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September 9, 2013

Boss's Bellator 98 review (pictures by The Artist)

The Artist and I were fired up for this one!! Bellator, the #2 in the MMA industry was coming our way, and they were stacking their card with some of our favorite, and some of the best fighters of, New England! Rico D, the Sityodtong 135lb killer was making his debut...The Mangler was back again to prove he's got what it takes...Nader was stepping up to fight an undefeated beast...and the 185lb tourney had 3 of new England's best, in Torrey, Filkins, and Ward..and to top it off, they were back at the beautiful Mohegan Sun Casino in near by Ct!



Glenn Allaire being strapped to a stretcher.
We left town a tad later than we wanted, as we had to wait for CityBoy to get home so we could borrow his car. Big thanks for the wheels CityBoy! The weather was beautiful and traffic was light. We made it in decent time but still arrived a few minutes late. We walked into the arena to the ring announcer stating that Rico was now 1-0 as a Pro with a 1st rd knockout victory! As we made it to our seats, his opponent still hadn't made it off the canvas. I heard it was a vicious knockout followed by a few extra elbows and the Ref was a little late getting there. Hoping Glenn Allaire is OK. The Artist made it to his cage side perch and I to my spot in the Media section and settled in for the fights. Onto the rest of the card:




Fight 2-145 lbs. Nick Piedmont vs. Matt Bessette
Rd1- The fighters come forward and meet in the center of the cage. Matt throws a couple of low kicks and looks comfortable on the feet. Nick wants to clinch and he presses Matt against the cage. Matt's landing some nice knees in the clinch and he pushes to separate. Mangler comes forward throwing hard and smashes Nick with a heavy overhand right that drops him. Matt pounces and finishes Nick off with a serious of lefts. Nick is stiff and the Ref pulls Mangler off for the TKO stoppage.
Winner- Rd1 TKO Ref Stoppage to strikes Matt Bessette




Fight 3- 155 lbs. Brylan VanArsdanlen vs. Ryan Quinn
Rd1- They circle and trade punches. Ryan shoots in and gets the take down and quickly takes his back. Brylan stands with Ryan still on his back looking for the rear naked choke. Brylan works his way out and starts to look for a take down against the cage. As he searches for the take down, Ryan ends up up-side-down on Brylan's back looking for a triangle. Brylan again works his way out of this position but Ryan is relentless with his BJJ and again takes the back, this time sinking the choke for the victory.
Winner- Rd1 Submission Rear Naked Choke Ryan Quinn





Fight 4- HW Josh Diekman vs. Parker Porter
Rd1- The big boys circle and begin to box in the center of the cage. Parker is utilizing his kicks and Josh and just missing with some big punches. Parker is unfazed and presses forward throwing a right that backs Josh up. Josh fires back and hits Parker with a big shot and he drops. Parker grabs a leg in desperation looking for a take down. Josh smashes hammer fist from the top and the ref has to stop it.
Winner- Rd1 TKO Ref Stoppage to Strikes Josh Diekman





Fight 5- LHW Jeff Nader vs. Mike Mucitelli
Rd1- Mike comes out and throws a body kick, Jeff catches it and drops Mike with a right overhand punch. He calls him back to his feet and Mike clinches against the cage. Nader is the smaller guy, but he turns Mike around on the cage and separates. Nader again drops Mike with a punch that I didn't see and he tries to swarm on top for some ground and pound. As Mike defends, he innadvertenly pokes Jeff in the eye and the ref stops the fight. Nader looks hurt, he's squinting his eye and pretty concerned. After about 5 minutes the doctor confirms that the fight can't go on and it is declared a no contest.





At this point it is 8pm and we are going live on Spike TV. The place is packed and the fans are loud and ready for the live card.

