Tag: Fabian Edwards

Mike Shipman disappointed with Bellator Europe 6 judging; calls Fabian Edwards ‘real deal’

After Bellator London, Mike Shipman was frustrated with not only with the judging, but also with himself.

LONDON – The Bellator Europe 6 co-main event was close.

When the dust settled, [autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag] had his hand raised after a three-round bout with [autotag]Mike Shipman[/autotag]. However, not everyone agreed with the decision. The consensus among fans and media was the same as among the judges: split.

After the fight, Shipman (13-3 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) emphasized his frustrations not only with the judging, but with himself. According to Shipman, he believed he had a comfortable lead in the fight in the third round. As a result, he “coasted” instead of pressing the action.

“Yeah, obviously I’m going to have a biased opinion,” Shipman told MMA Junkie. “I need to watch the tape back. I thought I had won the fight. In the third round, I took my foot off the gas because I thought I won it. I coasted the third round, so (expletive) me for doing that.”

Third-round mental lapses aside, Shipman was unhappy with his performance altogether. If he did certain things differently, Shipman believes the fight would have gone his way even under these circumstances.

“I wasn’t totally happy with my performance,” Shipman said. “I should have done more damage in certain spots and taken advantage of the dominant positions I had. But I do think I did enough. But that’s the game.”

One judge, Ben Cartlidge, scored the contest 30-27 in favor of Edwards (9-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) – an outrageous ruling in the eyes of Shipman.

“I don’t understand the 30-27. I don’t understand what fight they were watching,” Shipman said. “But again, but I don’t want to be going to the judges anyways. And if I am going to the judges, I want a bloody mess in front of me.”

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The war of words between rivals Shipman and Edwards was well-documented entering Bellator Europe 6. The two fighters have not liked each other since their days competing on the regional scene for BAMMA. After the fight, Shipman put the bad blood aside and commended Edwards on the victory.

“Credit to Fabian as well,” Shipman said. “Obviously as you all know, I don’t like the guy. But he did show he’s the real deal. He’s a real fighter. He went out and tried to push the pace, tried to win the fight. I don’t think he did, but obviously two of them saw differently.”

Bellator Europe 6 took place Saturday at The SSE Arena, Wembley in London. The card streamed on MMA Junkie.

Check out MMA Junkie’s full Bellator Europe 6 post-fight interview with Mike Shipman in the video above.

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Bellator Europe 6 post-event facts: Michael Page elevates places in record book

Check out all the facts and figures from Bellator London, which took place Saturday and saw Michael Page win in the main event.

Bellator hosted its final European event of the years on Saturday with Bellator Europe 6, which went down at The SSE Arena, Wembley in London and streamed on the Bellator app following prelims on MMA Junkie.

England’s own [autotag]Michael Page[/autotag] (16-1 MMA, 12-1 BMMA) was triumphant yet again in the main event when he elevated his record with a first-round knockout of replacement opponent [autotag]Giovanni Melillo[/autotag] (13-5 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) in the welterweight matchup.

The finish by “MVP” etched his name further in the record books. For more on the numbers, check below for 25 post-event facts to come out of Bellator Europe 6.

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General

Betting favorites went 3-0 on the main card.

Betting favorites improved to 13-7 (with two no contests and one draw) in Bellator main events this year.

Total fight time for the three-bout main card was 31:47.

Main card

Page’s 12 victories in Bellator welterweight competition are third most in divisional history behind Andrey Koreshkov (13) and Douglas Lima (13).

Page’s nine stoppage victories in Bellator welterweight competition are tied with Lima for most in divisional history.

Page’s eight knockout victories in Bellator competition are third most in company history behind Lima (nine) and Patricky Freire (nine).

Page’s eight knockout victories in Bellator welterweight competition are tied with Lima for most in divisional history.

Melillo fell to 1-3 in his past four fights dating back to August 2018.

Melillo has suffered all five of his career losses by first-round knockout.

[autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag] (9-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) became the first fighter to earn four Bellator victories in 2019.

Edwards’ four-fight Bellator winning streak at middleweight is tied with Rafael Lovato Jr. for the second longest active streak in the division behind Anatoly Tokov (five).

