Bellator 51 highlights local talent in Canton, Ohio

Find Intimidation MMA clothing & apparel online available through Pro Fighting Fans!

Pro Fighting Fans is the home of Bellator MMA fans across the globe and we now bring you the best place to find the latest Bellator news as well as the latest preview & predictions. Bellator Fighting Championships 51 took place on Saturday, September 24, 2011 and our Bellator 51 Undercard Recap is posted below for MMA fans across the globe to enjoy. Check out the Bellator 51 results and buy Bellator MMA tickets online here through Pro Fighting Fans!

At the press conference following her first internationally televised victory, Northeast Ohio’s own Jessica “Evil” Eye was at her most humble and charming best when she summed up the buzz around Bellator Fighting Championships’ visit to Canton, Ohio Saturday night:

This feels kind of surreal so I. . . . I can’t stop smiling ‘cause there’s cameras, there’s all these guys right here (pointing out Bantamweight Tournament fighter favorites Marcos Galvao, Ed West and others). I watch them on TV, you know? Like, I saw Clay Guida and I didn’t believe it was him! You know I . . . . I’m not a star-struck person. But it’s really cool to be here and be a part of this, you know. I’m a small-town girl so thanks, it’s really cool to be around everybody!” As cage announcer Mike Williams very publically pointed out, Jessie Jo was all smiles and with good reason. Having just improved her professional record to 4-1, Eye had confirmed to the whole world in convincing fashion, that she well deserves her place amongst the best fighters on the planet. Best of all, she got to do it in her own back yard, in front of friends, family, and a following of fans that the press dubbed a “small army.” “I have a fan base that is unreal,” Eye told reporters, “I think that no matter where I go, you’re gonna see signs, you’re gonna see my people following me . . . if it was to Mars. So, I’m smiling because I’ve been down a really hard road. I’m fighting in a business that is almost all men . . . . Bellator is the place for females to be and, and I’m here and it’s extremely exciting.”

Eye’s defeat by split-decision of California’s Casey Noland was the frosting on the cake of an undercard studded by up-and-coming MMA talent from across the Buckeye State. East Liverpool’s Joey “Hit Man” Holt kicked off the first of six preliminary bouts against Akron’s Clint Musser in a fight that began predictably with Musser controlling the action Penn State, All-American style throughout most of the first round. Musser, looking like a man chiseled from granite, out muscled Holt against the fence, slamming him down, and thwarting Holt’s every attempt to stand up with more punishment. In the last minute of round one, when Holt finally broke free of Musser’s iron clutches and emerged into the center of the ring, the crowd scarcely had time to voice its approval before Holt connected with a head kick, jarring Musser, and then exploded with a beautifully timed flying knee strike which connected squarely with the shooting Musser’s jaw, knocking him out in devastating fashion. A great beginning to the night and for a promising career for Joey Holt of Team Impact.

The second bout of the night saw Ohio MMA mainstay and fan favorite “Big” John Hawk take on another tough journeyman fighter, Tiffin, Ohio’s Allan Weickert. Both fighters’ punches found their mark early on, and both continued undiscouraged by several exchanges of heavy leather. Hawk’s reach advantage became apparent and his improved striking was in evidence as he continually stuck Weickert at the end of his jab, gradually wearing him down and bloodying him up. Hawk looked to be the more well-rounded fighter as well, attempting several submissions, dumping Weickert to the mat multiple times, and brutalizing him with relentless ground and pound. Hawk was getting the better of the clinch game as well when a very questionable “low blow” dropped Weickert shy of the end of round two. In a surprising move, veteran referee and Ohio MMA icon in his own right, Mark Matheny took a point, shouting to Hawk and his now livid cornermen, “I heard it. I heard it, indicating at the cup by hoisting his own package in a defiant manner toward the now loudly booing audience. In the end, it mattered very little. Whether a clean shot to the lower abdominals or a glancing blow to the yam bag, Hawk quickly dumped his opponent again following the break in the action, and proceeded to bludgeon him such that Weickert was unable to begin round three. Said Hawk, of his TKO victory, “He kind of pissed me off with that illegal knee. I hit him right in the abdominals and he said he got hit in the nuts. But check the replay; I basically knocked him out with the knee to the stomach.”

> Buy TapouT shirts & apparel through Pro Fighting Fans as well as great MMA clothing as well as Round 5 MMA toys online!

Dan Spohn won his Bellator debut by way of Knockout just 9 seconds into his fight in Canton, Ohio.

