Bellator 56 Recap

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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 56 took place on Saturday, October 29, 2011 and our Bellator recap is posted below for MMA fans across the globe to enjoy. Check out the Bellator 56 results and buy Bellator MMA tickets online here through Pro Fighting Fans!

Bellator held the latest round of its season five heavyweight tournament on Saturday at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas. Advancing in the tournament were Thiago Santos and Eric Prindle.

Both heavyweight contests were over in a matter of seconds. For Prindle, a quick win is not such an uncommon occurrence. Prindle has four wins under his belt all ending before the one-minute mark.

Prindle managed to make quick work of his foe, Louisville MMA product Ron “The Monster” Sparks. The fight lasted just 40 seconds. Both fighters came out cautiously, waiting for an opening. Sparks decided to go to work on Prindle’s legs with a strong leg kick, dropping his hands in the process. Prindle saw his opening and took advantage, catching Sparks with a crushing overhand left, ending Sparks’s night almost instantly, as well as his tournament hopes. Immediately after the fight was called, Prindle rushed back in to check if his opponent was alright.

“I knew I hit him pretty hard,” he said. “I just wanted to make sure he was alright.”

Prindle’s next opponent was decided to be Thiago Santos, after his crushing defeat of English striker Neil Grove. The fight opened with Santos coming out ready to tap up gloves, but Grove would have none of it and went on the offensive. He opened with an overhand right that glanced off Santo’s neck. Santos circled, and hit Grove with a hard right that sent him sprawling. Grove eventually recovered from the blow just enough to roll to his back, but that proved a vital mistake as the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt sunk in a rear-naked choke from back mount to end the fight in just 38 seconds.

With both fighters finishing their respective fights in under a minute, the tournament final is sure to be an exciting one. Santos, a black belt in BJJ will probably have the better of the ground game, while it’s a toss-up on the feet. Prindle is a lot like Shane Carwin of the UFC, and with a little practice on his ground game, could prove to be deadlier than him.

The night’s action began with a fight between Daniel Gallemore and Derrick Ruffin. It wasn’t a pretty fight to say the least. The fight began with Gallemore on the offensive, and after landing a right hook, Ruffin desperately went in for takedown after takedown. Late in the first round he finally landed one, but didn’t do much with it. In the second round, it was apparent that Ruffin did not have the conditioning for the three-round fight. He was smothered on the ground and dropped by a combination. In between rounds, he called it quits, ending the bout via retirement.

Thankfully, the first fight of the evening did not set the tone for the night. The fights that followed had several fantastic finishes, and left Memorial Hall in a roar.

Undefeated Aaron Ely stepped into the cage with only one professional bout under his belt, facing off against 7-1, Owen Evinger. He was in and out rather quickly, keeping his undefeated record intact as he won the bout by submission by way of a rear-naked choke from back-mount.

Next into Bellator’s circular cage were Jeimeson Saudino and Jacob Akin. It began with a lot of fast-paced exchanges with both fighters throwing a lot of leg kicks. Akin was thrown to the mat early, and Saudino attempted an ankle lock, but couldn’t sink it in. Akin rolled out of it, working for top position, and eventually transitioned to Saudino’s back sinking in the second rear-naked choke of the night. The bout saw the undefeated Saudino drop his first fight of his professional career.

After two quick finishes, fans were hungry for a war and they got one when Brazilian product Willian de Souza stepped into the cage to take on former University of Missouri wrestling standout, E.J. “Pretty Boy” Brooks. Brooks was the aggressor for much of the fight, winning a lot of the battle in the clinch, and showing his incredible wrestling. The bout was stopped several times due to inadvertent low blows, mostly by de Souza.

“The plan going in was to keep it standing,” Brooks said. “I went to the ground a few times, because the nut shots kind of threw me off my game for a minute.”

After a brief timeout, action resumed, and Brooks landed several spinning back-kicks. One, late in the first round stumbled de Souza, and he hands began to drop to cover his ailing midsection.

“The spinning back-kick is actually my favorite strike,” Brooks said. “I think I may have actually over used it in this fight.”

Whether or not he over used the kick, it worked, and he connected on one after another. De Souza, clearly distraught began to protect his body, allowing Brooks to open up with his strikes, attempting head kicks, and using his hands more freely. Brooks managed to score several knockdowns and takedowns throughout the fight, but never moved in on the ground, despite his wrestling background.

“I wasn’t afraid of his jiu-jitsu,” Brooks said. “I just figured, ‘why get into the only aspect of the fight where he even has a chance to beat me?’”

With the unanimous decision victory, Brooks moves to 5-0, with two of those victories coming under the Bellator banner.

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Another undefeated fighter in Bellator’s ranks, Dan Spohn, 6-0, took on Kelvin “Momma’s Boy” Tiller who was just 1-1 coming into the bout. Tiller caught Spohn with an early punch that stumbled him, and Spohn wasn’t the same for the rest of the bout. Tiller took him down at will, and Spohn never really mounted much of an offensive attack.