[autotag]Mike Shipman[/autotag]’s (13-3 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) suffered consecutive losses for the first time in his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since November 2018.

Shipman suffered the first decision loss of his career.

[autotag]Terry Brazier[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) suffered the first decision loss of his career.

Preliminary card

[autotag]Denise Kielholtz[/autotag]’s (4-2 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) four victories in Bellator women’s flyweight competition are tied for second most in divisional history behind Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (nine).

Kielholtz’s three stoppage victories in Bellator women’s flyweight competition are tied for second most in divisional history behind Macfarlane (six).

Kielholtz’s two submission victories in Bellator women’s flyweight competition are third most in divisional history behind Macfarlane (six) and Emily Ducote (three).

Kielholtz’s 32-second finish of Sabriye Sengul marked the fastest submission in Bellator women’s flyweight history.

[autotag]Charlie Ward[/autotag] (7-4 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) fell to 4-1 since he returned to the middleweight division in November 2017. He’s 6-1 overall in his career at the weight class.

Ward suffered the first decision loss of his career.

[autotag]Sam Sicilia[/autotag] (17-11 MMA, 2-3 BMMA) fell to 2-6 in his past eight fights dating back to November 2015.

Sicilia has suffered nine of his 11 career losses by stoppage.

[autotag]Kent Kauppinen[/autotag] (12-5 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) was successful in his return to the middleweight division.

Kauppinen has earned all 12 of his career victories by stoppage. He’s finished seven of those wins in Round 1.

[autotag]Alfie Davis[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) has earned three of his four Bellator victories by decision.

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Mike Shipman calls out judge after split-decision loss to Fabian Edwards: ‘I want Ben Cartlidge’

British middleweight Mike Shipman kept his sense of humor intact, despite his split-decision loss to Fabian Edwards, as he called out judge Ben Cartlidge in the post-fight press conference.

LONDON – Despite all of the bad blood and frayed tempers heading into his co-main event fight with [autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag] at Bellator Europe 6, [autotag]Mike Shipman[/autotag] came out of the fight with his sense of humor still intact.

Shipman (13-3 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) came out on the wrong end of a split-decision verdict at the SSE Arena, with the scorecards leaning Edwards’ way 28-29, 29-28, 30-27. And despite his defeat, the London Shootfighters man generously gave his time backstage to talk through his performance, and his take on the scores.

When asked his take on the individual scorecards, Shipman immediately latched onto the name of the judge who awarded all three rounds to Edwards (9-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA).

“Say that name again,” Shipman said after the scorecards were read to him during his post-fight media scrum. “Let me get my Facebook up and see if I can find him.”

When Shipman was told that Cartlidge – an experienced judge and a well-respected staple of the British MMA scene – was “a very nice man,” Shipman joked: “He doesn’t sound like it! How’s his eyesight?”

Then, he pondered for a second, then declared with a grin: “Ben Cartlidge … I don’t want Fabian next fight. I want Ben Cartlidge!”

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Looking at the overall scorecard as a whole, which saw just one of the three judges, Dave Tirelli, score the fight in his favor, Shipman laughed: “I see that we have one sensible man out of three!” before admitting that, while he believed he’d done enough to win the fight, he wouldn’t allow himself to be bitter after a close defeat.

“I don’t want to be one of those bitter guys,” he explained. “You always see it after a close decision: ‘Ah, I won the fight, I won the fight!’

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“Obviously, I need to watch it back again. I think I won the fight. But, like I said, serves me right for trying to coast that last round. I thought I had it in the bag. That’s not my style, I want to be looking to finish fights right up until the last bell. So in a way, (it) serves me right. (But) at the same time, yeah, I think I won the fight. I need to watch it again.”

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.

Fabian Edwards chasing improvement after split-decision win at Bellator Europe 6

Fabian Edwards admitted there was plenty of room for improvement after his split-decision victory over Mike Shipman at Bellator Europe 6.

LONDON – [autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag] got the nod from the judges after a close clash with rival [autotag]Mike Shipman[/autotag] at Bellator Europe 6, but the Birmingham native wasn’t overly impressed with his own performance.