Fans of Columbus, Ohio's undefeated prodigy Dan “Dragon” Spohn bit their fingernails to the quick for 9 seconds before Spohn dispatched Dane Bonnigson to la la land with a highlight reel knockout that placed Spohn’s unforgiving knee rather immaculately upon his opponent’s chin. An ecstatic Jorge Gurgel told ProFighting-fans.com cageside, “We practiced it two weeks, faint the jab, throw the knee, throw it and don’t think, Dan.” “You gotta have a surprise violent attack, I said, if he lowers his level, this wrestler, throw the rear knee at [the] southpaw, throw it with zero regard, throw as high as you can throw it moving forward.” With his characteristic unassuming humility, Spohn reiterated the game plan, “My coach and boxing coach deserve all the credit. We did the exact game plan we wanted and it worked out perfectly.” Soft spoken, polite and unboastful, one senses a quiet confidence anchoring Dan Spohn that will serve him well when his brilliant performances begin to thrust him further and further into the spotlight. The sky is the limit for this young gentleman fighter who travels from Columbus to Cincinnati to train with Gurgel.

The fourth bout of the evening saw Harrisonburg, Virginia’s Jesse Riggleman, who took the fight on very short notice, grind out a hard-fought victory over Florida’s Farkhad Sharipov who proved a talented and worthy opponent. Although largely unfamiliar to the Ohio audience, Riggleman and Sharipov put in a gritty performance winning respect from fighters and fans alike. As a fan of MMA, I’m in awe of the many fighters with the grim determination to train while working for a living and thankful for the many small businesses that support them with their sponsorship.

Recapping the night’s fifth bout, Jessica Eye, born in Rootstown, Ohio and representing Strong Style Mixed Martial Arts of Independence, Ohio gutted out a three round split decision that put her excellent training and fundamentals front-center. Eye out pointed her opponent in the striking with stiff jabs and crisp, straight punches as well as effective low kicks. Eye kept a broad base and used the fence expertly while absolutely refusing to be taken down by a fighter who obviously didn’t want to stand with her. Solid clinch work, knees, hand control, head position and conditioning that is always beyond reproach won her the fight.

Following a stunning main card in which four Bantamweight Tournament Quarterfinal fights left no doubt about Bellator’s commitment to developing the best up and coming talent in the MMA world, the night ended with a special local feature in which the ever popular Cleveland standout Frank Caraballo fought Dustin Kempf of Leetonia, Ohio for the NAAFS Interim Featherweight Title. In an unfortunate turn of events, Kempf suffered a knee injury after being lifted high into the air by Caraballo and had to leave under assistance only moments into the first round. ProFighting-fans.com wishes Dustin Kempf a speedy recover and a quick return to NAAFS action.

For those who DVR’d the Main Card, no spoilers here. See our write up of the Bantamweight Quarterfinals for details and results. Bellator CEO, Bjorn Rebney summed up the Feature Fights saying, “You dream about the opportunity to have a potential knockout that you look at and you say, ‘well, that could be the knockout of the year,’ but to get two of them in the same night on the same card by world class fighters and those world class fighters to do it against other world class fighters is really an anomaly. You don’t often get that lucky.” Asked to speculate about the signing of local fighters such as Spohn, Hawk, and Caraballo, Rebney skirted giving a direct answer and reigned praise on the NAAFS, stating in no uncertain terms what MMA fans in Ohio and the Midwest already know, that we are lucky to have one of the “best-run, well-organized, well-orchestrated” MMA promotions in the world right here in our back yard. Rebney hinted at a future relationship between Bellator and the NAAFS in which regional fighters brought up through the ranks can move seamlessly between the organizations, both in order to keep busy, and to be ready when the world stage calls. “Fighters want to fight,” he said.

That sounds about right to me, good for fighters, good for fans, and good for this small corner of the Rust Belt we call home. With Cleveland’s, Chris Lozano and Kent’s, Brian Rogers already advancing to his Bellator Tournament Semi-finals and the recent successes of Eye, Hawk, Spohn, Holt, Caraballo, and others, there is good reason to believe the next world champion just may come from pretty close home.

By Joe Millin
ProFighting-fans.com Guest MMA Writer
Joe Millin is a writer, technologist and MMA enthusiast. Born in Kent, Ohio, he grew up in Tallmadge and graduated from Kent State University with a degree in English and writing. This is his first written piece on the sport of Mixed Martial Arts.

Bellator 51 highlights local talent in Canton, Ohio

More Bellator Fighting Championships MMA Predictions: