Bellator 106 proved to be a snake bitten card as the the main event between Rampage Jackson and Tito Ortiz fell through due to injury and forced the card off Pay-Per-View. But in hindsight that might have been a blessing as this card proved to be full of plodding bouts, upsets of major stars, and generally a rough night for Bellator.
Eddie Alvarez’s and Michael Chander’s title fight proved to the be the bright spot of the night as they engaged in a classic, and saved this night from being a disaster for Bellator.
Eddie Alvarez defeats Michael Chandler by Split Decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)
The main event started with a frantic pace on the feet as Micheal Chandler took an early round, with a big slam and very close choke to close out the round. but Eddie Alvarez worked his way back into the fight with solid footwork and a stiff jab. The second round was very close as they traded punches. Chandler got another big slam in the 2nd, and continued to try to track down the very agile Alvarez.
The fourth round was a clear Chandler round as landed hard strikes, both on the feet and on the ground. Alvarez came storming back in the fifth round, hurting Chandler on the feet, taking the back and nearly sinking a rear naked choke on several occasions.
This fight saved the evening from being a total disaster for Bellator and was another classic fight between these two fighters.
And you can see what kind of night Bjorn Rebney had
Emanuel Newton defeats Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal by Unanimous Decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
King Mo started off strong winning the first round with his truly world class wrestling, but he struggled to keep Newton down on the mat after taking him down. In the second round Netwon landed a hard head kick that clearly wobbled Mo, and it was at this point Mo’s wrestling started to look ineffective.
Over the course of the next three rounds the fight became mostly a kickboxing match where Mo would land single hard strikes, while Newton would land combinations and hard body kicks. The 5th round was the closest of those final three rounds, but it was a pretty clear win for Newton.
Daniel Straus defeats Pat Curran by Unanimous Decision (49-45, 48-46, 48-46)
Daniel Straus came out an put the swerve on Bellator as he took the first round from Bellator Featherweight Champion Pat Curran with take downs. A close second round followed where Curran worked good body shots in a come back round. Curran then landed a blatantly illegal knee on Straus, and was immediately apologetic. A point was taken in a round that Straus had won, giving the challenger a huge edge on the score cards.
Straus easily took the forth round from a dejected looking Curran with more grinding action. Straus took the final round in a fight where he looked tough to stop and Curran looked awful.
Joe Riggs defeats Mike Bronzoulis by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Joe Riggs dominated action with good clinch take downs and then suffocating top control. The first round was all Riggs as he took Mike Bronzoulis and rode out the round. In the second round Bronzoulis put up a fight in the clinch and it appeared a clash of heads cut Riggs above his left eye. Bronzoulis also got a reversal and Riggs worked an active guard to close out the round.
The final round opened with Bronzoulis aggressive on the feet and Riggs landed a power double leg near the fence and then took Bronzoulis’ back, and rode out much of the round from there. Bronzoulis escaped with seconds left and was not able to accomplish anything in the time left.
Mike Richman defeats Akop Stepanyan by (T)KO in Round 1, 4:05
Richman got in some trouble early when Stepanyan landed a straight right, but Richman came back with a nasty left hook and then a double hammer fist to get the quick win.
Prelims
Cristiano Souza defeats Alejandro Garcia by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in Round 3, 3:06
Brandon Halsey defeats Hector Ramirez by (T)KO in Round 1, 0:52
A quick and brutal beat down from belly down back mount.
Mike Guymon defeats Aaron Miller by Submission (Triangle Choke) in Round 2, 4:20
Guymon came back from nasty groin strike to put on a display of chain grappling to finish off Miller with a deep triangle choke.
Cleber Luciano defeats Joe Camacho by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Pretty much three rounds of this from Luciano, the Rickson Gracie black belt dominated Camacho on the ground for three rounds.
Josh Smith defeats Darren Smith by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
No gifs of this fight, but there were some fun hip tosses.
About the author
