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:
Toby Misech def. Erik Perez via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:54
Check out all the facts and figures from Bellator 235, which took place Friday in Honolulu, Hawaii.
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] (11-6 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) pulled off a stunning upset when he spoiled the promotional debut of UFC veteran [autotag]Erik Perez[/autotag] (19-7 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) with a brilliant first-round knockout.
For more on the numbers to come out of the main event, as well as the rest of the card, check below for 13 post-event facts to come out of Bellator 235.
* * * *
General
Betting favorites went 3-1 on the main card.
Betting favorites fell to 12-8 (with two no contests and one draw)) in Bellator main events this year.
Total fight time for the four-bout main card was 34:49.
Main card
Misech has earned all of his career stoppage victories by knockout. That includes both of his Bellator wins.
Misech’s 54-second victory marked the fastest finish of his career.
Perez suffered the first knockout loss of his career.
[autotag]Alejandra Lara[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) earned her first decision victory since July 26, 2013 – a span of 2,338 days (more than six years) and nine fights.
[autotag]Veta Arteaga[/autotag] (5-4 MMA, 4-4 BMMA) has suffered three of her four career losses by decision.
[autotag]Joey Davis[/autotag] (7-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) improved to 5-0 since he dropped to the Bellator welterweight division in January 2018.
Davis’ five-fight Bellator winning streak at welterweight is tied with Logan Storley for the longest active streak in the division.
Davis has earned all five of his career stoppage victories by knockout.
[autotag]Chris Cisneros[/autotag] (17-10 MMA, 0-3 BMMA) extended his career long skid to four fights. He hasn’t earned a victory since January 2017.
Cisneros has suffered all three of his Bellator losses by stoppage.
When Toby Misech woke up Friday, he had no idea he would be headlining Bellator 235 later that night.
HONOLULU – When [autotag]Toby Misech[/autotag] woke up Friday, he had no idea he would be headlining Bellator 235 later that night.
But thrust into the spotlight with just a few hours’ notice that he was elevated from co-feature to main event, Misech took major advantage against a highly touted new Bellator signing in Erik Perez.
Misech (12-7 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) drilled Perez (19-7 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) with a vicious left that had the nine-fight UFC veteran on his butt on the canvas immediately. Misech paused for a second, then followed Perez to the ground and landed a thunderous second punch and a couple more for good measure.
The first-round knockout brought the fans at Bellator 235 (“Bellator and USO Present: Salute the Troops 2019”) to their feet at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The show was filled with locally stationed military members.
But somehow, Misech seemed to make up for it to spoil Perez’s Bellator debut.
“I said from the beginning I knew I was going to catch him,” Misech, from Hawaii, told MMA Junkie. “But I was expecting a longer fight. I watched his fights. He takes beatings, and he’s hard to finish. I was expecting a little bit longer fight, but eventually I would have caught him.”
Misech took all the steam out of any push Bellator may have wanted to give Perez with a win. But he doesn’t necessarily think he ought to get the same kind of push in return.
The way he sees it, he’s been fighting big names all along, anyway. After a decision loss to former champion Eduardo Dantas earlier this year, the Perez knockout has Misech back in a big way.
“We don’t get the recognition we need and we want,” he said. “They’ve been giving me top contenders my whole career. I just feel like they think I’m a stepping stone. But no matter what, I always come to fight. That should put me closer – I hope.”
Toby Misech didn’t know he’d be closing the show at Bellator 235, but in the end, he delivered a memorable moment for his Hawaiian fans.
[autotag]Toby Misech[/autotag] didn’t know when he arrived at the arena Friday that he would be closing the show at Bellator 235, but in the end, he delivered a memorable moment for his hometown fans in Honolulu.
After the original main event of Josh Barnett vs. Ronny Markes was canceled just hours before it was set to take place, Misech (12-7 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) had his fight promoted to the top of the card. He made the most of the opportunity, upsetting [autotag]Erik Perez[/autotag] with a stunning first-round knockout. The time of the stoppage was 54 seconds.
