|BELLATOR 154: DAVIS VS KING MO|[SAP CENTER | SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, USA | MAY 14, 2016]
OFFICIAL MAIN CARD ON SPIKE TV
MiddleweightPhil Hawes (3-0) 
|vs| Joe Pacheco (7-2, 1NC) The highly anticipated Bellator debut for the Jackson-Wink wonderboy Phil Hawes went perfectly to his plan as the 27-year old took the fight to the five-fight Bellator veteran Joe Pacheco early. Hawes used his jab well to work in some solid shots that landed with a lot of power as Pacheco was trying to block most of the shots but couldn't do so properly. Pacheco was starting to back up as Hawes landed a big headkick that clearly stunned Pacheco and sent him right against the fence. From there Hawes wasted no time to work his way in and grab his hands around Pacheco's body, hoisting him up and driving him down to the canvas with a vicious slam. The ground and pound then was enough for Hawes to put Pacheco away as the referee Kevin Macdonald waved the fight off. The highly touted Hawes keeps his unbeaten strike alive and makes a solid statement in his Bellator debut.
Result: Phil Hawes (4-0) defeated Joe Pacheco (7-3, 1NC) by TKO (Punches) at 1:03 in the 1st round
WelterweightAdam McDonough (11-1) |vs| Chidi Njokuani (14-4, 1NC) Former Welterweight contender McDonough returned to the action after two years away from the Bellator cage as he went toe-to-toe with striking ace Njokuani. Both men are known for their stand-up based fighting style as the fans saw an excellent display of back and forth action from the duo. "Big Gunna" McDonough was a bit hesitant in the early minutes of the fight as Njokuani took control of the fight, pushing the pace and landing more shots during their exchanges. Njokuani started to get comfortable as they fight went, landing a picture perfect flying knee to the face of McDonough who was busted wide open from that shot. The blood dropped out of McDonough's mouth as Njokuani continued to put pressure on his foe. In the second McDonough was visibly hurt from the first round but started to land more shots as Njokuani got too relaxed. The two fighters then ended up in a clinch with Njokuani having his back against the cage as McDonough landed a crushing knee to the ribs of his opponent. That shot clearly knocked the wind out of his sails as Njokuani was now desperate to defend the attacks from McDonough who landed one more massive body kick before Njokuani collapsed to the ground as the referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight instantly.
Result: Adam McDonough (12-1) defeated Chidi Njokuani (14-5, 1NC) by TKO (Body Kick) at 2:44 in the 2nd round
BantamweightL.C. Davis (23-7) |vs|Mike Richman (18-6) Both fighters are known for their high finishing ratio as wrestler Davis took on boxer Richman. Both men fired off solid shots in the early exchanges as Richman looked more comfortable, mixing it up between strikes and leg kicks as Davis started to feel the impact of the kicks. Slowed down by the leg kicks, Davis tries to shoot in for a single leg takedown, but Richman stuffed it and connected with several clean shots on the exit. Richman then ripped a hard kick to Davis' liver, causing the WEC vet to drop down on the mat. Richman quickly followed his opponent to the canvas, throwing hammer fists to the head of Davis, but Richman then ended up in the guard of Davis where the WEC vet was able to recover from the body kick. More of the same approach was used by Richman in the second round before Davis caught the leg of Richman and took him down the ground. On the mat we saw Davis working hard to keep Richman down, landing good strikes and keeping control of his opponent. However the referee Kevin Macdonald decided to stand the fighters back up midway in the second round due to inactivity. Richman then started to get back to work as he landed more leg kicks and vicious shots to the bad over and over again. Davis had decent success as well but then wisely decided to shoot for another takedown which worked perfectly as Davis drove Richman back against fence before dragging him down to the canvas to end the round strong. Richman was the fresher fighter going into the third round, starting it off with good boxing combinations before landing a big kick to the head of Davis. The 35-year old vet shook the impact off and tried to take Richman down, but the Marine blocked the attempt and used the clinch to score a takedown of his own. Richman landed some good ground and pound, controlling Davis on the ground for most part of the finale round as the fight went the distance and the judges now had decide the winner of this solid bantamweight bout.
