Temecula, CA — Contender Series alum Tony Johnson had an opportunity to take on one of the best kickboxers in the world at Bellator 229: Joe Schilling. ‘Stitch ’em Up’ entered the bout on a two-fight win streak, and was certainly more committed to his current MMA run.

Johnson, however, served up his first loss since 2015 in MMA, with a knockout blow delivered in the third and final round. Speaking to Cageside Press following the event, Johnson (8-3) recapped the fight.

“Man it took me a while to find my range, but I felt like in the third round, he was slowing down a little bit. He was getting a little tired,” Johnson recalled. “My cardio was good, I was picking up, close the distance, and I just caught him with that counter hook.”

Johnson had done some damage earlier in the fight as well. “I felt like I wore him out a little bit. I could sense he was getting a little bit tired,” he said. “I know I caught him a little bit and shook him. He told me in my ear ‘you hit like a bitch.’ He is a hell of a competitor, right, so we were talking a little bit. I knew that he felt it. Then after I made him get up, I could sense he was getting tired. So I knew I that I just had to start turning it on in that third round.”

Turn it on he did, delivering the knockout blow just over two minutes into the round. The standing approach was interesting, given the usual game plan against Schilling is to double leg him all day.

“If you’ve watched me fight, I don’t wrestle,” Johnson pointed out, before adding that “I can wrestle. I come from American Kickboxing Academy, where it’s the land of wrestlers. So I’m forced to wrestle.”

“But I wanted to stand with him,” he continued. “I wanted to prove that I can stand with anybody. I respected him as a competitor, so I was like ‘man I wanted want to see who has better standup for MMA.’ Little gloves change everything.”

After being snubbed on the Contender Series — Johnson won his fight, but didn’t get a UFC contract — it feels like he’s sent a message to that other organization. Johnson downplayed it, however. “I’m happy. I’m happy that I came over to Bellator. Attention Bellator middleweights, man. Guess who’s here?!”

Bellator middleweights will have to wait just a little, however, as AKA’s Tony Johnson will return to the boxing world next, with a bout scheduled next month.

Watch our full Bellator 229 post-fight interview with Tony Johnson above!

The post Bellator 229’s Tony Johnson: “Little Gloves Change Everything” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Temecula, CA — Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: there are too many interim titles in MMA. It’s a common complaint, but following Bellator 229, a case can be made that one is necessary for Bellator’s lightweight division. Goiti Yamauchi, who defeated Saad Awad to make it two wins in a row, and five of his last six, is certainly pushing for it.

Yamauchi spoke to Cageside Press following his big win in Temecula on Friday, reflecting on the fight with Awad, which ended in a first round submission, and what comes next.

“The fight, it is what it is. Anything can happen in the fight,” Yamauchi said. “But I was ready for any situation inside the cage. I kind of fought a little bit more smart, that’s why I got the win.”

While many saw the pairing as striker vs. grappler, “I’m not considered just a grappler, I’m a complete fighter,” Yamauchi corrected. “But [Awad]’s very aggressive, he likes to bring the fight. I was waiting for it. I caught him with a kick, after that I knew that he would come strong, and I was just waiting for that moment, that I could finish the fight quick.”

Yamauchi has been calling out one name of late: Benson Henderson. And now may be the time that the bout gets made. “It’s been a long time that I’m calling [out] Ben Henderson. I think this is the fight that we need to make it happen,” he told us.

“It’s nothing personal, just business. I just want to face the best guys in the world,” he continued. “Ben Henderson is one of the most important guys in the lightweight division, in all organizations, and especially here in Bellator. He’s very very tough. He’s probably the next challenger. So I want to fight him. There’s [not] any other fight I want to make, just against Ben Henderson.”

If he gets his way, it could very well be for interim gold.

“That’s what I’m thinking. I’m going to push Bellator. We’ve got to push Bellator to make an interim belt,” said Yamauchi. If double-champ Pitbull goes to the finale of the featherweight grand prix, he pointed out, it’s going to take a long time before he’s available to defend the title again. “We need to make an interim belt to make this weight class competitive. We’ve got to move.”