Speaking to the media, including MMA Junkie, backstage at the SSE Arena, Edwards (9-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) picked apart his fight and admitted that his display didn’t match his level of performance in the gym leading into the contest.

“I just felt like I was waiting around too much,” he said. “I should have exploded more into certain positions and to get out of certain positions. With Mike, he brought everything I thought he was going to bring, so I’m kinda disappointed in myself. Sometimes the lights are on and you don’t get to perform like you want to perform.”

Despite being nonplussed with his performance against Shipman (13-3 MMA, 4-2 BMMA), Edwards still believed he deserved to get the nod from the judges.

“I feel like I was trying to do the damage,” he said. “I was trying to land the damaging strikes. He was trying to hold and I was trying to get separation to hurt him and finish him. I feel like I got it, or a draw, but I don’t feel like he got it because, even on the floor, he wasn’t trying to end the fight. he wasn’t trying to land big strikes on the floor or anything like that. I’ll have to watch the fight back and I’ll see again, but all my team think I won it, so (expletive) it.”

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With the rivalry still very much intact between the pair after a hotly contested result, talk of a rematch has already started. And while Edwards shut down the notion of facing Shipman in a return bout in his next outing, he did leave the door open for the pair to face off again, suggesting his home town as the ideal location for a rematch.

“Everyone’s told me he doesn’t deserve a rematch, so let’s let him get one or two (wins) or whatever and then let’s play it out back in Birmingham as a main event,” he said. “That’ll be something that I think the Birmingham fans will enjoy.”

Another bout that was floated during the press conference was a potential matchup with the night’s main event winner – and Shipman’s London Shootfighters teammate – Michael Page, who was involved in the scuffle after Edwards and Shipman clashed at the ceremonial weigh-ins. Edwards said he’d be happy to entertain another all-English showdown, but only at middleweight.

“There’s no beef on that side, that’s been squashed,” he said. “If he comes up to middleweight then yeah. But I’d have to cut off an arm and a leg to make welterweight, so that ain’t happening any time soon.”

However, Edwards has his sights set on a different opponent for his next matchup – the only other man to defeat Shipman inside the Bellator cage, Dutchman Costello van Steenis.

“I see Costello called me out, so that’s a fight I’ve said I wanted next,” he said. “So let’s make it happen.”

By then, Edwards hopes he will have made further improvements as he looks to translate his abilities in the gym to impressive performances in the cage.

“I just felt like I wasn’t firing like I should have,” he said. “If you came up (to Birmingham) and watched my cage work, you’d be shocked. But it is what is, I’m only 9-0. I’ve only been at this sport for five years. I’m still learning and developing, which is a good thing.”

Fight Tracks: The walkout songs of Bellator Europe 6, with a heavy presence from Russ

Check out all the fighter walkout songs from Saturday’s Bellator Europe 6 event.

While it takes intense training, world-class skills and maybe even a bit of luck to register a Bellator win, picking the right song to accompany you to the cage is a key talent, as well.

See what the fighters from Bellator Europe 6 went with as their backing tracks in London.

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Michael Page def. Giovanni Melillo via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 1:47

[autotag]Michael Page[/autotag]: “Gun Lean” by Russ

[autotag]Giovanni Melillo[/autotag]: “Sail” by AWOLNATION

Fabian Edwards def. Mike Shipman via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)

[autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag]: “Gun Lean (Remix)” by Russ feat. Taze, LD, Digga D, Ms Banks & Lethal Bizzle

[autotag]Mike Shipman[/autotag]: “Mother” by Danzig

Soren Bak def. Terry Brazier via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

[autotag]Soren Bak[/autotag]: “If I Had A Heart” by Fever Ray

[autotag]Terry Brazier[/autotag]: N/A

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.

Bellator Europe 6 results: Michael Page steals show with one-hitter quitter in London

Michael “Venom” Page produced the highlight-reel finish London fans were hoping for when he stopped Giovanni Melillo inside one round.

LONDON – [autotag]Michael Page[/autotag] gave his hometown fans what they wanted as he closed the show in style at Bellator Europe 6 with the latest addition to his spectacular highlight reel.