Fight 6- 155 lbs. Derek Anderson vs. Patricky Pitbull
Rd1- Fighters come out fierce swinging heavy shots and Derek gets dropped early. He pops right back up and continues to mix it up and Patricky is now down for a moment. He's back up and the fighters continue to go back at it; there's a lot of energy and punches and kicks are landing on both fighters. Patricky shoots and gets a take down. He passes to mount and rolls off for an arm bar. Derek defends and Patricky switches to a triangle. Derek is forced to defend this as well and they both stand as the round ends.
Rd2- They take the center again and trade more punches. Derek misses with a big high kick and slips and falls to the mat. Patricky jumps to the top and is in full guard. Derek works his way up off the cage and they are back to the center trading. Derek gets wobbled by a punch, but hangs in there and fires back aggressively. Patricky is beginning to look a bit tired as his hand are dropping and he's swinging for the home run punch. Derek's controlling the cage and misses with another high kick as the round ends.
Rd3- Derek comes out and is controlling the center of the cage. He's scoring with straight punches, but Patricky begins working a nice jab of his own. Patricky tries for a take down but is stuffed. Derek's controlling with punches and kicks as Patricky is looking more damaged and tired. as the round goes on. The round ends.
Winner- Rd3 Unanimous Decision Derek Anderson





Fight 7- 185 lbs Tournament Perry Filkins vs. Jeremy Kimball
Rd1- Jeremy comes out throwing kicks, high, low and even some nice spinning kicks of which most miss. Perry's looking to use his boxing and aggressively coming forward looking for the big punch. Jeremy is mixing it up well and scores a take down. Perry pops right back up and they clinch against the cage. They separate and Perry wants to bang, but Jeremy scores another take down. Again he can't keep Perry down and he pops up only to be taken down again. As quick as he went down he comes up again just to be taken down a fourth time just as the round ends.
Rd2- Jeremy comes out kicking again and punches into a clinch. He gets Perry's back for a moment against the cage, they scramble and Perry ends up on top in guard. He's grinding shoulder strikes and trying to pass the guard. Jeremy is calm and takes Perry's back against the cage again. Perry faces Jeremy and finds himself fighting off a guillotine choke as Jeremy jumps guard. Perry stays on his feet and slams Jeremy out onto his back; he looks for some ground and pound here as he tries to pass guard. Standing above, he tries a spinning punch pass, the fighters scramble, Perry gets mount landing strikes as the round ends.
Rd3- Perry takes center cage, Jeremy is still mixing in kicks and stays very busy. Perry comes forward hard just missing Jeremy with a big punch. Jeremy looks for the take down, but Perry stuffs him and turns it into his own take down. He passes to side control and as Jeremy scrambles Perry takes his back and sinks in a rear naked choke for a quick tap.
Winner- Rd3 Submission Rear Naked Choke Perry Filkins


Jeremy Kimball's finger was broken and bleeding early on.  He fought to a decision though before heading to the hospital.




Fight 8- 185 lbs Tournament Justin Torrey vs. Brennan Ward
Rd1- Fighters circle and Justin shoots in and they scramble against the cage. As Justin is pressuring Brennan against the cage Brennan tosses Justin with a nice Grecco throw. Brennan is on top side control looking for some ground and pound, but Justin is controlling well from the bottom. Justin sweeps to the top and starts working from side control. He's mixing in a little bit of ground and pound and passes to the mount. He lays down some good punches as the round ends. As the fighters get up we notice Justin's eye is badly swollen shut!!
Rd2- They come out, circle and clinch up. Brennan easily gets a take down to top position. He starts to reign down punches, as Justin begins to bleed pretty bad. Justin keeps trying to0 gain some control, but Brennan is too strong...he pins Justin down and starts to smash him in the eye with some hard shots, and the ref is forced to call a stop to the action.
Winner rd2 TKO ref stoppage to strikes Brennan Ward


Justin Torrey needed medical attention following this bout.



Fight 9- 185lbs Tournament Jason Butcher vs Giva Santana
rd1- Jason is the taller fighter, and presses forward. Giva throws a low kick, then quickly shoots in and scores the take down into half guard. Both men begin to work their extensive BJJ, and it looks like a grappling only fight, as barley any strikes are thrown. Giva is looking for a position to go for an arm bar, but Jason has strong defense. Giva passes to mount, and looks to secure a head and arm choke, but doesn't quite have the position, and Jason is out. Jason escapes and sweeps to the top as the round ends.
rd2- Jason presses forward throwing some nice punches. He clips Giva with a good shot, and he looks hurt. Jason smells blood, and moves in for the kill! Giva trys to cover up but Jason finishes him with strikes.
winner rd2- TKO ref stoppage from strikes Jason Butcher.
*After the fight Giva takes the microphone and announces that this was his last MMA fight, as he plans to retire at the age of 41.





Fight 10- 185ibs Tournement Mikkel Parlo vs Brian Rodgers
rd1- Both guys are jacked and come out swinging aggressively. Mikkel clips Rodgers, and he is on the canvas. Brian pops up quick, but Mikkel keeps the pressure on him and lands a few good punches against the cage. They separate and circle both throwing with bad intentions. Brian is mixing in jump knees with his heavy punches, as the fight is going back and forth. Mikkel lands a nice knee of his own as the round ends,
rd2- The fighters meet in the middle swinging as hard as ever. They are starting to clinch, and both men are landing knees to the body. Mikkel powers forward and takes the fight to the ground. He's on top in half guard looking to land some heavy punches.Mikkel keeps busy with the ground and pound, trying to pass to mount, and Brian has no answer and can't get to his feet before the round comes to an end.
rd3- Brian comes out and establishes himself in the center of the cage. He's mixing punches with low kicks, but Mikkel presses through into the clinch where he lands a few good knees. Mikkel gets the take down into guard, and begins to work the body and head of Rodgers. Rodgers works his way back to his feet, but Mikkel is pressing on the cage, landing some nice knees to the body of Rodgers. As Rodgers trys to back out, he is caught with a nice knee to the head. Mikkel follows to the mat and is landing punches as the round ends.
winner Rd3 - unanimous decision Mikkel Parlo







Fight 11 Main Event 185lb Title Brett Cooper vs Alexander Shmelenko
rd1- The fighters come out and meet center cage and quickly trade punches and kicks. Brett shoots in for the take down, but is stuffed by Alexander, and they are back to trading on the feet. Cooper catches Alexander with a hard punch and he is hurt! Brett cant capitalize, and Shmelenko recovers. The fighters continue to trade until the round ends.
rd2- Alexander pushes forward right from the bell. He's firing punches and lands a nice body kick. Cooper stays right in there and is countering pretty well. Alexander starts to bleed from his eye, and Brett scores a take down. Alexander works his way up to his feet off the cage and they both continue to mix it up. Both men are landing good punches, but again Brett hurts Alexander momentarily but can't finish the tough Russian fighter. Brett scores another take down as the round ends.
rd3- Right back to trading hard punches center cage. Brett is mixing in kicks and both continue to find good patches of face for their respective fists!! This fight is amazing, as the intensity exciting the crowd!! Brett treys for a take down but cant get it and they continue to trade blows on the feet. Brett pushes forward into the cage and gets another take down. Alexander wastes no time getting back to his feet, and pushes forward  as the round ends.
rd4- Alexander comes out with a new ferocity and lands a big punch that drops Brett to the canvas. Brett hangs in and fires back but there is no stop in Shmelenko!! He presses forward trying to take the head off of his opponent. Brett fires back and keeps the intensity at a crazy level until the bell sounds to end the round.
rd5- Both men again meet in the center. Alexander has bad intentions, and his punches still look extremely fast and powerful for the 5th round. He is just missing, and Brett looks for a take down pressing against the cage. They are back to trading, and Alexander is mixing in spinning elbows and punches trying to end the fight. Alexander gets a take down, but cant control, and Brett works his way back to the feet. Again they are trading hard punches and Alexander scores another take down. He is looking to smash down some ground and pound as the final bell sounds. This has to be one of the best fights i have EVER seen!!! Hats off to both of these 185lb BEASTS!!
winner rd5 unanimous decision Alexander Shmelenko









What an amazing night of fights!! Bellator truly is a top notch promotion, and it is awesome to be able to cover their shows. They always provide great seats, and great food for the media, and make sure we always have everything we need. I'm mad we had to miss Rico's debut, but I'm very happy with the outcome. I'm sure they will have him back soon, to showcase his awesome talent in the 135lb division! The Mangler, Matt  Bessette got the big finish he had been needing. I think he's a fight away from being invited into the next feather weight tourney himself, and I can't wait to see it! Justin Torrey looked great in his much anticipated return to the cage. I think barring the eye injury the fight would have gone on longer, but big props to Brennan ward for the big finish.Really looking forward to Brennan vs Perry Filkins in the next round of the tourney. Bellator is really looking good right now, and they are quickly becoming the one of the best promotions in the world!! Can't wait for the next show!! Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed the review!

-Boss