The catchweight bout (Misech came in overweight for what was scheduled as a bantamweight fight) was the Bellator 235 (“Bellator and USO Present: Salute the Troops 2019”) main event at Neal S. Blaisdell Center. The main card aired on Paramount and streamed on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
The fight was short and sweet. The athletes took a few moments to feel each other out and gauge distance on the feet, then Misech, who was a nearly 4-1 betting underdog, loaded up on a right hand that caught Perez (19-7 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) clean on the chin and sent him crashing to the canvas. Misech pounced on his fallen opponent with a pair of follow-up shots, forcing referee Mike Beltran to step in and save Perez from taking more damage.
The crowd went wild, and Misech reveled in the biggest moment of his career.
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“I’m always the underdog,” Misech said in his postfight interview with John McCarthy. “I had so much doubters and this is our town, this is my home and we ain’t losing in here.”
Up-to-the-minute Bellator 235 results include:
Toby Misech def. Erik Perez via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:54
After going 15 minutes against a former champion earlier this year, Toby Misech isn’t getting any kind of a break from Bellator.
HONOLULU – After going 15 minutes against a former champion earlier this year, [autotag]Toby Misech[/autotag] isn’t getting any kind of a break from Bellator.
Misech (11-7 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) on Friday takes on Erik Perez (19-6 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in a bantamweight bout at Bellator 235 (“Bellator and USO Present: Salute the Troops 2019”), which takes place at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
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Perez went 7-2 during a lengthy run in the UFC, and most recently has back-to-back stoppage wins under the Combate Americas banner. So after Misech dropped a decision to ex-champ Eduardo Dantas in February, he gets thrown right back into the deep end against Perez.
To hear from Misech, a Hawaiian fighting in front of his home fans, about Friday’s fight, check out the full interview above.
Bellator is back in Hawaii for a doubleheader weekend for the second straight December.
Bellator 235 (“Bellator and USO Present: Salute the Troops 2019”) takes place Friday at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie. Saturday, Bellator 236 takes place at the same venue.
The main event features a pair of promotional debuts from veteran fighters. [autotag]Josh Barnett[/autotag] (35-8 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Ronny Markes[/autotag] (19-7 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in the headliner. Barnett most recently fought in the UFC; Markes makes the move over from the PFL. Barnett is more than a 2-1 favorite at the sports books, and our 13 MMA Junkie editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers seem to concur. They have Barnett with a big 10-3 lead in our picks.
The co-main event is one of three unanimous picks from our staff members on the main card. [autotag]Erik Perez[/autotag] (19-6 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) makes his Bellator debut after nine fights in the UFC and a pair for Combate Americas. He’s more than a 2-1 favorite and is the pick from all 13 of our staff members in his bantamweight fight against [autotag]Toby Misech[/autotag] (11-7 MMA, 2-2 BMMA).
[autotag]Tywan Claxton[/autotag] (5-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) is a unanimous pick, as well, in his featherweight fight against local product [autotag]Braydon Akeo[/autotag] (3-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA). Claxton is more than a 4-1 favorite from the oddsmakers.
The biggest favorite on the card is [autotag]Joey Davis[/autotag] (6-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) at upwards of 10-1 in his welterweight bout with [autotag]Chris Cisneros[/autotag] (19-10 MMA, 0-2 BMMA). Davis, like Perez and Claxton, is a 13-0 pick from our staff members.
The women’s flyweight bout in the middle of the main card is fairly lopsided in our picks, as well. Although [autotag]Alejandra Lara[/autotag] (8-3 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) is just a slight favorite at -125 against [autotag]Veta Arteaga[/autotag] (5-3 MMA, 4-3 BMMA), she has a 10-3 lead in the picks.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Barnett (83%), Perez (90 percent), Lara (56 percent), Claxton (83 percent) and Davis (85 percent) are the choices.
We look ahead at five key storylines to follow as Bellator kicks off its double-header of events in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The Bellator cage lands in Hawaii this weekend for a double-header of MMA action, with the first of the two events set to pay tribute to the servicemen and women in Honolulu at “Bellator and USO Present: Salute The Troops 2019,” which takes place at Neal S. Blaisdell Center. The night’s main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN.
The card features the return of a heavyweight legend, a pair of women’s flyweight contenders looking to earn a second title shot and two former wrestling standouts seeking to push themselves towards the top.
Here are our five burning questions ahead of Friday night’s event in Hawaii:
Can the returning Josh Barnett surge into title contention?