Page (16-1 MMA, 12-1 BMMA) finished late-notice replacement [autotag]Giovanni Melillo[/autotag] in just 107 seconds with a thumping right hand to bring the SSE Arena crowd to their feet at the end of a dramatic main card in England’s capital.

Page was originally set to face American Derek Anderson, but a late injury to “Barbaric” meant Bellator needed a short-notice replacement. And while Italy’s Melillo (13-5 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) stepped up to the plate, he found himself hopelessly outgunned in a fight where he barely laid a glove on the Brit, who found a home for his strikes almost immediately.

A slick three-punch combination signaled Page’s intent to claim a fast finish as he showed a visibly more aggressive pace than we’ve seen from him in some of his past fights. And, after backing his man up with a mixture of sharp punches and the occasional low kick, Melillo looked to launch an attack of his own.

But Page saw the Italian’s riposte coming and answered with a huge right hand that knocked out Melillo long before he hit the canvas as he registered the 10th knockout win of his professional MMA career.

Edwards edges out Shipman via split decision

After all the drama and bad blood of fight week, [autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag] and [autotag]Mike Shipman[/autotag] finally got their hands on each other inside the cage but, in a strange twist, their co-main event fight ended with the winner calling for a rematch.

Former BAMMA middleweight champion Shipman (13-3 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) looked to implement a gameplan that saw him close the distance and smother Edwards’ strikes, before wearing on him against the fence and gaining takedowns. But while the Londoner was successful in avoiding the Birmingham man’s best shots, Edwards (9-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) still managed to score with shots as Shipman stepped in. Once in the clinch, Shipman used his strength to hold Edwards against the cage, but the undefeated prospect stayed calm and managed to escape each time after taking minimal damage.

By the time the fight reached the third round both men were feeling the pace, and that opened up opportunities for Edwards to let loose with his strikes as he started the final frame with a pair of solid left hands. Once again, Shipman was able to take his man to the mat, but this time he couldn’t hold him down as Edwards fought his way back to his feet.

Then “The Assassin” enjoyed his best spell of the fight as he unloaded his power shots on a fatigued Shipman and wobbled the former BAMMA champion with a powerful left hand as he chased a late stoppage.

Ultimately, however, the judges were required to provide a definitive winner, and they were split on the verdict, with each man earning a 29-28 score on the final scorecards. But the third card, a 30-27, was awarded to Edwards to give him the victory. But his post-fight interview suggested he wasn’t fully satisfied with the outcome as he called for a second bout with the Londoner.

Bak makes a winning start to life in Bellator

It wasn’t pretty, but [autotag]Soren Bak[/autotag] was strong and effective as he served up a strict diet of takedowns and top control to stifle England’s [autotag]Terry Brazier[/autotag] and secure a unanimous decision in their lightweight main card opener.

The battle between the former two-division Cage Warriors champion Bak (14-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) and former two-weight BAMMA champ Brazier (11-3 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) produced a grueling three-round battle, with the Dane’s simple, but effective, gameplan seeing him repeatedly take Brazier to the mat and achieve top position.

The Copenhagen native repeated the trick in each round to seal a unanimous decision with scores of 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 on the judges’s scorecards.

Emotional return for Whiteford

The night also marked the emotional return of Scottish featherweight [autotag]Robert Whiteford[/autotag], who ended an 18-month exile from the sport with a last-gasp knockout victory of [autotag]Sam Sicilia[/autotag] on his Bellator debut.

After a cagey opening round, Whiteford (16-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) was rocked by a right hand, then a flying knee, as Sicilia (17-11 MMA, 2-3 BMMA) appeared to be taking control of the fight in the second. But Whiteford stayed in the fight and, with the 10-second clapper sounding at the end of the final frame, launched one final flurry and decked the American with a huge right uppercut before finishing him with strikes on the ground with just six seconds of the fight remaining.

