Killer Finishes: Chandler’s Speedy KO of Gono

Akihiro Gono is no stranger to our “Killer Finishes” series. We have his rib-breaking kick on Ivan Salaverry from Shooto 1 over 10 years ago, and we also have Gono on the wrong end of a Dan Hornbuckle kick at Sengoku 9.

Here Gono gets finished in a hurry by Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler, who just has too much speed and power for the crafty vet at Bellator 67.

Apparently Dana White is Not a Ben Askren Fan

Ben Askren retained his title with a win over Douglas Lima at Bellator 64, running his record to a perfect 10-0. But he hasn’t won over some MMA fans because of his fighting style. His last six fights have gone to decision.

When he took to Twitter tocall UFC president Dana White a “bold faced liar”, White struck back at Askren with this insult:

@Benaskren says @danawhite is a bold face liar for saying the #UFC doesn’t have the resources for random drug tests http://t.co/3MqQ5rYS

@danawhite
Dana White @thefightweek @benaskren when ambien can’t sleep it takes Ben Askren. The most boring fighter in MMA history. I would rather watch flys f—

White has a few fighters on his roster that have a very similar style to Askren. I wonder if he thinks the same about them? Either way, his tweet was still pretty hilarious.

How Bellator Champ Pat Curran Pumps Gas

We caught this on the Suckerpunch Facebook page. Next up, we’d like to see a video of Pat grocery shopping, pushing the cart up and down the aisles with the belt on. Maybe say hello to some little old ladies in the process. That would be money.

David Rickels KOs Jordan Smith at Bellator 63

David Rickels has flown a bit under the radar for an undefeated fighter. But after his performance Friday night at Bellator 63, those days are likely over.

Here he takes on Jordan Smith, who replaced UFC vet Brian Foster in the Bellator season 6 welterweight tourney.

Rickels moves on to the semifinals of the Bellator Season 6 Welterweight Tournament and remains undefeated, moving to 10-0 as a pro.

Killer Finishes: Rogers’ Flying Knee KOs Vianna

Bellator is back for season 6 and they’ve already had two amazing highlights. Last week it was Pat Curran’s vicious knockout of Joe Warren. This week, Brian Rogers provides the fireworks in taking out Vitor Vianna. Perhaps we need to add this to our list of the best flying knees in MMA history.

Pat Curran KOs Joe Warren [Video]

Pat Curran finished Joe Warren at Bellator 60 in Hammond to become the new featherweight champion.

Curran put one of the more vicious beatings we’ve seen in MMA on Warren, and the referee should have stepped in sooner to stop the fight. Here’s how it went down.

Pat Curran Finishes Joe Warren, Becomes New Bellator Featherweight Champ

Pat Curran put on an amazing display of striking, mixed with patience and savvy to knock out Joe Warren and win the Bellator featherweight title in Hammond on Friday night.

Curran took his time and measured Warren for most of the first round. When the moment was right, Curran unleashed a series of strikes that stunned the champion and dropped him. Warren was able to get up, but he wobbled around the cage while Curran stalked him. It looked as if the fight was going to be finished right there, but Warren survived the round.

Earlier in the round Warren got the fight to the ground but was unable to do much damage. Curran continually moved to the cage and wall-walked back to his feet, nullifying the champion’s takedowns.

In round two, Warren was again able to take down Curran and was the aggressor in the round. He did a fine job of limiting Curran’s space, and controlled the pace of the round.

But Curran’s patience served him well again early in the third when he let loose what seemed like an unending series of uppercuts, crosses and flying knees on Warren, who looked to be out on his feet. The ref finally stepped in and mercifully ended it at 1:25 of the round.

“I wanted to wait and take my time,” Curran said about his gameplan for Warren, mentioning that he did not do that in his win against Luis Palomino.

“It’s a dream come true. It’s only the beginning,” Curran said.

Curran improved to 17-4 as a pro, and thrilled Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney in the process. “What a night here at The Venue here in Hammond,” said Rebney. “With a sellout crowd in Bellator’s backyard, Pat Curran cemented his name as one of the best featherweights on the planet and is our new Bellator Featherweight Champion.”

Curran will now defend his title against tournament winner Patricky Pitbull. “I’m very excited,” said a smiling Curran. “I just got this belt and I’m not planning on getting rid of it anytime soon.”

Genair da Silva Defeats Bobby Reardanz at Bellator 60

Duneland Vale Tudo’s Bobby Reardanz was up first on the Bellator 60 card, fighting against Genair da Silva, who was removed from the Bellator tournament for failing to make weight. Silva agreed late last night to take the fight against Reardanz.

In the first round, Reardanz was roughed up by da Silva and was bleeding from the nose. Still, Reardanz pumped up the crowd as the bell sounded and he went back to his corner, ready to go back to work in round two.

In the second, a thunderous leg kick cut Reardanz’s legs out from under him and put Reardanz on his back, but he quickly got back to his feet. da Silva continued to work on Reardanz’ lead leg, chopping it out from under him. It was a tough round for Reardanz, and he limped back to to his corner at the end of the round.

Round 3 begins with another leg kick that drops Reardanz to the canvas. From there da Silva unleashed a series of punches until the ref stopped the fight at :51 of the round.

Reardanz was noticibly limping after the fight, but didn’t seem to have suffered any major injuries.

Corey Beats Mann, Advances in Bellator Tourney

Team Curran’s Mike Corey smothered and beat up Ronnie Mann, soundly defeating him to advance to the semifinals of the Bellator featherweight tournament.

Corey ate a head kick early in round one and then was knocked down near the halfway point of the round, but got up and kept moving forward against Mann. Corey scored a takedown with :35 left in the round and scored some points with some excellent ground and pound. Both fighters scored knockdowns in the round.

Corey had a bit more bounce in his step to begin the second round, and scored another takedown with about three minutes left in the round. Corey held top position and just like the end of round one, started landing some shots as the round came to an end. Mann spent the time on his back hunting for Corey’s arms. He got it once but Corey worked his way out of it, never in any serious danger. Corey won the round convincingly.

Corey dominated round three, continuing his ground and pound attack on Mann, battering him repeatedly and defending Mann’s sub attempts. It was an easy round to score for Corey.

Corey won via unanimous decision, 29-28 on all three cards, and he advances to the semifinals of the Bellator featherweight tournament. “It’s just gonna get harder, but it’s what I’m here to do, so I’m happy about it,” said Corey.

Eric Oria Wanted by Police, Withdraws from Bellator 60

Eric Oria was supposed to make his pro debut at Bellator 60 tonight, but did not show up for yesterday’s weigh-ins at the Horseshoe Casino, withdrawing from the bout for ‘medical reasons’.

But Oria may have withdrawn from the bout because he is wanted by the Indiana State Police on a warrant for failure to appear for judicial proceedings for Criminal Recklessness, Class D Felony issued by Lake County Court. The Indiana State Police issued a press release yesterday indicating that they were looking for Oria based on a traffic investigation that revealed he did have a warrant issued in his name.

Oria, 24, is a veteran of the TFC, and was supposed to make his pro debut against Lance Surma, with that fight being broadcast online at Spike.com.

Bellator did not comment on the matter, but because of the late withdrawal by Oria, it is assumed that no replacement was found for Surma and he is off the card.

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