I'll be doing things a little bit different to guide my podcast for this weekend, since there are two MMA events running at the same time
UFC Prelims
Dhiego Lima SD's Court McGee
Don't Watch
Lima almost gave this one away, and that could have been the end of his second UFC run. This is his eighth fight and first winning streak, but he was 6-0 on TUF. McGee has lost 3 of 4, but I think he'll hang around.
Angela Hill UD's Jodie Esquibel
Don't Watch
A fair match, and an active one. Hill won this one on short notice, and she needed it. She's now 3-4 in her latest UFC run, but was facing a possible three fight losing streak. Jodie is likely Invicta FC bound as she's now 0-3 in the UFC.
Jim Miller submits Jason Gonzalez, R1
WATCH
This is just what Jim Miller does. He's won two out of three, and does it in front of his family, which is great to see. He admits he doesn't have many more fights left in him. You're not gonna find a whole lot of lightweights with eight first round finishes.
Gilbert Burns taps Mike Davis, R2
Don't Watch
Davis was a late replacement, and this was pretty much how this fight had to go. Burns had to win this fight, and had to win it in dominant fashion. Burns has won four of five and anything but a finish would have been a disappointment.
#9 Carla Esparza UD's Virna Jandiroba
Don't Watch
Esparza has top control in round one, and Jandiroba has top control in round two. Momentum returns to Carla in R3. Esparza is really good at smothering Jandiroba in guard without eating a bunch of elbows. Janidroba ends in control, but this wasn't a fun one to watch. Esparza was more successful all over the place, including in the clinch.
Augusto Sakai "BEAT" Andrei Arlovski via SD
I can't believe there were allegedly 110 strikes in this fight. This was miserable, and Andrei Arlovski hasn't had a great performance since 2015. He did better than Sakai did in this fight though, but somehow Sakai got the win. HORRIBLE.
Takashi Sato finished Ben Saunders, R2 TKO
Watch
Sato was going to have to beat Saunders to retain his prospect status, and Saunders probably needed to beat Sato to remain relevant in an way in the UFC. Saunders has now lost five of six, and has been finished in all of them. I think it's a wrap on his second UFC run. Sato is worth watching because he has a big upside.
Roosevelt Roberts defeated Thomas Gifford UD
Don't Watch.
Gifford hung around in this one, and that's really all you can ask of him. Roberts is a highly touted prospect out of Dana White's Contender Series, and the company probably wanted him to emerge victorious. He does.
Corey Sandhagen SD's John Lineker
Maybe watch?
This is a hell of a matchup. The only two people to beat Lineker in the last six years would later pop for EPO. Sandhagen is so much bigger than Lineker. Sandhagen uses his range really well early in the first round. Towards round three, Lineker gets sick of it and wades in, but gets caught with regularity in doing so. This was some good technical striking vs. brawling. There was a sick moment at the end when blood squirted from Sandagen's face when stuck in a guillotine. Ew. Well, I don't think Sandhagen will pop for EPO, but he won. This was a really close decision. Most had it for Lineker.
Glover Teixeira takes down Ion Cutelaba, R2 Submission
Watch
Cutelaba cracks Teixeira midway through the first, including with a big time knee. Glover is able to recover and briefly land a takedown. This is easily fight of the night as we get midway through the second. Both guys crack one another. Teixeria's experience ends up playing a huge role, as he grounds Cutelaba and submits him. After the fight, he calls out Corey Anderson. This is a high level 205 pound fight, so check this one out.
Mike Perry beats down Alex Oliveira, UD
WATCH
Oliveira and Perry really slug it out. Cowboy puts the pain on Perry in round one and has much more precise striking. In round two, Perry cracks Cowboy with a big punch and drops him, then later slams him to the mat. Perry is able to clip Oliveira with a right and and drive through to the mat. Perry works a great knee up against the cage out of a quarter nelson. Alex Oliveira DISLOCATED HIS TOE and his corner put it back in. He's still fighting. Perry really lays it on Oliveira for round 3. He took this fight, and it's the biggest win of his career. He wants Darren Till.