Watch our full Bellator 229 post-fight interview with Goiti Yamauchi above!

The post Bellator 229: If Goiti Yamauchi Gets His Way, It’s Him Versus Benson Henderson for Interim Gold appeared first on Cageside Press.

Temecula, CA — Keri Melendez improved her perfect record to 4-0 Friday night at Bellator 229. With a unanimous decision win over Mandy Polk, Melendez got back in the win column — her first fight in over a year. Now, she’s looking to maintain that momentum.

“I definitely want to keep the rhythm going,” she told Cageside Press in an exclusive post-fight interview. “My nerves were a little bit shot this time, because I hadn’t been in for a little bit. I’ve been doing a lot back home, helping my teqammates, running the gym, and being with my family. So I kind of shook out the, not really ring rust, because I felt comfortable in there, but just [shook] out my nerves.”

It clearly worked, given the unanimous decision win. And Melendez is hoping that performances like that convince Bellator CEO Scott Coker to open a strawweight division. Thus far, Bellator has held 115lb fights for women as one-offs, with the promotion having only flyweight and featherweight for the ladies.

“I hope something like this,” Melendez said when asked what it might take to convince Coker to institute the weight class. “I keep showing that I can go in there battle with different types of opponents. I hope that it’s enough for Scott to want to start the division. I know there’s a lot of 115’ers out there.”

Case in point, Ava Knight, who fought at 115lbs just a week ago. “That’d be a good fight for me,” suggested Melendez. “I’d go up to 125 to fight some good fights. Anything that can bring me some good fights now. I think I’m ready to take on some other people, some more experienced people. Just like Mandy Polk. She had three times as much experience as me, and I was excited for it. I want to fight some more seasoned people and to bring me up in the ranks.”

Speaking of Polk, Melendez’s opponent went for the takedown almost immediately Friday night. “I knew that she wasn’t going to want to strike with me, and we were preparing for the bum rush. I thought I hit her good with a right hand, and then she took me down after,” observed Melendez.

“I was kind of pissed that I let myself get taken down so quickly, but I felt comfortable there,” she continued. It’s something she worked on with her coaches and teammates, including husband Gilbert Melendez, and fellow Bellator fighter Leslie Smith.

Melendez admitted to feeling some frustration over not being able to finish the fight. “A little bit, because if I have someone, their arm trapped like that, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t finish,” she stated. “So we’re going to go back, I’m going to do my homework, work on that, so next time when I do get someone trapped like that, it’s going to be 100% finished.”

The post Bellator 229: Keri Melendez Looking to “Keep the Rhythm Going” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Temecula, CA — Lorenz Larkin (21–7, 1NC) finally got his crack at former Bellator welterweight champ Andrey Koreshkov Friday night. At Bellator 229, the pair battled to a split decision, with Larkin coming away with the W.

It’s a fight that had been brewing over the better part of a year, an earlier date scuttled due to injury. “It’s great. I wanted this fight to happen,” Larkin told Cageside Press in an exclusive post-fight interview. “I felt like a lot of guys ducked this guy. I wanted the fight to happen. I wanted the fight to happen last fight, but I had to pull out. I’m just glad Bellator made this fight happen again, and it went through, and we got to fight tonight.”

The worst part, mentally at least, was “just the waiting process,” explained Larkin. “The longer you’re out of the cage, you don’t really want to have that cage rust and stuff like that. I like to just fight.” And so the hardest thing was waiting, as months and months went by, for a new date. “You’re just stir crazy and focused on getting a date.”

Once he finally got the October showdown with Koreshkov booked, however, Larkin says his coaches put together a great game plan. End result, “after the fight I felt like I could have ran five miles, I was in perfect shape for this fight.”

Larkin looked maybe just a little nervous when the scores were read. Close decisions will do that. However the former UFC and Strikeforce athlete explained that he feels judging in the sport has evolved.

“If you get me down, then work. Don’t just hold me there. I’m just glad that MMA has evolved so much and the judging has evolved to know that even though the guy is sitting there holding his legs, he’s not doing nothing,” he said. “And the other guy is trying to get up, and he’s trying to advance, the other guy’s just holding his legs, holding his legs. I’m just glad the judges are a lot more logical about the sport and understand so much about the sport now.”