Official Bellator Europe 6 results include:

MAIN CARD (Bellator app, 5 p.m. ET)

  • Michael Page def. Giovanni Melillo via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 1:47
  • Fabian Edwards def. Mike Shipman via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
  • Soren Bak def. Terry Brazier via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Bellator app, 11:30 a.m. ET)

  • Denise Kielholtz def. Sabriye Sengul via submission (Americana) – Round 1, 0:32
  • Tim Wilde def. Charlie Leary via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Pietro Penini def. Charlie Ward via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
  • Robert Whiteford def. Sam Sicilia via knockout (punches) – Round 3, 4:54
  • Lewis Long def. Walter Gahadza via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:44
  • Chris Bungard def. Benjamin Brander via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:26
  • Kent Kauppinen def. Andy Manzolo via submission (forearm choke) – Round 1, 3:53
  • Alfie Davis def. Alessandro Botti via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
  • Kevin Fryer def. George Tokkos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Aiden Lee def. Damian Frankiewicz via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 1:24
  • Jeremy Petley def. Tom Mearns via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Harry Hardwick def. Nathan Rose via majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
  • Akonne Wanliss def. Tim Barnett via submission (D’Arce choke) – Round 1, 0:56
  • Raphael Uchegbu def. ‘Super’ Shane Campbell via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 2:17
  • Charlotte McIntyre def. Josie Blaber via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:00

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Video: Add some intrigue to Bellator London’s Fabian Edwards vs. Mike Shipman grudge match

Bellator returns to London on Saturday, and the co-main event is a middleweight fight that quickly has become a grudge match.

Bellator returns to London on Saturday, and the co-main event is a middleweight fight that quickly has become a grudge match.

[autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag] (8-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Mike Shipman[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) in the co-feature at The SSE Arena, Wembley in London. At Friday’s ceremonial weigh-ins, the two had to be separated in a big way, lest the fight break out in full right next to the scale.

In London, it presumably all will get settled in the cage. But ahead of that, take a look at what led to the grudge between the two in the first place in the video above.

And below, you can also check out some of the best highlights from the unbeaten Edwards and Shipman, who are fighting to stay in the middleweight title hunt. The loser will drop back in the mix, and the winner will likely have made his case.

Fabian Edwards explains ‘little cheeky slap’ of Mike Shipman at Bellator Europe 6 weigh-ins

Fabian Edwards: “He tried to put his hands on me, so I just gave him a little cheeky slap. Nothing much.”

LONDON – [autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag] and [autotag]Mike Shipman[/autotag] stole the show at Friday morning’s Bellator Europe 6 official weigh-ins.

After they hit their respective marks on the scale, the two bitter rivals squared off face-to-face for the second time during fight week. The first time they met – at Thursday’s media day – things were relatively peaceful. Friday’s weigh-ins were the polar opposite.

After some jawing back-and-forth, the two fighters tangled arms before and nearly got into an all-out brawl before they were restrained by commission officials, promotion officials, and coaches.

“I just walked up to him, put my hands up, he flinched,” Edwards told MMA Junkie outside the Indigo at The O2 Arena, where he was scheduled to corner teammate Nathias Frederick at Cage Warriors 111 on Friday night. “I started laughing like, ‘What are you flinching for?’ He tried to put his hands on me, so I just gave him a little cheeky slap. Nothing much.”

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During the sequence when all hell broke loose, Shipman’s teammate and Bellator Europe 6 headliner Michael Page took a run at Edwards. He too had to be restrained by the peacemakers. Edwards attributes Page’s involvement to jealousy.

“‘MVP’ came running in the room trying to get himself involved,” Edwards said. “I think it’s because no one cares about it and this fight is the real main event. He’s just trying to get himself involved in stuff he doesn’t need to be. It’s all a bit of fun.”

Bellator Europe 6 takes place Saturday at The SSE Arena, Wembley in London. The card streams on MMA Junkie.

Check out MMA Junkie’s full interview with Edwards in the video above.

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Bellator Europe 6: Fabian Edwards reacts to weigh-in clash with Mike Shipman

Bellator middleweight Fabian Edwards chats to MMA Junkie backstage at Cage Warriors 111 to recap his weigh-in clash with rival Mike Shipman ahead of their fight at Bellator Europe 6 in London.

Bellator middleweight Fabian Edwards chats to MMA Junkie backstage at Cage Warriors 111 to recap his weigh-in clash with rival Mike Shipman ahead of their fight at Bellator Europe 6 in London.