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By: Rich Hansen, MMATorch Columnist
BELLATOR 90
FEBRUARY 21, 2012
LIVE FROM WEST VALLEY CITY, UTAH
FIGHT ONE: JACOB NOE VS. MIKHAIL ZAYATS (LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT SEMIFINAL)
- Noe is four inches taller, and carries a one inch reach advantage. Zayats doesn't cut weight, so Noe should be much larger tonight.
ROUND ONE: The referee for this fight is Rob Hinds. Zayats catches a leg kick and drops Noe with a beautiful straight left hand. Great timing. Zayats with a little ground and pound, and is stuck in half-guard. That rung Noe's bell, but he survived, but has a bloody mouth. Zayats is content to stay in half-guard and work the ribs. Noe is looking for a standup. Noe looking to sweep out, but whenever he tries to get off the bottom he's getting blasted in the face for his efforts. Noe's breathing out of his mouth heavily, swallowing some blood surely. Zayats has mount. Big right hands from Zayats. Noe is trying to power out, but that isn't going to work against someone with Zayats' sambo skills. Ninety seconds left. Zayats dives for a straight armbar, and he's got it. This fight is over. Very impressive destruction.
WINNER: Mikhail Zayats by submission (straight armbar) in round one.
STAR RATING: (**+) Not much to it. Zayats was at least competent, which put him about 30 leagues ahead of Noe. Zayats might make it out of the first round against Lawal. Nah.
- The first fight went short enough that Spike aired the prelim fight between Ben Saunders and Rayul Amaya. The welterweight division is so stacked that Raul Amaya is keeping Jon Fitch unemployed. Anyhooo, Saunders destroys Amaya. Saunders will face Lima or Baker for the right to get beaten up by Ben Askren in the all too near future.
FIGHT TWO: DOUGLAS LIMA VS. BRYAN BAKER (WELTERWEIGHT SEMIFINAL)
ROUND ONE: Jason Herzog is the referee for this fight. 40 seconds into the fight before a strike is thrown, a leg kick frmo Lima. Followed with a side kick 20 seconds later. Big right leg kick from Lima. Lima has the middle of the cage, and Baker is circling away from Lima's right hand. 2 minutes in, Baker hasn't thrown even a feint. Lima's landing leg kicks. Baker's circling the other way now, as Lima is finally trying to cut off the cage. Lima lands a right hook, this fight is over. I write with minimalist impact.
WINNER: Douglas Lima by KO in round one.
STAR RATING: (***-) Dude. Lima jacked him up something fierce. That was an insta-KO that would get him jailed for years if it happened at a bar. Baker has never looked worse. I honestly don't remember him throwing more than 2 jabs.
- Spike aired a 30 second fight where Fighter A beat Fighter B. Fighter B is now 1-1 for his career. I've just given it too much attention.
FIGHT THREE: MUHAMMED LAWAL VS. EMANUEL NEWTON (LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT SEMIFINAL)
- Lawal has four inches in reach, and about a million dollars in salary on Newton.
ROUND ONE: Jason Hinds is the referee for this semifinal fight. Newton comes out fast, landing a left leg kick, right hook, and left body kick in the first 15 seconds. Newton comes in behind a jab and eats a big right hand. Both guys are flat footed, loading up for a kill shot. Newton has been throwing combinations every time he comes in, but isn't landing at a high percentage so far. Lawal dives in with a jab and eats a body kick. Lawal's keeping his left hand down by his knee, showing no respect for Newton's power. Newton hits a spinning back fist and Lawal is unconscious. There may not be a king, but there is a God.
WINNER: Emanuel Newton at 2:35 of round one.
STAR RATING: (***) I can't tell you how happy that made me. Arrogance unchecked. Arrogance checked. Arrogance falls asleep for an hour. That's your upset of the year, ladies and gentlemen.
FIGHT FOUR: SHAHBULAT SHAMHALAEV vs. RAD MARTINEZ (SEASON 7 FEATHERWEIGHT TOURNAMENT FINAL
- Martinez is fighting at home. Shamhalaev is not very close to his home of Daghestan. the audience is appropriately partisan.
ROUND ONE: Jason Herzog is the third man in the cage. And the rednecks come out with the USA chants. No action in the first minute. Shamhalaev is keeping his hands low, and wide open, showing no respect for Martinez' power. Shamhalaev with a nice outside leg kick ninety seconds in. Shamhalaev catches a left body kick and drops Martinez with a straight left. Martinez is down, but Shamhalaev doesn't want to go to the ground with him. That was more of a knockdown due to balance than anything, but it still hurt. Shamhalaev continues the outside leg kicks. And another. Martinez misses with a left hand. Martinez shoots a single from the outside, and he gets Shamhalaev down. Full guard near the cage with ninety seconds left. Two short elbows from Martinez. Shamhalaev has his shoulders against the cage and is working back to his feet. Martinez is doing a good job pressing Shamhalaev back into the fence so he can't get to his feet. Martinez landing the occasional short elbows. 10-9 Shamhalaev
ROUND TWO: Jimmy Smith gave the first round to Martinez, for the takedown assuredly. Shamhalaev lands a big straight right to the jaw of Martinez. Shamhalaev goes to the body with a right. Martinez lunges in with a diving hook, and eats a sharp counter. Head kick by Shamhalaev staggers Martinez. He follows up with a big knee. Martinez is on rubber legs. Martinez holding on to Shamhalaev, but Shamhalaev pushes Martinez off. Big right hook! Martinez is out. Shamhalaev lands a hammerfist, and this fight is over. Shamhalaev has won the season 7 featherweight tournament, $100,000, and a title shot.
WINNER: Shahbulat Shamhalaev by TKO at 2:12 of round 2.
STAR RATING: (***-) Shamhalaev is a bad bad man, and a huge featherweight. He's an intriguing prospect at 145, and might give Curran or Straus a run for their money.
- This was a violent, violent night. Finishes galore. Maybe Bjorn is right in keeping Fitch away.
Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/Bellator_Events/article_16006.shtml
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