Join us tonight on Bloody Elbow for live coverage and detailed play-by-play as Bellator 143: Davis vs. Warren goes off from the State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas.
The highly polarizing and self-professed “Baddest Man on the Planet,” bantamweight Joe Warren, meets the resurgent L.C. Davis in the headliner. Now shrunken to middleweight proportions, former heavyweight Joey Beltran draws fiery Hawaiian Kendall Grove in the co-main. Rounding out the four-fight main card are featherweights Henry Corrales and Emmanuel Sanchez along with heavyweights Vinicius “Spartan” Queiroz and Ewerton Teixeira.
Live results and play-by-play will commence with the Spike TV offering at 9 p.m. ET. The preliminary card, which will stream live and free on Bloody Elbow, begins at approximately 6:30 p.m. ET. The full lineup and schedule follows.
Bellator 143 (Spike TV, 9:00 p.m. ET)
L.C. Davis vs. Joe Warren
R1: Warren whiffs on a high kick, then can’t lock horns on a clinch rush. Davis unfurls a clean straight left. No dice on Warren’s second attempt to clinch. Warren ducks under a left cross and hits a double leg, landing in Davis’ guard. Warren pinches Davis’ knees together to prevent the sit-up. Warren slyly passes to half guard. Davis regains guard and Warren stuffs his legs under and mounts briefly; Davis retains half guard.
A short cross-face elbow lands for Warren but Davis gets full guard. Warren postures up and glances with a right forearm. Davis takes a knee and gets halfway up but Warren hits an ankle pick to re-ground him. Smothering top control from Warren. 10-9 Warren.
R2: We pause 15 seconds in for an accidental eye-poke and the Texas commission lets the clock run again despite referee John McCarthy calling for time. Warren heaves an overhand right after the glove touch and follows behind it to clinch up. Davis is down briefly but this time pops back up and separates. Davis complains about Warren’s outstretched fingers after the next exchange.
Warren initiates another clinch but Davis circles off the fence and shoves him away. Warren is adhered again shortly after, looking for the body lock. Warren switches to a single leg but Davis negates it and separates. Davis glances with a knee to the body and catches Warren with a left cross. Warren clinches up and turns the corner with the body lock to hit a takedown. Butterfly guard and double under-hooks for Davis but Warren power passes to half. No luck on Davis’ butterfly sweep. Davis kicks Warren away but Warren reattaches and hits another body-lock takedown. High half guard now for Warren. 10-9 Warren.
R3: Warren ducks a straight left and gets in on a single, then lands a questionable kick as Davis’ might’ve been grounded. Regardless, Warren clinches up and moves the rear waist cinch to hit an easy takedown. Warren, in half guard, looks for a pass to mount. Davis resists and goes back to butterfly guard, creating enough space to take a knee and stand. They reset in open space.
Warren hits a duck-under takedown immediately, landing in Davis’ open guard. More top-control grinding from Warren, who gets the half back-ride as Davis tries to escape. Davis stands and spins to face Warren but he can’t shake him; Warren hits a double leg and body locks him to peel his back off the cage. Two cross-face elbows from Warren, who then passes to full mount. Davis manages to regain guard and avoid Warren’s headlock attempt. 10-9 Warren. I have it 30-27 his way.
- Joe Warren defeats L.C. Davis by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Joey Beltran vs. Kendall Grove
R1: Beltran closes distance in a crouched stance but Grove backs him off with a pair of long jabs. Outside low kick lands for Grove. Glancing jab from Grove. Grove dictating range effectively with jabs and front kick. Beltran comes up short on a one-two/high kick combo. Another jab for Grove.
Beltran closes a combo with a nice low kick. Grove clinches and disengages with a knee to the body. Triple jab from Grove as Beltran looks to work inside. Beltran corners Grove and gets a few punches off but nothing of note lands. Glancing outside low kick from Beltran. Now a left check hook from Grove, who half-checks the next two low kicks. One-two and low kick find the mark for Grove. 10-9 Grove.
R2: Grove is busy with his left hand, flinging jabs and hooks in Beltran’s face as he tries to shrink the distance. Grove shoots a takedown to no avail. Outside low kick lands for Beltran, who rushes Grove with both hands flying. Cross-face elbow lands for Beltran in the clinch and Grove pulls guard; Beltran backs away and they reset on the feet. Grove becoming more aggressive with his combinations even though Beltran is still struggling with the jab.
More jabs from Grove though he’s pressing forward now. Front kick to the body is good for Grove. Two hard outside low kicks land for Beltran, then a glancing right hand. Another low kick lands for Beltran, and another. 10-10 with Beltran’s low kicks evening up Grove’s jab count.
R3: Grove misses a one-two but glances with a front kick. Outside low kick for Beltran. And another. Make it three in a row. Counter right hand off the back foot lands for Grove, then a clubbing right hand that connects clean. Beltran glances with a right. Beltran catches a front kick and flurries but nothing significant lands. Beltran lands another outside low kick but Grove sits down on a big right hook and it floors Beltran. Grove pounces with two punches and the ref steps in.
