Join us tonight on Bloody Elbow for live results and detailed play-by-play as Bellator 214 comes to the The Forum in Inglewood, California.
The headliner for the card will be the finals of the promotion’s Heavyweight Grand Prix, with the great Fedor Emelianenko meeting Bellator light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader. Due to middleweight champ Gegard Mousasi’s injury, him and Rafael Lovato Jr. are off the card, and Aaron Pico will meet Henry Corrales in the night’s co-main.
Former WWE wrestler Jack Swagger (real name Jake Hager) will also make his MMA debut tonight.
The prelims can be watched right here on Bloody Elbow, starting at 6:50pm ET/3:50pm PT. The main card can be viewed on Paramount Network (formerly Spike TV) at 9pm ET/PT. DAZN is also live streaming the prelims and main card. The show will not be tape-delayed to the west coast on Paramount, which is nice.
Join us and let us know what you think of tonight’s fights.
Main Card (9pm ET)
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Ryan Bader
Round 1 – Both fighters are showing respect for one another. Bader leaps in with a jab but misses. Lots of bouncing from Bader, Emelianenko is holding his ground. Bager darts forward with a long lightning left hook that drops Emelianenko like a sack of potatoes. One followup right hand and a couple left hammer fists seal the deal. Bader snatches the heavyweight championship and Grand Prix title from “The Last Emperor”.
Ryan Bader defeats Fedor Emelianenko via knockout at 0:35 of round 1
Aaron Pico vs. Henry Corrales
ِRound 1 – A great body kick for Pico to get us started. Pico immediately presses the action. Corrales is content staying on the outside. Corrales whiffs on a few leg kicks. Pico counters Corrales with an earth-shattering uppercut that drops him! Pico rushes forward but Corrales gets to his feet. Corrales finds a way to survive the onslaught. The two begin exchanging in the clinch. Pico is digging to the body with uppercuts. Corrales land a wicked right hook! Forget earth-shattering, that was universe-destroying! Pico is out on his feet, teeters back and drops to the floor. Corrales even managed to sneak in another right-left combination as Pico toppled over. Corrales just dished out a highlight-reel KO to Bellator’s highlight-reel KO machine.
Henry Corrales defeats Aaron Pico via knockout at 1:07 of round 1
Jake Hager vs. J.W. Kiser
I’m still getting over the shock of that Jack Swagger walkout. I can’t believe WWE’s R-Truth just rapped him to the cage. “We the People!” Okay, now that I have had a moment to catch my breath, let’s get on with this play-by-play.
Round 1 – Touch of the gloves all around tonight. Hager takes the center. Decent momvement from Hager in his professional debut. Kiser lands a right hand as Hager drives forward. Hager gets Kiser to the cage and takes him down shortly after. Hager immediately passes to half guard and starts attacking the far-side arm. Hager is attacking the kimura and switches to a straight arm-lock. Kiser offers expert BJJ defense by punching Hager in the side of the head from bottom. Hager abandons the arm and lands big elbows. Kiser is covering up. Hager snatches a deep arm-triangle choke from half-guard. Kiser is offering no defense, simply throwing lazy shots to Hager’s ribs. Hager begins extending his body and tightens up the choke. You can see Kiser panic and the tap comes shortly after. Hager makes his successful mixed martial arts debut. He concludes by screaming “We the People!” at the camera. Classic Swagger.
Jake Hager defeats J.W. Kiser via submission (arm-triangle choke) at 2:09 of round 1
Juan Archuleta vs. Ricky Bandejas
Round 1 – A respectful touch of the gloves gets us going. Bandejas takes the center as Archuleta circles along the outside. Archuleta shoots in and trips Bandejas. The blue corner fighter is back to his feet before Archuleta dumps him again. Bandejas uses the fence to get back to his feet but Archuleta is not giving him any space. Lots of feet stomps for Archuleta. Bandejas gets the separation he needs and we are back to the center. Bandejas presses forward. Leg kick for Archuleta followed by another trip. Bandejas returns to his feet. A thudding inside leg kick for Bandejas. Archuleta wings an overhand left but it hits Bandejas back. A great counter right hand on the backfoot for Bandejas. A nice front kick slaps Archuleta’s chin. Another counter right hand lands for Bandejas as Archuleta lunges in. A head kick glues to Archuleta’s forehead. Archuleta seems steady but is on the back pedal. A brief takedown attempt from Archuleta shows promise but Bandejas fights it off. Bandejas sprawls on another takedown attempt from Archuleta. The red corner fighter finally gets Bandejas down but he is right back to the feet. We end the round with both fighters standing and Archuleta on Bandejas’ back. 10-9 Bandejas.
