The MMA triple header came and went this past Saturday. MMA fans were treated to events from the top three promotions with UFC 180, Bellator 131, and World Series of Fighting 15 (WSOF15). The unique thing about Bellator MMA was this was supposed to be the new design of future shows, here’s what stood out:
What was different?
Bellator 131 which is supposed to be the first true event under Scott Coker and a preview of what to look for from the promotion next year ,was very different from what we’re used from Bellator MMA. The ring looked the same, the fighters were announced a while ago so there were no surprises outside of Joe Schilling’s quick finish of Melvin Manhoef but there was one big change, the entrances. At first they were kind of a welcome change, big screens with animated video of fighter’s faces and anything else that related to them. But, after a while they had the aura of something out of Pro Wrestling. Especially when fighters started coming out in costumes with scantily clad entourages of women and rappers, live rapping their entrance music. Nam Phan walked into the ring with music that parodies a character from The Walking Dead called “Carl Poppa” courtesy of the guys at Bad Lip Reading. I don’t think that helped him get what he needed to beat Mike Richman who finished Pham easily in the first round.
What was new?
The first few events for 2015 were announced during the broadcast, the best one being billed as “The British Invasion”. This looks to be a very solid card on February 27th for Bellator 133. The most notable matches included Emanuel Newton (25-7) vs Liam McGreary (9-0) for Newton’s Light Heavyweight title and Bobby Lashley(12-2) will face James “The Colossus” Thompson (20-14) in a Heavyweight bout. Other bouts announced for the first quarter of 2015 included Bellator 132 with Daniel Strauss (23-5) is facing Patricio Pitbull (22-2) for the Featherweight Title and Bellator 134 with Joe Warren (12-3) facing Marcos Galvao (16-6) for his Bantamweight title. These cards are definitely a little higher caliber than what we have seen in the past from Bellator MMA, even though they are not all finalized yet.
The Finale
The main event had Tito Ortiz gain a split decision win over Stephan Bonnar who did not look ready to return to combat when facing Ortiz. I have to hand it to Tito Ortiz his counter punching against a nearly flailing Stephan Bonnar was spot on. It was odd no one was really using leg kicks although Ortiz did attempt a head kick in the final round that missed. He used his counter punching and take downs to earn the decision win. The timing could not be more perfect as when UFC 180 was finishing and WSOF 15 had their fights finished the only one still on was this fight. It went the distance and even though no one really cares for decisions these days, not all judges saw the same fight. The second judge had Bonner winning two rounds but I recommend you watch the fight and judge for yourself. It was not as exciting as one would hope but Ortiz managed to throw in some post fight antics that would bring some attention to the event.
There is nothing wrong with Pro Wrestling and it is one of the other sports covered here on Last Word on Sports that has a lot of athletes transfer over to MMA but being compared to it seems to not help new fans accept the sport. However if pro wrestling fans become new fans they are still new fans. Are you one of them?
Bellator Announces First Quarter Fight Schedule | via Bellator.com
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