Michael Chandler was impressive again as he made quick work of Rick Hawn via rear naked choke in the 2nd. And Pat Curran defended his Featherweight title with a razor thin and ultimately boring split decision win ove Pitbull Freire. The highlight for me was watching Babalu get knocked out by a spinning backfist. [TABLE="class: toccolours"] <TBODY>[TR] [TH="bgcolor: #ccf, colspan: 8, align: center"]Main Card (Spike TV)[/TH] [/TR] [TR] [TH="bgcolor: #e6e8fa, colspan: 1, align: center"]Weight Class[/TH] [TH="bgcolor: #e6e8fa, colspan: 1, align: center"][/TH] [TH="bgcolor: #e6e8fa, colspan: 1, align: center"][/TH] [TH="bgcolor: #e6e8fa, colspan: 1, align: center"][/TH] [TH="bgcolor: #e6e8fa, colspan: 1, align: center"]Method[/TH] [TH="bgcolor: #e6e8fa, colspan: 1, align: center"]Round[/TH] [TH="bgcolor: #e6e8fa, colspan: 1, align: center"]Time[/TH] [TH="bgcolor: #e6e8fa, colspan: 1, align: center"]Notes[/TH] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Light Heavyweight[/TD] [TD]Jacob Noe[/TD] [TD]def.[/TD] [TD]Seth Petruzelli[/TD] [TD]TKO (punches)[/TD] [TD]1[/TD] [TD]2:51[/TD] [TD][SUP][a][/SUP][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Lightweight[/TD] [TD]Michael Chandler (c)[/TD] [TD]def.[/TD] [TD]Rick Hawn[/TD] [TD]Submission (rear naked choke)[/TD] [TD]2[/TD] [TD]3:07[/TD] [TD][SUP][/SUP][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Light Heavyweight[/TD] [TD]Mikhail Zayats[/TD] [TD]def.[/TD] [TD]Renato Sobral[/TD] [TD]TKO (punches)[/TD] [TD]1[/TD] [TD]4:49[/TD] [TD][SUP][a][/SUP][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Featherweight[/TD] [TD]Pat Curran (c)[/TD] [TD]def.[/TD] [TD]Patricio Freire[/TD] [TD]Split decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47)[/TD] [TD]5[/TD] [TD]5:00[/TD] [TD][SUP][c][/SUP][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TH="bgcolor: #ccf, colspan: 8, align: center"]Preliminary Card (Spike.com)[/TH] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Featherweight[/TD] [TD]Aaron Miller[/TD] [TD]def.[/TD] [TD]Joe Camacho[/TD] [TD]Unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)[/TD] [TD]3[/TD] [TD]5:00[/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Light Heavyweight[/TD] [TD]Jason Lambert[/TD] [TD]def.[/TD] [TD]Hector Ramirez[/TD] [TD]Submission (straight armbar)[/TD] [TD]1[/TD] [TD]3:59[/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Catchweight (165 lbs.)[/TD] [TD]J.J. Ambrose[/TD] [TD]def.[/TD] [TD]Brian Warren[/TD] [TD]Submission (guillotine choke)[/TD] [TD]2[/TD] [TD]0:50[/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Light Heavyweight[/TD] [TD]Emanuel Newton[/TD] [TD]def.[/TD] [TD]Atanas Djambazov[/TD] [TD]Submission (rear naked choke)[/TD] [TD]2[/TD] [TD]2:21[/TD] [TD][SUP][a][/SUP][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Lightweight[/TD] [TD]Savant Young[/TD] [TD]def.[/TD] [TD]Mike Guymon[/TD] [TD]KO (punch)[/TD] [TD]2[/TD] [TD]0:48[/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Welterweight[/TD] [TD]Joe Williams[/TD] [TD]def.[/TD] [TD]Jamie Yager[/TD] [TD]TKO (strikes)[/TD] [TD]1[/TD] [TD]4:02[/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Featherweight[/TD] [TD]Cleber Luciano[/TD] [TD]def.[/TD] [TD]Mario Navarro[/TD] [TD]Unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)[/TD] [TD]3[/TD] [TD]5:00[/TD] [/TR] </TBODY>[/TABLE]
You can argue that Chandler is the top 155er in the sport right now. He's just looked awesome in every fight. He's so damn strong for his weight, has great takedowns, good wrestling and a solid chin. He's gonna be real tough to beat. The only problem is he's pretty much already cleared out Bellator's lightweights. TFK
Ya Chandler is a stud. Give him another 1-2 years seasoning in Bellator and watch him be champ in the UFC.
I'm not saying I completely disgree but this reminds me of TLC ranking Gilbert Melendez #4 in his P4P list right after Gilbert destroyed Aoki. Just because Chandler brutalized Alvarez, let's not go overboard. He's good. He's probably one of the 10 best LW's in the world but he hasn't done enough to crack the top 5. And this is coming from a guy that always rants about Bellator's talent and especially Rick Hawn.
If they fought tomorrow I would personally favor the following guys: Henderson Cerrone Pettis Diaz And I would consider him even money with the following: Melendez Maynard Jim Miller And add Frankie Edgar to the first group and Clay Guida slightly below the second group if they weren't fighting at 145 now. Chandler could end up being better than all these guys but, in my opinion, he's never beaten anyone as good as any of these guys YET.
I thought Pat Curran won clearly. Very good card. I was going to make a separate thread for this observation, but has anyone else noticed that fightnews.com is ignoring Bellator? It's obvious that the UFC has paid for premium placement and regular stories in their feed, but outright banning NEWS about their competitor? Oh, monopolies and unfair trade practices...
yeah seeing Babalu get fucked up was sweet Chandler is a stud. I think Alvarez wants out of Bellator so bad because he wants absolutely nothing to do with him again. He knows if he fights him again, he loses, and no UFC contract
Too bad we will never know TFK, looks like Eddie is headed back to Bellator to waste the rest of his career.
