· Bellator 38 Recap & Results
On Saturday evening, Bellator Fighting Championships opened their highly-anticipated light heavyweight tournament from Harrah’s Tunica Hotel and Casino in Tunica, Mississippi. Broadcast on MTV2, the event was special for several reasons. While upsets seemed to rule the night, the highlight of the night came from Richard Hale, who submitted Nik Fekete in spectacular fashion.
Preliminary Bouts:
Blagoi Ivanov vs. William Penn – Heavyweight
William Penn stepped up as a late replacement to take on Blagoi Ivanov. Penn may be wanting to rethink that decision now. The 4-0 Bulgarian hurt Penn early with a short blow, then later backed Penn up with a left. Ivanov followed up that left with another which sent Penn to the mat and forced the stoppage at 2:58 of the first round.
Amaechi Oselukwue vs. Abe Wilson – Middleweight
Amaechi “The Infamous A.O.” Oselukwue moved to 1-1 with a hard fought decision win over Abe Wilson. The Memphis, Tenn. native worked a range of takedowns and ground work to outpoint Wilson over their fifteen minute bout.
Brian Albin vs. Cody Donovan – Light Heavyweight
Cody Donovan used his superior wrestling and aggression to keep the pressure on Brian Albin for fifteen minutes. Neither fighter threatened to finish, but in the end Donovan would walk away with a unanimous decision victory.
Jake Underwood vs. Tim Galluzzi – 150-pound catchweight
Both Jake Underwood and Tim Galluzzi came to fight. The two men quickly took the center of the cage and swung for the fences, until Galluzzi took the fight to the mat. After a brief scramble, Galluzzi found himself locked into a tight triangle by Underwood. The fight lasted just over a minute, but was action-packed from start to finish.
Austin Lyons vs. Jimmy Van Horn - Lightweight
The event ended as lightweights Austin Lyons and Jimmy Van Horn faced off. Lyons wasted little time in getting the fight to the ground and finishing off the event with a first round armbar submission of Van Horn.
Main Event Card:
Chris Davis vs. Christian M'Pumbu – Light Heavyweight Tournament
Chris Davis looked to be in total control through the first ten minutes of his bout with Christian M’Pumbu. Davis’ constant pressure and strength pushed him through several submission attempts from his opponent and won him the first two rounds. However, it was that same pressure and strength that zapped his gas tank and left an opening for M’Pumbu to capitalize in the third.
M’Pumbu opened the third with a good combination of punches and after another sharp exchange Davis retreated to the mat. The fight would not come back up from there. M’Pumbu landed some strong knees to the body and pounded away on a covered up Davis. Without an answer for the assault from M’Pumbu, the referee was forced to step in and wave off the bout at 3:34 of the third round.
Richard Hale vs. Nik Fekete – Light Heavyweight Tournament
Arizona native and Rage In The Cage veteran Richard “Rare Breed” Hale is the most experienced fighter in the tournament, his opponent, Nik "The Machete" Fekete, was the least experienced. That experience difference played a role very quickly in the bout.
Hale remained calm after a tremendous scoop and slam from Fekete. With Fekete in side control, Hale threw his legs up and over the back of Fekete. Hale quickly moved into an inverted triangle position. Fekete attempted the stand, but that only served to give Hale an opportunity to tighten his grip. Fekete crashed back to the canvas, and after a few motionless seconds the referee stepped in and pulled Hale off the unconscious Fekete. Hale was awarded the technical submission victory at 1:55 of the first round, and will live alongside Toby Imada as pulling off the rare but exciting inverted triangle.
D.J. Linderman vs. Raphael Davis – Light Heavyweight Tournament
Many believed that Raphael Davis was the favorite to win the inaugural light heavyweight tournament. No one told D.J. Linderman that. Linderman, a former heavyweight, came out unafraid to mix it up with Davis. Davis did take the early advantage, connecting with some good knees in the clinch. However, Linderman battled through it and stunned Davis with a combination later in the opening round. As Davis retreated and looked for a takedown, Linderman locked up a guillotine, but was unable to hold it long enough to get the submission.
In the second round, Linderman landed several good punches early, forcing Davis to take the fight to the ground. Like Linderman at the end of the first, Davis nearly submitted his opponent late in the round when he locked up a kimura, but was unable to pull off the submission before the closing bell.
Linderman came out in the third determined to finish the fight. He peppered Davis repeatedly with lefts until one landed flush and dropped him. Linderman immediately took the chance to pounce and boxed the turtled up Davis’ ears until the referee stopped the bout at 3:40 of the round. Linderman advances to the next round of the tournament.
Tim Carpenter vs. Daniel Gracie – Light Heavyweight Tournament
In the evening’s main event Daniel Gracie - part of the famous legacy of Gracies - faced off with Tim Carpenter. Carpenter did not shy away Gracie’s name or reputation, dropping the former Pride vet with an early combination and immediately jumping into Gracie’s guard to try and capitalize. Carpenter would move to mount and would even look to submit his opponent. Gracie would eventually sweep his opponent, but Carpenter stayed active from the the bottom looking for another submission toward the end of the round.
In the second, Gracie got the fight to ground early and stayed on top for the majority of the round. Although he fought well from his back, Carpenter likely lost the round due to the position.
Carpenter again showed a distinct advantage in power in the third, dropping Gracie again with a punch. Carpenter went down into Gracie’s territory once again, and despite numerous attempts to get close to a submission, Gracie was just not able secure anything of note.
In the end, two of the three judges scored the bout for Carpenter while one saw it for Gracie. The split decision secures Carpenter’s spot in the next round of the tournament and puts another tournament favorite out of commission. This season of Bellator has only just begun, but is shaping up to be one of the best they have had.
Bellator 38 Full Results:
• Tim Carpenter defeated Daniel Gracie via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• D.J. Linderman defeated Raphael Davis via TKO (strikes) - Round 3, 2:44
• Richard Hale defeated Nik Fekete via submission (inverted-triangle choke) - Round 1, 1:55
• Christian M'Pumbu defeated Chris Davis via TKO (strikes) - Round 3, 3:34
• Austin Lyons defeated Jimmy Van Horn via submission (armbar) - Round 1, 2:10
• Jake Underwood defeated Tim Galluzzi via submission (triangle choke) - Round 1, 1:04
• Cody Donovan defeated Brian Albin via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Blagoi Ivanov defeated William Penn via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 2:58
• Amaechi Oselukwue defeated Abe Wilson via unanimous decision (28-28, 29-28, 29-28)
