Bellator 142: Dynamite took place last night (September 19, 2015) from the SAP Center in San Jose, California. The event was unique because it was the first event that featured both Bellator mixed martial arts fights and Glory kickboxing matchess. The event featured some very entertaining contests, but we will just focus on the mixed martial arts fights. I will grade each fight, as well as the card as a whole. Liam McGeary vs Tito Ortiz Ortiz attempted to do the impossible; win the Bellator Light Heavyweight title at the age of 40. Tito got off to a great start by putting McGeary on his back and working his ground and pound. It was a strategy that worked just fine for the first four minutes and 30 seconds. However, Ortiz made a tactical error and got caught in an inverted triangle at the end of the round. It was a decent fight overall and I wonder where Tito goes from here. I still think McGeary has big holes in his game and those are likely to be exploited by Phil Davis. Fight Grade: B- Phil Davis vs Francis Carmont This fight was supposed to be Davis versus King Mo, but Mo was injured and could not compete. That allowed Carmont, who won the tournament’s alternate bout, to fight Davis for the tournament’s title. This fight was pretty boring until Davis landed a monster leaping left hand that put Carmont out cold. This was a rarity because Davis is not known for his power, as this was his first true knockout of his career. Davis will now fight McGeary for the Bellator Light Heavyweight Championship. Fight Grade: C Josh Thomson vs Mike Bronzoulis This was simply a mismatch, one likely designed to make Thomson look good and fast track him into title contention. Thomson’s superior wrestling and all-around skill-set was evident from the start. Bronzoulis had little to offer here and he was ultimately choked out by an arm triangle early in the third round. Fight Grade: C- Phil Davis vs Emmanuel Newton This was one of the light heavyweight tournament’s first round matchups, and like most fights on this card, it was extremely one-sided. Davis controlled the action from the beginning by working a few kicks and scoring multiple takedowns. Newton managed to get up a few times only to be dragged back to the mat again. Newton was not able to get anything going and ultimately succumbed to a nasty Kimura that Davis locked in with only 21 seconds left in the first round. Fight Grade: C- King Mo vs Linton Vassell This is one of the few fights on the card that did not feature a finish. However, it was anything but competitive. Mo punished Vassell with big power shots from the beginning; it was actually surprising that Vassell was able to make it to the final bell. Simply put, King Mo did whatever he wanted in this fight and he cruised into the next round of the tournament. Unfortunately for him, he sustained an injury and could not compete in the tournament finals. Fight Grade: C+ Bellator 142 Dynamie Thoughts: I did not give any particular fight a great grade, but I thought the presentation, along with the announcement of the signing of Fedor Emelianenko made it a special event. Further, having former Pride announce Lenne Hardt introduce the fighters gave many fans a nice feeling of nostalgia. Overall Bellator 142 Dynamie Grade: B