Larkin explained that when it came to Koreshkov’s approach to the fight, “I was just more kind of just pissed off that ‘you’re just holding me.’ Punch my leg, punch my stomach, something. Work. You’re just holding me.'”

Koreshkov did have his moments, mind you, including a wheel kick that hurt Larkin in the first. “The first round, he caught me, but it was more like a little flash. Worked out of it,” Larkin recalled. “The second round, I wish I had more time. It was a little tweak that we’re going to come back and fix. I was just trying to land big shot, big shot, big shot.” Having been in the game so long, Larkin feels as if he should have picked his shots better — but it’s all part of the learning process. “Fight to fight, I’m always learning.”

Larkin said he could feel the former champ tiring after the first round. “I could see it when he was sitting on the stool. And I was feeling still good. I told them in the second round I was going to push, push, push.” That led to the near stoppage.

What’s next for Lorenz Larkin, should he get his way, it a New Year’s date with RIZIN FF in Japan. “Hopefully in about 30 minutes Scott calls me up and says ‘you know what Lorenz, I’ve been thinking, I’m going to send you to RIZIN and represent for the promotion.’ Scott, I’m a company man, send me! Let me off the leash and send me to RIZIN. Let me represent for Bellator.”

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Since joining Bellator as an undefeated 21-year-old in 2012, Andrey Koreshkov has had plenty of success. The Russian was 13-3 in the promotion, with the three losses coming to Ben Askren and Douglas Lima (twice) ahead of Bellator 229. He also holds a win over Lima, has won two Bellator welterweight tournaments, held the welterweight championship, and defended that championship. Although he’s no longer the champ, Koreshkov responded to his most recent loss, a fifth-round submission at the hands of Lima in the quarterfinal of the welterweight grand prix last year, by defeating Michael Jasper by unanimous decision last March.

Lorenz Larkin was looking to join that small list of fighters to defeat Koreshkov at Bellator 229. The former UFC welterweight’s first bout in Bellator came against Lima for the welterweight title. Larkin lost that bout, and his next as well. While his move to a new promotion got off to a rocky start, Larkin responded with back to back victories last year. Now, in his first fight of 2019, Larkin had the opportunity to re-insert himself into the welterweight title-picture.

The first strike of note was a leg kick from Larkin after about 30 seconds, which Koreshkov caught and used to attempt a takedown. He didn’t land the takedown, but he forced Larkin against the cage. The duo largely canceled each other out, and separated halfway through the first round. In the center of the cage, Koreshkov landed a body kick, and followed it with a spinning wheel kick to the head of Larkin, sending him to the canvas. Larkin recovered quickly, absorbing a flurry of punches from Koreshkov, but staying in the fight.

After responding with a nice left hand of his own, the fight was once again in the center of the cage for the final minue of the round. Koreshkov continued to throw a variety of strikes, while Larkin looked fresh and alert for a guy who’d been dropped a couple of minutes earlier. The knockdown decidedly gave Koreshkov the round in an exciting and entertaining first five minutes.

Koreshkov attempted a spinning back kick to the body of Larkin early in round two, which Larkin reacted well to, taking Koreshkov’s back and pushing him against the cage. Koreshkov was able to switch position, and the fight stalled as both men worked for knees in the clinch. They then separated, and Koreshkov landed a couple of solid combinations as the clock ticked to the final 90 seconds of the round.

Larkin then controlled the center of the cage, and began to strike more aggressively. He threw a heavy flying knee to Koreshkov, which put the Russian on the ground. Larkin swarmed, looking for the finish and throwing a flurry of heavy strikes. Koreshkov was able to survive and get back to his feet, but Larkin put him down with yet another big knee. After another flurry of heavy ground and pound from Larkin, the bell rang, and we somehow made it to round three.

Both fighters were trying to strike from range in the opening minutes of the final round, with neither fighter landing anything of note. Koreshkov then shot for a takedown after catching a kick from Larkin, and Larkin pulled guard, attempting a guillotine. Koreshkov stayed patient and was able to get out, and end up in the full guard of Larkin. He was unable to do anything with that position, though, as Larkin slowly worked his way to his feet.

With about two minutes remaining, Koreshkov held Larkin up against the cage, throwing knees at the legs of Larkin while working for position. He eventually switched to a single-leg, and was able to drag Larkin back down to the mat. As the final seconds of the round elapsed, Koreshkov was holding Larkin against the cage after landing yet another takedown, after Larkin had worked his way to his feet. The fight went to the scorecards, and it could’ve gone either way.

Back and fourth in round one! This fight is electric!#Bellator229 pic.twitter.com/FpZ1MPFzv5

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) October 5, 2019

Result: Lorenz Larkin def. Andrey Koreshkov by split-decision (29-28×2, 28-29)

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Despite both fighters being in Bellator since 2013, Bellator 229 marked the first time veterans Saad Awad and Goiti Yamauchi fought. Awad has competed at both lightweight and welterweight, tallying a 23-11 record as a pro. The 36-year-old lost his previous two fights, against Benson Henderson and Brandon Girtz, both by decision, ahead of his matchup with Yamauchi.

Yamauchi has lost twice in his last nine matches. The 26-year-old submission-specialist has been incredibly active throughout his nearly decade-long career, earning a 23-4 record as a pro. Yamauchi was 4-1 in his most recent five bouts, with the lone loss coming to Michael Chandler by unanimous decision in January of 2018.

Both veterans began the fight patient, figuring out the range in the opening minute. Awad landed the first major strike of the night, sending Yamauchi stumbling backward with a big right hand. Stunned, Yamauchi quickly shot for a takedown, eating another few right hands for his troubles. Despite those strikes, Yamauchi was able to get the fight to the ground, with Awad in his guard. Yamauchi then latched on to Awad’s right hand after some ground strikes, and snapped on an armbar. Seconds later, Awad was tapping, and the fight was over. Yamauchi now owns the record for most submissions in Bellator history.

Result: Goiti Yamauchi def. Saad Awad by submission (armbar) in Round 1 (1:40)

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Keri Melendez has utilized her muay thai background well during her run in professional MMA, all of which has come under the Bellator MMA banner. The 35-year-old made her promotional debut as a kickboxer, winning a unanimous decision in 2015. Melendez then made the move to MMA in 2016, and had gone 3-0 with two first-round finishes ahead of Bellator 229.

Mandy Polk, on the other hand, was making her promotional debut on Friday night. The 34-year-old had tallied a 6-4 record, winning her three most recent bouts ahead of her matchup with Melendez. Polk’s most recent loss came in LFA, where she was submitted in the first-round by undefeated jiu-jitsu specialist Mackenzie Dern in 2017.

The bout also took place at 118-pounds. Each of Melendez’s three MMA fights came at strawweight, while Polk had competed at both flyweight and strawweight in her career.

The fight started quick, with Polk immediately rushing for a takedown, and eating a right hand from Melendez. The strategy worked though, as Polk was in Melendez’s guard seconds later. Melendez had some solid ground defense, staying active and not allowing Polk to advance. Melendez was then latched on a triangle choke, and worked for position, eventually landing some solid strikes. Polk was able to avoid the submission, but Melendez kept the strong position as the duo tangled on the mat.

Melendez gave up the position, and after the fight stalled for a bit, Polk was once again in Melendez’s guard. Polk stayed aggressive, making sure to keep the fight on the ground, even if she wasn’t landing strikes or advancing position. Although Polk was on top for the majority of the round, Melendez’s activity and aggression might have won her the round.

Polk had Melendez pushed against the cage in the opening seconds of the second round. Melendez defended well, getting both underhooks and changing position to push Polk against the cage. Melendez held that position, throwing and landing a variety of knees and elbows in the clinch. Polk eventually escaped the clinch, but not after absorbing more than a few body strikes.

