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Welcome, one and all, to the second edition of the Bellator Beatdown for season number three of the Bellator Fighting Championships.  This card turned out to be quite different from the last one: not so many exciting finishes and decisions that were exciting for all the wrong reasons.  The use of the historic Chicago Theater venue really brings a whole different level of class to MMA that I personally enjoy greatly.  Every televised fight on Bellator 25 ended in a decision, though they weren’t particularly boring ones with the exception of Konrad/Lloret (somehow pronounced Uret).

Non-Tournament Bouts

Brad Blackburn vs Dan Hornbuckle

In the only televised non-tournament bout of the evening, we saw a very good fight between “Bad” Brad Blackburn, a seasoned UFC vet, and season two favorite and finalist Dan Hornbuckle.  The first round of the fight was very surprising, as it saw an early and uncharacteristic double leg from Dan Hornbuckle after eating a hard right hand from Blackburn.  Brad was able to escape from the bottom and during a scramble that ended with Hornbuckle on bottom in guard Blackburn landed several hard punches, including a right hand while diving into the guard.  Blackburn wisely stood back and forced the seemingly rattled Hornbuckle to stand.  Hornbuckle seemed awkward on his feet for the remainder of the round, struggling to find his distance and timing and paying for it.  A big factor throughout the fight was the looping roundhouse kicks of Hornbuckle that lacked precision and speed and left him open to counters or at least evasion.  I had the first round an easy 10-9 for Blackburn.

The second round was more of the same, though it saw Dan getting looser and getting the better of more exchanges, though not a majority of them.  Brad was again in control, and was on his way to another 10-9 round when he slipped throwing a kick.  When Dan tried to jump on him, Brad stood but ate two head kicks in the process.  He didn’t seem rocked but the final flurry stole the round in the eyes of the judges, but for me it was only enough to bring it to 10-10.

The third the changing of the tide continued, and now Hornbuckle was finding his distance on a tired Blackburn; pumping out jabs and straight left hands.  He also continued to work the loopy roundhouses, only now Brad was too tired to evade or counter effectively.  In the last thirty seconds, Dan desperately sought a finish, attacking with multiple high kicks and punching flurries, cementing the round for him.

Judges came back with a unanimous 29-28 in favor of Hornbuckle.  I had it a 28-28 draw, but I can see why the judges leaned toward Hornbuckle in a tight fight like this.  Although it wasn’t what I had expected from Dan in his first fight back since the Askren loss.  He had said that he was rededicated and refocused, and would prove that in the Blackburn fight, but it left us with more questions than answers about his future.

Tournament Bouts

Heavyweight Quarter Final: Damien Grabowski vs Scott Barret

From the beginning of this bout, it was clear what each mans intentions were: Grabowski wanted to sprawl and brawl for the hometown fans in the windy city, while Barret wanted to take him down and pound his way to a unanimous decision.  Barret was obviously the much larger of the two, having cut down to 265 against the 245 pound Grabowski.

Barret was the far more effective of the two at executing his gameplan.  He managed to take Grabowski down seemingly at will the first two rounds using his deceptive speed and power singles and doubles as well as several elevation slams to get Grabowski to the ground.  It was impressive to see the relative with which the short and portly Barret was able to lift a man the size of Grabowki off of his feet over and over.  This trend continued on throughout the second, Barret in control, save for a few times when Grabowki was able to use his height advantage to escape the back mount and momentarily get top position in guard.  The rounds were easy for me to score: 10-9 all the way for Barret.  He had the takedowns, control and passed guard multiple times, attaining back mound in both rounds.

The third went a little differently.  Barret was obviously exhausted and just plodded forward slowly through a berserker barrage of straights, hooks and uppercuts from Grabowski.  It was looking as though it would be a 10-8 for Grabowski, leading to a 28-28 draw in my book, when suddenly with two minutes left Barret managed to explode into another takedown.  He ground out the round and squashed all hopes of a 10-8 for Grabowski, and in the eyes of some commissions judges may have stolen the round outright.

The scores are announced as unanimously 30-27, and I am already preparing my arguments about how the last round belonged to Grabowski, when the announcer shockingly announces the winner to be Damien Grabowki.  I shouted a few unkind words and then booed profusely in vain at the TV.  This had no avail, and Grabowki advanced in a terrible decision.

Heavyweight Quarter Final: Cole Konrad vs Rogent LLoret

This fight was extremely one sided, and to talk at any great length about it I would simply be belaboring the point.  Cole Konrad is an incredible wrestler, but a Joe Warren clone.  He can probably takedown any fighter in Bellator and lay on them from bell to bell, and there is nothing they can do about it.  But they don’t get the crowd fired up (in fact they often incite rage from the crowd).  They also don’t do anything for Bellator’s TV ratings, which now that they have a deal with FSN is a big deal.  Even I occasionally find myself switching the cannel to check a score or something when one of these guys fights.  No shockers here; 30-27 all the way for the Lesnar-pupil, Cole Konrad.

Women’s 115 Pound Quarter Final: Zoila Frausto vs Jessica Pene

The ladies bring us once again one of the fights of the night.  The clear favorite for me coming into this fight was “The Warrior Princess” Zoila Frausto.  Not only is she coming off a Pele-esque freestanding knee KO of Rosi Sexton, but she is also cutting down from nearly 145 to 115 for this fight.  That is a big cut, but she carried it well.  Pene is a submission minded fighter, and I suspected that she would have trouble getting Zoila down.  I suspected right.

The fight was characterized by several things.  The first was the lightning fast kicks and angling of Frausto.  Her sliding front foot roundhouse and front kicks kept Pene on one leg every time she looked to strike or shoot.  The second was Frausto’s huge size and strength advantage.  Every time that Pene was able to secure the clinch, Frausto secured and underhook and jerked her around like a rag doll.  It was like watching an early Wanderlei Silva fight; he wasn’t a better wrestler than many but he successfully used his underhooks and power to throw people around.

The only takedowns of the fight went the way for Frausto, as she was able to explode violently from the clinch and throw Pene down.  Once there, she began to rain down a series of blos that nearly finished the fight on several occasions.

Needless to say, it was an easy 30-27 for Zoila Frausto, who moves on and is expected to face either Lisa Ward or Jessica Aguilar in the next round.  I doubt they set upa fight between her and Fujii before that, as if the don’t they can easily set that up as a title fight for the undisputed 115 pound champion of the world.

Related posts:

1. Bellator Beatdown:Bellator 24
2. Bellator News: Weigh-in results for Bellator 15
3. Bellator News: Cole Konrad vs. Pat Bennett

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