Josh Barnett
It’s been more than three years since we saw [autotag]Josh Barnett[/autotag] throwing down inside an MMA cage, but now, after a battle with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and a change of promotion, “The Warmaster” is back and ready to launch his assault on the Bellator heavyweight division.
Barnett (35-8 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) headlines Friday night’s card in Hawaii against Brazilian [autotag]Ronny Markes[/autotag], who has moved up from 205 pounds to heavyweight to take on the former UFC heavyweight champion at Salute the Troops.
With Bellator’s heavyweight division looking wide open right now, Barnett sees an opportunity to make an impact on his return as he bids to gatecrash the title picture and make a beeline for reigning champion Ryan Bader.
And with a record that includes nine finishes from his last 10 outings, Markes (19-7 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) will need to be on his guard against a man with a chip on his shoulder and a title in his sights.
“I don’t view it as going after the title,” Barnett said. “I’m already ready for a title shot. I’m already deserving of a title shot. What I’m relishing is having the opportunity to get in there and fight. Period. I go out, I fight, I win, I get what I want.”
Will “The Warmaster” get his wish on Friday night, or can Markes upset the veteran’s return with an underdog victory?
Check out all the facts and figures about Bellator 235, which takes place Friday with a Josh Barnett vs. Ronny Markes main event.
The first half of Bellator’s weekend doubleheader in Hawaii takes place on Friday with Bellator 235, or “Salute the Troops 2019,” which takes place at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu and airs on Paramount following prelims on MMA Junkie.
A heavyweight matchup between promotional newcomers is featured atop the card. Former UFC champion [autotag]Josh Barnett[/autotag] (35-8 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) will return to action for the first time since 2016 when he meets [autotag]Ronny Markes[/autotag] (19-7 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the main card, check below for 20 pre-event facts about “Bellator and USO Present: Salute the Troops 2019.”
* * * *
Main event
Josh Barnett
Barnett returns to competition for the first time since Sept. 3, 2016. The 1,204-day layoff is the longest of his nearly 23-year career.
Barnett competes outside the UFC for the first time since January 2013. He went 4-2 in his most recent stint with the company.
Barnett has earned nine of his past 10 victories by stoppage. He has finishes in 29 of his 35 career victories overall.
Barnett’s nine submission victories in UFC/PRIDE/Strikeforce/WEC heavyweight competition are second most in combined divisional history behind Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (13).
Barnett is 14-2 when he lands at least one takedown in fights dating back to 2004.
Barnett’s 146 significant strikes landed against Roy Nelson at UFC Fight Night 75 are the second most in a single UFC heavyweight behind Junior Dos Santos’ 157 vs. Ben Rothwell at UFC Fight Night 86.
Barnett’s 95 significant clinch strikes landed against Nelson stand as the UFC heavyweight record.
Ronny Markes
Markes makes his Bellator debut after being a four-fight veteran of PFL and five-fight UFC veteran.
Markes is 3-3 in his past six fights dating back to June 2017.
Co-main event
Erik Perez
[autotag]Erik Perez[/autotag] (19-6 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) makes his Bellator debut on a five-fight winning streak. He hasn’t suffered a defeat since June 2017.
[autotag]Toby Misech[/autotag] (10-6 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) has altered wins and losses over his past four fights. He won his most recent bout at Bellator 215 in February.
Remaining main card
Veta Arteaga
[autotag]Veta Arteaga[/autotag] (5-3 MMA, 4-3 BMMA) competes in her eighth Bellator flyweight bout, tied with Emily Ducote for the second most appearances in divisional history behind Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (nine).
Arteaga’s four victories in Bellator flyweight competition are tied with Ducote for second most in divisional history behind Macfarlane (nine).
[autotag]Alejandra Lara[/autotag] (8-3 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) has earned seven of her eight career victories by stoppage.
[autotag]Joey Davis[/autotag]’ (6-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) four-fight Bellator winning streak at welterweight is the second longest active streak in the division behind Logan Storley (five).
[autotag]Chris Cisneros[/autotag] (17-9 MMA, 0-2 BMMA) is winless in two Bellator stints dating back to 2011.
Cisneros’ three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since January 2017.