Round 2 – A short counter right partially lands for Bandejas. A crazy scramble goes nowhere but it was definitely chaotic. Bandejas continues to dictate the range. Archuleta throws a body kick but Bandejas catches it and tosses Archuleta to the floor. Back to our feet. Archuleta barrels forward and gets another body lock. The two fighters are pressed against the cage again. The fighters separate and circle back to the center. A great right cross lands on Bandejas’ chin. Archuleta lunging style is both getting both fighters caught. Archuleta fakes the single leg, throws a strike up top and then shoots for the body lock. What a clever combination. He presses Bandejas against the cage again. The round is coming to a close and both fighters are loading up. Bandejas goes for a violent right elbow but Archuleta stays out of range and clocks him with a huge right hand to end the round. 10-9 Archuleta.
Round 3 – Both fighters are mindful of the range. Archuleta blocks a head kick from Bandejas. Archuleta initates another grappling exchange and looks to have the advantage here. Bandejas manages to break the grip and circle to the center. Woah! Bandejas catches Archuleta with a crunching knee. Archuleta is on shaky knees. Archuleta uses head movement and footwork to avoid increasingly dangerous pressure from Bandejas. Archuleta gets in close, lifts Bandejas and scoops him. Big slam! Archuleta jumps onto Bandejas’ back but the fighter on the bottom manages to get to his feet. Archuleta refuses to let go of Bandejas back in the standing position. Bandejas turns in and faces Archuleta but his back is still against the cage. Some much needed separation for Bandejas. Archuleta with a shot that lands on the chin. Archuleta moves in with a slick takedown attempt but Bandejas shakes it off. Archuleta goes for the single leg and Bandejas slips his leg out. That takedown attempt was not as clean as Archuleta’s previous attempt. Another shoddy takedown attempt from Archuleta. Bandejas lands a crisp left hand but Archuleta eats it like a snack. Archuleta moves in for the single leg but starts eating hammer fists on the knees. Bandejas throws a left hook and catches Archuleta with the followup right. That one briefly disorientated Archuleta. Cartwheel kick attempt from Archuleta. Both fighters are throwing hands and feet as the final round comes to a close. That is it. 10-9 Bandejas and 29-28 overall for Bandejas in my books.
Juan Archuleta defeats Ricky Bandejas via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Brandon McMahon vs. Adel Altamimi
Round 1 – Touch of the gloves to get us started. Both fighters light on their feet. Nice body kick by Altamimi. Another body kick for Altamimi followed by a third. McMahon gets the body lock and drives Altamimi to the fence. The production crew shoots to Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt who is here to support Altamimi. Altamimi wraps McMahon’s head for a guillotine. Altamimi switches to a kimura grip on his opponent’s right arm. The fighters are scrambling on the floor. McMahon gets flipped over. Altamimi expertly adjusts the grip and pulls back McMahon’s arm for the armbar. McMahon tries to somersault through but it’s no use. The arm is straight! McMahon is trying to wiggle his way out of it but that is tight. McMahon taps.
Adel Altamimi defeated Brandon McMahon via submission (armbar) 1:16 of round 1
Preliminary Card (6:50pm ET)
Thor Skancke def. Jesse Merritt via submission (north-south choke) at 4:26 of round 1
Jesse Roberts def. A.J. Agazarm via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Weber Almeida def. Odan Chinchilla via TKO (strikes) at 3:04 of round 1
Art Rivas def. Sean Johnson via TKO (strikes) at 4:30 of round 1
Jay Jay Wilson def. Tyler Beneke via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:31 of round 1
Ryan Lilley def. James Barnes via knockout (head-kick) at 1:03 of round 1
Craig Plaskett def. Ian Butler via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Desmond Torres def. Steve Ramirez via submission (arm-triangle choke) at 4:21 of round 1
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