Tag: Blake Smith

Bellator 294 post-event facts: Liz Carmouche crafting strong stats during title reign

Liz Carmouche is making her footprint on the Bellator record books after recording another title defense at Bellator 294.

The first half of Bellator’s doubleheader in Hawaii went down Friday with Bellator 294, which took place at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu and saw a champion defend her title in the main event.

[autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag] (19-7 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) recorded a second consecutive defense of her women’s flyweight title when she rallied from a 3-0 deficit on the scorecards to submit [autotag]DeAnna Bennett[/autotag] (13-8-1 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) with an arm-triangle choke in the fourth frame of their rematch.

For more on the numbers behind Carmouche’s win, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts form Bellator 294.

Bellator 294 video: Cris Lencioni wraps up Blake Smith for rare rear triangle submission

An unusual submission was pulled off by Cris Lencioni on the Bellator 294 prelims in Honolulu.

[autotag]Cris Lencioni[/autotag] was a heavy favorite when he entered Bellator 294 and he showed why with a grappling showcase that ended in highlight reel fashion.

In a preliminary card bout Friday at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Lencioni (11-3 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) masterclassed his way to a rear triangle submission of [autotag]Blake Smith[/autotag] (7-4 MMA, 0-1 BMMA). The tap came at 3:39 of Round 2.

After a successful Round 1 on the canvas, Lencioni dragged it back down in Round 2. He first worked a kimura from half guard and moved to mount. As Smith shifted, Lencioni grabbed hold of the back. From the back, Lencioni choked up high and wrapped his legs around Smith’s head. After some short punches and a torque of the arm, Lencioni readjusted his legs and got the tap.

Lencioni, 28, has won four fights in a row, with two in Bellator since he returned to the promotion in 2022. Smith, a former CFFC champion, has now lost two fights in a row.

Both fighters missed weight ahead of their Bellator 294 bout. Smith weighed 146.4 pounds (0.4 pounds over the featherweight limit). Lenconi weighed 152.4 pounds (6.4 pounds over the featherweight limit).

The Bellator 294 results include:

  • Cris Lencioni def. Blake Smith via submission (rear triangle) – Round 2, 3:39
  • Sharaf Davlatmurodov def. Anthony Adams via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 294.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (March 13-19)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from March 13-19.

Current Texas A&M tight end advises others to commit to Texas

Current Texas A&M player Blake Smith gave Tom Herman recruiting fuel, saying he would commit to Texas if he was a wide receiver.

Texas and Tom Herman landed their biggest recruit ever in Quinn Ewers on Friday afternoon. The No. 1 prospect in the country in the 2022 class, the Longhorns found their quarterback on the future in the Southlake Carroll prospect.

Of course, social media had crazy reactions to Texas’ new commit. The most eye-opening one, however, was a current Texas A&M player saying he would choose Texas if he was a recruit again.

Blake Smith was a part of the Aggies’ 2020 recruiting class, coming in as a three-star tight end. He also attended Southlake Carrol, the high school of Quinn Ewers.

Smith quote tweeted Ewers’ commitment post, saying “Congrats bro, business decision and if I was a WR/TE…I’d commit there with him. Just saying.”

The tweet was soon deleted from Smith’s account.

Very rarely do you ever see anyone telling recruits to commit to another school, let alone a Texas A&M player telling them to go to Texas.

The Longhorns and Aggies have maintained their rivalry off the field, battling it out in recruiting. Now, Tom Herman has an excellent weapon, telling in-state blue chips that even Texas A&M players think they should commit to Texas.

Blake Smith has some history with the top ranked recruit so this should comes little to no surprise that he would say it. Smith shared a video of just how electric his arm talent is.

With the addition of Ewers to the quarterback room, it appears the Red River Rivalry just became an arms race. Should be fun to watch once he gets on campus.

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