Result: Mike Richman (19-6) defeated L.C. Davis (23-8) by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
LightweightJosh Thomson (22-8, 1NC) |vs| Michael Chandler (14-3) Two elite Lightweights went to war in this co-headliner as both fighters were battling for the next title shot at 155 lb. American Kickboxing Academy's Thomson looked very sharp with his striking in the first round, using his slight reach advantage well as Chandler was working to find a way to move in closer. Thomson missed with leg kick which allowed Chandler to shoot in and take Thomson down to the mat. BJJ Black belt Thomson was very calm off his back as Chandler was working for a better position but couldn't find a way to pass Thomson's guard. Thomson then used a butterfly guard to elevate Chandler and slip out, getting quickly back to his feet. Now Thomson switches his stance before exploding with a good combinations that ends with a roundhouse kick to the jaw of Chandler. Power MMA's Chandler stumbled back against the fence where Thomson engaged with him in a clinch before tripping the former Bellator Lightweight champ down to the canvas. Thomson landed several hard elbows to his opponent before Chandler tried scramble his way out which resulted in Thomson wisely taking the back of Chandler without too much effort. With both hooks in Thomson tried to secure the rear naked choke but the former champion did a good job defending the submission attempt. Thomson abandoned to go for the choke and started to land hard shots to the side of the head as the first round came to an end. Chandler looked very focused in the second round, knowing he probably lost the first one to his foe. Thomson tried to keep Chandler at distance with good movement and kicks, but Chandler was able to get hold of Thomson's left foot before dragging him down to the mat with a single leg takedown. Chandler used quick punches to keep Thomson busy on the ground before transitioning into the mount which suprised Thomson completely. Hard elbows and vicious punches connected with the face of Thomson as Chandler felt he could finish the fight from that position. The referee Herb Dean gave Thomson the warning to defend him properly as the former Strikeforce Lightweight king pushed one of Chandler's leg off before giving up his back. The two fighters were close to the cage as Thomson quickly exploded back to his feet with Chandler following him, grabbing his hands around the waist of his opponent. Chandler pressed Thomson against the cage and kept him there, landing quick knees to thigh of Thomson. Chandler's dirty boxing was enough to keep the fight in that position for the rest of the round. Both fighters now won one round each and so we were ready for one big last round as Thomson opened up with hard leg kicks and good head movement to avoid most of Chandler's strikes. All stand-up in the third round as both lightweight contenders landed some clean strikes during the round but Thomson then slipped past a jab from Chandler before connecting with a stunning right hook that dropped Chandler back against the cage. Chandler wisely clinched with Thomson in order to save some time to recover as Thomson used the clinch to trip Chandler to the canvas again. In the guard of Chandler, Thomson stacked his opponent and threw hard punches to the head as well as the body. Chandler, off his back, managed to get a hold of Thomson's right leg as he tried to go for a kneebar in the finale seconds of the third round, but Thomson kept his composure and threw a few punches to break Chandler's grip as the fight ended with Thomson in control of the grounded Michael Chandler. Surely a close fight to call for the judges.
Result: Josh Thomson (23-8, 1NC) defeated Michael Chandler (14-4) by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
Light Heavyweight
Phil Davis (15-3, 1NC) |vs| Muhammed Lawal (19-4, 1NC) The two gifted wrestlers met in the middle of the cage for the touch of the gloves as we were set for the main event of the evening. Former UFC fighter Davis wears his vintage pink shorts as the Penn State wrestler used his lead leg to land kicks to King Mo's outer thigh in the early seconds of the fight. Lawal looked quite slow in the beginning as he mainly threw one big power punch at a time while Davis was sticking and moving very well. Eventually Davis then threw a high kick that was blocked by King Mo who then closed the distance to put Davis back up against the cage. In the clinch we saw Lawal landing clean knees to the body and thigh of Davis who tried to block most of the shots. Lawal then quickly grabbed Davis by the waist and tried to drag the UFC vet to the mat, but Davis remained upright and broke King Mo's grip before circling away from his opponent. Davis kept Lawal busy with his decent volume of strikes as he started to score a lot of points with quick combinations. Not much happened for the rest of the round as King Mo tried to shoot for a takedown in the finale seconds of the first round but Davis sprawled well and avoided getting taken down. Davis came out differently in the second round as he wasted not much time to shoot in for a takedown which he managed to pull off. Davis drove King Mo back first into the mat with a nice double leg takedown. Lawal threw hard elbows off his back as Davis blocked a few them before gaining side control. In that position Davis was able to working in some ground and pound before Lawal managed to get Davis back into his guard. Both fighters didn't do much from that point, Davis landed a few good shots but overall it took the referee Dan Miragliotta a while to bring an end to the inactivity as he stood the duo up just as the round came to an end. The Fans were quite vocal about the fight as the two athletes were set for the third and finale round of this Light Heavyweight number one contender bout. Davis landed his jab well as he used it to set up good combinations, landing with leg kicks over and over again. King Mo moved in and closed the gap as he landed a big overhand that caught Davis flush. Davis clearly ate that shot well as Lawal tried to follow it up with a barrage of bombs, but a level change from Davis left King Mo open as Davis fired back with a swift right hook. The fans finally got to see a bit of a stand-up war, but not for too long as Davis dropped and took King Mo down to the mat. The ground and pound from Davis did some damage to Lawal but never really threatened to finish the fight as the duo remained on the ground for the rest of the third round.