On the feet, Melendez landed some solid strikes from range, before Polk once again rushed the talented striker and pushed her against the cage. It didn’t last long though, as Melendez was able to force the tiring Polk off of her, get the fight back to the center of the cage, and land some strong right hands to the face of Polk.

Melendez landed a stong kick to open the third round, likely up on the scorecards. After a minute, Polk shot for a takedown, and eventually landed it after initially getting stopped. Melendez quickly snapped on another triangle, and was able to create some space. Polk escaped, and was on top of Melendez, but failed to do any damage or work for a submission. Polk worked to get the back of Melendez, and attempted a rear-naked choke that never put Melendez in any danger.

With a minute remaining, Polk was in Melendez’s guard, struggling to get the finish she likely needed. With 30 seconds remaining, the official stood both fighters up, and the bell sounded as both women threw a flurry of strikes, with Melendez getting the better of Polk.

🦵💥@KeriMelendez415 has all the knees in round two.#Bellator229 pic.twitter.com/boX4NWKxUk

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) October 5, 2019

Result: Keri Melendez def. Mandy Polk by unanimous decision (30-27×3)

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Joe Schilling is a guy that fans of MMA and kickboxing, and followers of Bellator, are very familiar with. The 35-year-old has a 23-9 professional kickboxing record, competing in GLORY from 2013-2016 and Bellator Kickboxing from 2016-2017. His professional MMA career began in 2008, but didn’t resume until 2014, when he joined Bellator MMA. He’d fought five times for the MMA portion of the promotion ahead of Bellator 229, going 3-2 and winning his last two bouts.

Challenging Schilling was former Dana White Contender Series victor Tony Johnson. The 36-year-old upset Alton Cunningham in June, but didn’t earn a UFC contract on the night. The UFC’s loss is Bellator’s gain, as Johnson returned to middleweight in his promotional debut. Johnson’s previous three bouts, all victories, came at light heavyweight. He’d also competed at welterweight and middleweight throughout his 10-fight, eight-win career.

The duo traded leg kicks to start the bout, with Johnson pushing to control the center of the cage. Schilling had the first flurry of note, forcing Johnson against the cage and looking to strike fast from the clinch after 40 seconds. Shortly after the one-minute mark, a Schilling leg kick dropped Johnson, but Schilling was unable to capitalize. Schilling kept the kicks coming, landing a handful of leg and body kicks quickly afterward.

The pace slowed a bit after the opening minutes, with both fighters landing some strikes and gauging their striking ranges. Schilling worked hard for the clinch, showcasing a diverse and aggressive striking style that kept Johnson guessing. With a minute left, a right hand from Johnson dropped Schilling, and Johnson pounced. Landing several heavy shots, Johnson worked for an anaconda choke, but Schilling was able to escape and survive to the bell.

Schilling kept the leg kicks coming early in round two, as Johnson continued to march forward. The first strike of significance came after about a minute, when a Schilling left hand right down the middle cracked Johnson. While Johnson continued to try to press, his nose began to bleed. The first half of the second round was fought in Schilling’s striking range, and Johnson responded by landing a takedown. Schilling responded well, getting the fight back on it’s feet in no time.

Back on the feet, Schilling continued to throw kicks from distance, while Johnson controlled the center of the ring and countered with right hands. As the round came to a close, we were likely looking at even scorecards.

It was more of the same to open round three: leg kicks from Schilling and pressure from Johnson. Schilling circled the outside, finding less openings than he had in the past. The fight was paused after about a minute, when an accidental eye poke from Schilling’s left thumb landed in the right eye of Johnson. The fight quickly resumed, and the crowd ooh’d and ahh’d over some spinning strikes from Schilling that barely missed.

After two minutes, Schilling threw a right elbow that missed, and Johnson countered with a huge left hook than clipped the kickboxer right on the chin. Schilling was out instantly, as his legs gave out and he crumpled to the floor. Johnson landed one more strike before the official jumped in the way and ended the bout.