- Kendall Grove defeats Joey Beltran by TKO (punches) R3 2:27
Henry Corrales vs. Emmanuel Sanchez
R1: Both fighters attack methodically with a mixture of one-twos and low kicks. Corrales lands the first significant shot in the form of an overhand right. Sanchez cracks home with a low kick. Sanchez emerges from a brief clinch stalemate with blood dripping from the upper left of his forehead courtesy of a Corrales elbow.
Sanchez gets ballsy and pulls a flying triangle on the next exchange, and it’s remarkably close. Once Sanchez locks his legs, he tomahawks a few double ax-handles to the head of Corrales. Sanchez switches to the armbar and Corrales finally yanks his head out and stabilizes in top position. Sanchez scrambles back to his feet. They both connect on short-range punches. 10-9 Sanchez.
R2: Corrales scores with a hook. Sanchez closes his combo with a low kick that lands. Check hook grazes for Corrales. Sanchez wings a one-two and glances a high kick off Corrales’ jaw, then tries to hop on his back but ends up on bottom without any hooks in. Sanchez again patiently works back to his feet but gets pressed on the cage by Corrales. Sanchez circles off and separates shortly after.
Counter left lands for Sanchez. An accidental clash of heads causes a short lull as the cut of Sanchez is checked afterward. Hard overhand lands for Corrales, then he digs in with an outside low kick. Now a left hook is there for Corrales, then a right. Sanchez switches to southpaw and lands a left body kick. Corrales gets a glove in front of two left high kicks. Stiff jab from Sanchez. The ten-second clapper goes off a minute too early, confusing the ref and everyone else. Sanchez whiffs on a spinning kick but somehow manages to get back control in the scramble. The clock has disappeared from the broadcast and the bell rings just as Sanchez gets in rear-naked choke position. 10-9 Corrales.
R3: They clinch up and Sanchez blasts Corrales with a hard up-knee. Corrales lands a left hook. A pair of low kicks glance for Sanchez. Corrales lands two rights in a dirty boxing exchange. Left body kick sneaks through for Sanchez, who then forces a clinch. Corrales shoves him away and they reset. Outside low kick lands for Corrales.
Sanchez again looks to duck under a punch and clinch but Corrales is wise to it. Corrales lands a right to the body and negates another clinch attempt. Corrales throws heat on a three-punch counter but only glances. Clean uppercut for Corrales. Sanchez clinches and hits a trip from the rear waist cinch at the bell. 10-9 Corrales. I have it 29-28 his way though every round was tightly contested.
- Emmanuel Sanchez defeats Henry Corrales by split decision (27-30, 30-27, 29-28)
Vinicius Queiroz vs. Ewerton Teixeira
R1: Queiroz opens with a left front kick to the body. Teixeira responds with an inside low kick. Queiroz rushes him with both hands whirring and Teixeira lands another inside low kick before clinching. Queiroz disengages long enough to bomb a knee downstairs before reattaching and taking Teixeira down with an outside trip. Queiroz lands in side mount and flings a forearm to Teixeira’s face. A series of nasty right forearms from “Spartan” in side control.
Teixeira gets half guard with an under-hook, then takes a knee and uses the whizzer to sweep Queiroz. Queiroz fishes for a triangle or armbar and Teixeira backs out after escaping. Left body kick from Teixeira. Snapping jab lands for Teixeira. Queiroz answers with his own. Another left body kick from Teixeira, this time a stiff one. Queiroz scores with a heavy jab. Queiroz follows a one-two into the clinch but can’t complete the outside trip. Lead right lands downstairs for Queiroz. 10-9 Queiroz in a tight round.
R2: Queiroz counters a low kick with a one-two. Teixeira lands a counter hook to the jaw and it momentarily stuns Queiroz. Sharp inside low kick for Teixeira. Queiroz ducks under a right hand and nails a trip, falling in half guard. Two left forearms to the face for Queiroz, who focuses more on his base than passing to clock a few minutes of top control. Queiroz with two more forearms to the face, then he isolates an arm and cinches on an arm triangle, still in half guard. Teixeira taps.
- Vinicius Queiroz defeats Ewerton Teixeira by submission (arm triangle) R2 4:00
Preliminary Card (Bloody Elbow, 6:30 p.m. ET)
Abdul Razak Alhassan defeats Bryce Shepard-Meija by KO (punch) R1 1:26
Dan Cervantes vs. Abram Torres
Amador Ramos defeats Saul Elizondo by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Steve Garcia defeats Eduardo Bustillos by TKO (punches) R1 4:59
Darrion Caldwell defeats Shawn Bunch by submission (rear-naked choke) R1 2:35
Dan Charles defeats Chase Gormley by KO (punches) R2 4:35
John Teixeira defeats Gleristone Santos by split decision (28-29, 29-28 x2)
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