Result: Phil Davis (16-3, 1NC) defeated Muhammed Lawal (19-5, 1NC) by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Preliminary Card (Spike.com)
Welterweight: Mahir Mamedov (14-1) defeated Rene Pessoa (11-5)
The Alash Pride fighter Mamedov looked very good against the tough brazilian Pessoa. Mamedov went the full distance only twice in fourteen fights just like Pessoa who finished 73% of his fights by way of submission. Both men had their moments of brilliance but in the end the kazakh Mamedov landed a massive headkick in the third round which he followed up by vicious ground and pound for the victory. "Steel Foot" scored again.
Light Heavyweight: Tyler Hufnagle (4-0) defeated William Vincent (2-4)
With a frame of 6'6 Hufnagle is one tall Light Heavyweight which helped him extremely well in his fight with Vincent. The 6'0 tall Vincent tried to get in close to use his catch wrestling background but Hufnagle was able to secure a guillotine choke as Vincent launched in for a takedown, leading to a tap out from Vincent in the very first round.
Heavyweight: Kyle Noblitt (3-0) defeated Bo Kunz (3-3)
The one fight Bellator vet Noblitt was all business tonight as he wasted no time to launch vicious attacks on his opponent. The Missouri native Kunz survived a few of Noblitt's big power punches, but as Kunz tried to drop down for a takedown he ate a nasty uppercut as his lights turned out in the first round.
Welterweight: Evan Cutts (7-2) defeated Sam Spengler (8-6)
Texas native Cutts looked very smooth against three-fight Strikeforce veteran Spengler as the former Fight Master participant wasted no time to get the fight to the ground where Cutts had a clear advantage over his opponent. Cutts used ground and pound in side control to keep Spengler busy defending the punches before Cutts then caught Spengler in a tight Arm triangle that forced the tap out in the opening round.
Women's Flyweight: Bruna Vargas (3-0) defeated Luana Souza (2-2)
Brazilian flyweight Vargas was tested against her compatriot Souza in a fairly even match up. Both women were extremely good in the grappling exchanges and had each other in very tricky situation throughout the whole fight, but in the end Vargas showed more will to win this bout as she earned herself a close Split decision victory over Souza.
Featherweight: Jonny Bonilla-Bowman (2-0) defeated Jeff Carson (2-10)
Wrestling ace Bonilla-Bowman was back in action after a long layoff and struggled a bit in the early stages of the fight against "The Redneck" Carson, who despise his record showed heart in this fight. However once the Hofstra Pride wrestler Jonny found his rhythm he was able to land takedowns whenever he wanted to and got the Unanimous decision over Carson in the end.
Middleweight: Casey Ryan (8-2) defeated Nick Pica (5-1)
Two california boys went to war as one time Strikeforce vet Ryan took on undefeated Pica. A highly entertaining back and forth battle between Ryan and Pica but one mistake from Pica was enough for Ryan to capitalize on a sloppy takedown attempt as the Strikeforce vet Ryan secured a standing guillotine choke in the second round to end the fight in that position.
Bantamweight: Holt Felkins (1-0) defeated Justin Durham (1-1)
The newcomer Felkins took on unbeaten Durham in the first fight of the evening as Felkins used his size advantage very well to control his fellow california native in the grappling exchanges and earn himself the nod from the judges as Felkins took the fight by Unanimous decision after the three rounds came to an end.
@theironjaw
10 out of 13 correct
... Wow, I should make a living off doing the Vegas lines for Yannic's booker, and let's make that a thing!!
... 