.@JoeSchilling187 with the mean straight left in round two!#Bellator229 pic.twitter.com/EKjW3LfLRQ

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) October 5, 2019

Result: Tony Johnson def. Joe Schilling by KO (punch) in Round 3 (2:07)

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Bellator 229 went down Friday, back in Temecula at the Pechanga Casino and Resort. The main event saw a welterweight showdown the promotion had tried to put together before, with former champ Andrey Koreshkov taking on UFC and Strikeforce veteran Lorenz Larkin.

A win for either could put them within striking distance of the Rory MacDonald vs. Douglas Lima victor later in the month — although should Lima win that, it would be a hard sell to book a fourth fight with Koreshkov so soon.

Still, the card’s main event had title implications. It’s preliminary card, meanwhile, had a couple of key names, including Joey Davis, the Team Bodyshop prospect who was looking to keep his perfect record intact.

Check back come fight time for results and a live stream of the Bellator 229 preliminary card action! (note: some bouts will be held as post-lims are the event).

Bellator 229: Koreshkov vs. Larkin – Live Tonight on Paramount Network & DAZN

Bellator 229: Koreshkov vs. Larkin Preliminary Card Results:

Anatoly Tokov def. Hracho Darpinyan by TKO (punches) in Round 2 (4:38)
Salim Mukhidinov def. Adel Altamimi by unanimous decision (29-27, 30-26, 30-27)
Jay Jay Wilson vs. Jorge Juarez
Sunni Imhotep vs. Kelvin Gentapanan
Jordan Newman vs. Riley Miller
Johnny Eblen vs. Mauricio Alonso
Vladimir Tokov vs. Brandon Hastings
Joey Davis vs. Jeffrey Peterson
Derek Anderson vs. Guilherme Bomba

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Bellator 229’s Joey Davis has been bred for success it seems, but don’t let it fool you: it’s drive and determination that got him to where he is today. The talented athlete was a multi-sport competitor in the past, and it was football, not MMA, that originally had him enthralled.

“My dream was to play in the NFL,” Davis told Cageside Press recently. At least that was the case in high school. A couple of injuries later, and after falling in love with wrestling, the career path had changed.

“Football was something I always saw myself doing, but wrestling was something I couldn’t give up. I loved the competition, I loved the competitiveness. It was something that I was like, ‘damn, this is just a different atmosphere.'”

The Compton, California native wound up attending the Notre Dame College of Ohio in Cleveland, where his talents on the mat stood out. Davis would become the first undefeated four-time NCAA Division II champion. That’s when you knew Davis was something special.

After going all the way in his junior year, and each year after that, all of a sudden, Joey Davis found himself in the final wrestling match of his career. It dawned on him heading into it what the stakes were.

“I had a lot of fans there to see me, a lot of people wanted to see me win, a lot of people wanted to see me lose,” he recalled. “There was a lot of attention on me.”

“I realized that if I just lose one match, I’ll be an average three-time national champ. There’s a lot of people who were three-time national champs, I don’t know about being undefeated. Maybe they could have went undefeated, I don’t know.” But he wouldn’t have been a four time champ.

So, his thinking continued, “I can just win this match and I can be the first person ever, with a victory, to win four titles and go undefeated.”

That’s when the nerves really hit. Davis recalled needing to take a moment, rushing to the bathroom, just before his final match. Still, he persevered. Undefeated. 133-0.

Just like he’s been in the cage so far. And while he’s unlikely to ever have 133 fights, he’s off to a good start.

When he returns Friday, he’ll be on the preliminary card of Bellator 229, taking on the lesser known Jeff Peterson. At 10-6, Peterson will have the experience edge. But Davis is talented in all areas inside the cage, just as he is outside it (look no further than his autobiography From Compton to Cleveland, co-written with Edward Gallo). He’ll have the edge there, having finished with kicks, with ground and pound, and of course, with his wrestling background, being capable of going the distance.

It’s important for Davis to have those options. To be more than “just” a wrestler. After all, look no further than coach Antonio McKee, and training partner/friend A.J. McKee. “They’re father and son, but they’re totally different fighters,” he pointed out.

We’ll see how much more Davis — who fought infrequently while finishing up college — has improved when he returns this Friday, October 4 at Bellator 229. But rest assured, the 25-year old is one of the top prospects out there at the moment.

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