Pat Curran vs. Joe Warren, and four other great Bellator Season Six fights

If you have not been watching Bellator this year, then you have been missing out. When compared to the two larger MMA promotions: the fighters are different, they are on MTV2 instead of Pay-per-view or Fox/FX/Facebook and the purses and venues are smaller.  However, their fights deliver without question.

What they may lack in “flash” or “star power” they make up for in substance if not raw violence. To be fair, though, Bellator‘s fighters are becoming stars in their own right. Personally, I feel smaller more intimate arenas and casinos suit the fight game better than large stadiums.

2012 has been a great year so far for Bellator, so I went back and highlighted, what I feel are the “Top 5 Bellator Fights of 2012”:

Popo Bezerra vs. Marlon Sandro (Bellator 64: Featherweight Tournament Semi-Final)

Summary: Sandro leads off strong: throwing kicks, knees, combinations, everything but the kitchen sink at Bezerra. A cup shot stopped the fight briefly, but seemed to give Bezerra a second wind. The second round seemed to stalemate, good shots thrown but nothing decisive. The third round turned into a war and Sandro looked gassed while Bezerra went on the offensive rocking him twice. The fight went to decision with the judges scoring it: 29-28 Sandro, 29-28 Bezerra, and 29-28 Sandro, giving him the Split Decision victory.

Andreas Spang vs. Brian Rogers (Bellator 66: Middleweight Tournament Semi-Final)

Summary: Rogers comes out swinging, but Spang was ready for him. Rogers rocks Spang and slips, Spang pounces, going for the rear-naked choke. Rogers escapes and pummels him for the remaindr of the round. In the second, Rogers comes out slower, but landing heavy shots all the same, until 3:30 or so when Spang drops him with a heavy left and goes for the ground and pound, winning due to referee stoppage.

Pat Curran vs. Joe Warren (Bellator 60)

Summary: This was a fight that started out with Warren going for a takedown but Curran recovering quickly. Curran and Warren battled the first round brutally back and forth to the point where Warren thought he had broken his hand. The second was largely a repeat of the first with Warren opening a cut below Curran’s right eye. In the third, Curran turned the tables on Warren and beat him unconscious at 1:25 for a KO and the belt as Featherweight Champion.

Cole Konrad vs. Eric Prindle (Bellator 70)

Summary: In a fight remniscent of the old days of MMA (a pure striker vs. a wrestler), Heavyweight Champion Cole Konrad successfully defended his title against the challenger, Eric Prindle in a bout that lasted 60 seconds. Prindle was a boxer in the US Army and came out strong throwing a combination that would have been destructive to another pugilist. However, Cole Konrad was able to perfectly execute his gameplan with a quick takedown, followed by a Kimura submission hold that ended the fight within the first minute of Round 1. My personal favorite fights always end quick.

Lloyd “Cupcake” Woodard vs. Patricky “Pitbull” Freire  (Bellator 62)

Summary: A low blow to Freire leads to a halt in the action. After the reset it was an all-out barnburner. Freire finally goes for a Kimura against the cage but runs out of time. Freire lands some heavy shots in the opening salvo and looks like he is going to bring home the win. Only to have Woodward take him down lock in a kimura and visibly pops Freire’s shoulder out of joint before he forces “Pitbull” to tapout at 1:46. Easily the best Bellator fight of the year and probably one of the best MMA fights of the year.