at Bellator 284: Best photos

Check out these photos from the Bellator 284 main event between Goiti Yamauchi and Neiman Gracie.

Check out these photos from [autotag]Goiti Yamauchi[/autotag]’s knockout victory over Neiman Gracie in the main event of Bellator 284 in Sioux Falls, S. D. (Photos courtesy of Bellator MMA)

Bellator 284 results: Goiti Yamauchi folds Neiman Gracie with vicious uppercut knockout

Neiman Gracie had never been knocked out – prior to Bellator 284 and his fight vs. Goiti Yamauchi.

[autotag]Goiti Yamauchi[/autotag] has long been a member of the Bellator roster, but perhaps never closer to a title opportunity than now.

At Bellator 284, Yamauchi (28-5 MMA, 14-4 BMMA) stopped [autotag]Neiman Gracie[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 9-4 BMMA) with punches at 3:58 of Round 2. The bout headlined the event Friday at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

The knockout topped off a dominant performance for Yamauchi, who stunned Gracie early in Round 1 before he resorted to his grappling. In Round 2, Yamauchi appeared a step ahead as well. He threatened both striking and grappling, a two-pronged attack Gracie struggled to figure out.

The knockout sequence began with a hard uppercut. As Gracie toppled to the canvas, a few follow-up shots rained down from Yamauchi, though the damage was done.

Yamauchi, who made his promotional debut at Bellator 99 in September 2013, becomes the first to stop Neiman Gracie. He extends his winning streak to three and has won back-to-back fights at welterweight. Meanwhile, Gracie has lost back-to-back fights and three of his most recent four outings.

The up-to-the-minute Bellator 284 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 284.

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Bellator 284 results: Ilima-Lei Macfarlane survives guillotine, nearly losing shorts in first win since 2019

Ilima-Lei Macfarlane largely dominated with the exception of a submission by Bruna Ellen in Round 3.

[autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] is back in the win column for the first time since 2019.

At Bellator 284, Macfarlane (11-2 MMA, 10-2 BMMA) defeated [autotag]Bruna Ellen[/autotag] (6-3 MMA, 4-3 BMMA) via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) in a women’s flyweight bout. The fight took place Friday on the main card at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Ahead of the bout, Macfarlane missed weight, which she apologized to Ellen for in social media posts shortly thereafter. Ellen accepted the bout despite a three-pound miss by Macfarlane.

The bout was competitive, technical, and calculated with both women having their moments. The fight began with some striking before Macfarlane went to her bread-and-butter grappling. She scored a takedown as the clock wound down. In Round 2, Macfarlane tried for another, with less success.

Round 3 was perhaps Ellen’s best round, as she threatened a guillotine choke for a long period of time. Her grip was tight and, as we came to learn, was catalyzed by Macfarlane’s fear of losing her fight shorts. In her post-fight interview, Macfarlane told “Big” John McCarthy she was not wearing any underwear and feared her shorts were going to come off during the sequence.

Regardless, Macfarlane broke the grasp of Ellen and with it landed on top.

In the eyes of the judges, she did enough to win. Originally read as a split decision, promotion officials later clarified it was unanimous.

After the fight, Mcfarlane got emotional in the cage and explained how this fight rejuvenated her. She showed herself she still has a passion for the sport, despite recent interviews that indicated she won’t fight much longer.

The win was her first since 2019. She snapped a two-fight skid that included a title loss to Julianna Velasquez and a hometown upset by Justine Kish in Hawaii. It also marks her first win since 2020 knee surgery.

The up-to-the-minute Bellator 284 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 284.

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Bellator 284 video: Aaron Jeffery wrecks Austin Vanderford with quick TKO

In 85 seconds, Aaron Jeffery finished Austin Vanderford with punches.

[autotag]Aaron Jeffery[/autotag] stepped into his second Bellator fight on short notice and instantly notched contender status in shocking fashion.

At Bellator 284, Jeffery (13-3 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) finished recent middleweight title challenger [autotag]Austin Vanderford[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 5-2 BMMA) with punches at 1:25 of Round 1. The bout kicked off the main card Friday at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Jeffery found success on the feet early and often. An overhand right began the final finishing sequence and dropped Vanderford to the canvas. Vanderford rolled to his side and covered up as Jeffery finished off the job with some more punches.

Jeffery, 29, signed with Bellator in early 2022. The move marked his first major promotional gig after years as a champion on the regional scene and two failed attempts on Dana White’s Contender Series. Jeffery made his Bellator debut in June with a second-round TKO win over Fabio Aguiar. The victory Friday extended his winning streak to three.

As for Vanderford, he now enters the first losing skid of his career after his first loss came in February against Gegard Mousasi. Prior to 2022, Vanderford was 11-0 as a professional with six finishes.

The up-to-the-minute Bellator 284 results include:

  • Aaron Jeffery def. Austin Vanderford via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:25
  • Marcos Breno def. Josh Hill via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
  • DeAnna Bennett def. Justine Kish via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Sullivan Cauley def. Tyson Jeffries via knockout (knee) – Round 1, 1:39
  • Pat Downey def. Keyes Nelson via submission (arm triangle choke) – Round 1, 0:36
  • Bailey Schoenfelder def. Mark Currier via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:35
  • Mitchell McKee def. Tony Ortega via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 1:28

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 284.

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