Greg Hardy crushes a Russian Jobber, R1
Watch
UFC is really hoping for a Russian jobber, and they've got one. Hardy lands a head kick, presses forward and hurts Smoliakov. That's a wrap. Ok. He gets booed by his own hometown crowd where he trains. He's a trash human.
#10 Jack Hermansson upsets #4 Jacare Souza, UD
WATCH
Hermansson had the opportunity of a lifetime with a short notice fight against Jacare Souza. He made the most of it by dropping Souza early. He spends all of round two on top of Jacare. Round three sees Jacare rip away at Hermansson and really do some damage. This leads to Jack shooting early in round four. Round five was a lot more close, but Hermansson did it. What a performance, and he fought three or four weeks ago!!
Bellator 220
Bolanos defeated Stolen, R1, TKO
Watch
Stolen tries to pressure for the first several minutes and actually finds some success. However, they land at the same time, with Bolanos' cracking Stolen with a much bigger blow that flattens him. Bolaos set that up with a nice check elbow. Frank Trigg calls an end to this fight. Bolanos is an emerging name for Bellator and the finish was fun.
Phil Davis puts Liam McGeary Out Of His Misery, R3.
Watch Round 3
These are two really long guys who are ground specialists. So how does it go? They keep it standing. TECHNICAL STRIKING~! This is a miserable round to watch, if you could guess. McGeary probably took it, all things considered. You can copy and paste literally everything that happened in round one over to round two, except the fact that Davis was able to land a couple of leg kicks that earned him the round instead. The final round finally sees Phil Davis get aggressive in taking the fight to the ground. He does so twice, and looks ready to apply a rear naked choke, but McGeary just taps anyway. That's it.
Ben Henderson outpoints Adam Piccolotti, SD
Don't Watch
Henderson opens with leg kicks, as is tradition. Piccolotti is able to close the distance, drag Henderson down and apply an unsuccessful RNC. Piccolotti controls the duration of round one and easily takes it. Round two is exactly the opposite. Ben Henderson presses forward and takes Piccolotti down, then later takes the back. Henderson finds himself in odd grappling positions, but makes the best of them. Piccolotti almost pulls off a hammerlock of all things, but gets dumped by Henderson. Piccolotti takes control and tries to ride out the round, but Henderson gets on top and lands a few strikes. Henderson may have stolen the round and the fight here.
Bellator Flyweight Championship
Ilima Lei MacFarlane (c) stops Veta Arteaga, R3
Watch Round 3
MacFarlane is immediately pressing forward and dropping down for submissions. First an armbar, which is escaped, then a kneebar. Arteaga works to the feet and lands knees in the clinch. Arteaga stuffs a takedown to end the round. MacFarlane gets inside and takes down Arteaga, but rests in the guard. The fight moves back up to the feet, but Arteaga is countering when she can. MacFarlane keeps cutting her off with long strikes and leg kicks. Arteaga probably took the round based on the striking at the end of it. MacFarlane quickly gets Arteaga down, but the ref calls an end to the fight via a cut on Arteaga's head after a sick elbow. That's a wrap.
Bellator Welterweight Championship
Bellator Welterweight World Grand Prix Opening Round
Rory MacDonald (c) and Jon Fitch go to Majority Draw, Macdonald advances
MacDonald immediately catches Fitch with a punch, but gets taken down. MacDonald applies a positional wristlock and throws an elbow. That positional wristlock end up getting Rory to his feet. MacDonald picks apart Fitch, while eating the occasional leg kick. Fitch scores a HUGE takedown. Jon Fitch takes down MacDonald pretty fast in R2, where the rest of the round remains. Fitch throws an ill advised kick that leads to him getting taken down with ten seconds left. Jon Fitch drags down MacDonald again in R3, and starts throwing elbows. Rory MacDonald just isn't the dude we thought he was. He may end up winning, but this is rough. Zahabi doesn't seem to have any sense of urgency in the corner. MacDonald immediately cracks Fitch and hurts him. Fitch is begging for a takedown, and eats a lot of punishment before he ends up getting it.
Jon Fitch won on one scorecard. MacDonald won on 0. MacDonald retains his title and advances in the tourney. WHAT!? He blames Jesus on his shitty fight.