“He caught me with a lucky punch early, and it went downhill from there,” Spohn said. “I wasn’t myself. I stopped listening to my corner, and I didn’t do any of the things we focused on in training. The guy’s a heck of a fighter, but I just got rocked early.”

Tiller said that the fight went exactly as he had planned. He utilized all aspects of his game, and used his tools as a fighter to win a split decision.

“I really wanted to mix it up in there,” he said. “I wanted to throw everything I had at him, and throw him off his game.”

In the bloodiest bout of the night, Bellator newcomer, Marcio Navarro took on Rudy “Bad News” Bears. The fight began with a lot of fast and wild striking, and Navarro got the better of most exchanges. Early on, Bears’ right eye began to swell, and by the end of the three-round decision, Bears was unable to see. In the second round, Navarro’s left eye was cut open, and both fighters began to bleed profusely. After a short flurry on the fence, Bears’ face was almost unrecognizable. After doing such damage to Bears, Navarro backed off, utilizing his reach advantage to keep Bears at bay. The damage done was enough to win Navarro a split decision and his first inside the Bellator cage.

In between the ground shattering heavyweight bouts, Adam Schindler and Jeremy Spoon tried to steal the show, but were unsuccessful. In a rather drawn out fight, Schindler managed to take the first round despite a large cut under his right eye.

In the second and third, Spoon was on the offensive and looking for the kill. The quicker, and seemingly more conditioned, Spoon began to get the best of Schindler, but he refused to quit. Schindler made many attempts to win the fight, with lackluster combinations, and desperate takedowns, but his conditioning just wasn’t there. His heart unquestionable, he began to lead the charge in exchanges in the third, even though he rarely got the better of them. With the unanimous decision victory, Spoon moves to an impressive 12-0.

After the heavyweights left the cage, it was time for the main event. In Kansas City, just a mere two hours from Ben Askren’s alma mater, the University of Missouri, the crowd erupted as his name was announced. The fans booed wildly as title challenger, Jay Hieron entered the cage. Cheers of “MIZ-ZOU” filled Memorial Hall, and with the crowd clearly in Askren’s corner, the battle for the Bellator Welterweight Championship was on, and a battle it was.

The opening round saw back and forth striking, with Askren trying to do everything short of lying down to get the fight where he wanted it. Former Hofstra standout, Hieron stuffed nearly all of Askren’s takedowns, providing an interesting angle to the fight. After realizing the takedown wasn’t quite there yet, Askren showed a lot of confidence in his hands, getting the better of the clinch striking.

“I didn’t really see a hole in Jay’s game, I’m just evolving as a fighter,” Askren said. “I’ve only been training full time MMA for three months. My striking is bound to get better, and that’s what happened here tonight.”

Heiron was eventually floored in the second round, and remained there for most of the round. Askren dominated him from back side-mount, and landed dozens of Muay Thai knees to Hieron’s right side before effortlessly transitioning to the other side to do the same.

When the fight resumed in the third, Askren began to use his takedowns as a counter method. Hieron dictated all of the striking action, until Askren planted him with a brutal, jumping slam. Hieron performed a nice reversal to get out of it, but Askren almost immediately got to his feet.

Bellator Welterweight Champion Ben Askren continues to damage challenger Jay Hieron’s midsection en route to his first successful title defense.

The fourth was much the same as the fifth, with Askren suffocating Hieron under his incredible wrestling. In the fifth, Hieron began to mount an aggressive attack. He began the round with a hard left and Askren began to respect his shots. Askren still shot in unconventionally looking for the takedown to solidify the win. Mid-round, Hieron sent Askren sprawling with a hard kick to the chest. Askren flew back to the mat, and Hieron charged in with his hands raised, taunting his opponent. He also began to shout at Askren, while delivering hard shots to his legs. Askren found his way to his feet, and Hieron continued to come at him, looking for the knockout, but was unable to land the perfect punch, putting an end to his Bellator title hopes.

Askren went on to win a five-round split decision, and Hieron was visibly upset with the decision, calling for an immediate rematch after the fight.

“I felt like I won that fight,” Hieron said. “I forced the action, and I would definitely like to do this fight over again if [Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney] wants it. That’s all up to him.”

A rather downtrodden champion, Askren said that he wasn’t thrilled with his performance.

“Yeah, I won the fight, but it was close,” he said. “I’m supposed to be getting better. I won the middle three, or my corner tells me I did, and Jay had the first and last. I hate losing last rounds.”

Despite his disappointment, Askren will hold on to the Bellator Welterweight title, and move to 9-0, with five wins coming inside the Bellator cage. Askren will next face the winner of the season 5 welterweight tournament, either Ben Saunders, or Douglas Lima. The final is slated for Bellator 57, and Askren will face the winner following that. Askren addressed Hieron’s request for a rematch in the post-fight press conference.

“Well my next fight will be between the winner of Saunders and Lima,” he said. “After that if Bjorn wants to alter the format [of Bellator] and grant Jay a rematch, I’m all for it.”

By Steve Cassidy
ProFighting-fans.com Senior MMA Staff Writer

Bellator 56 Recap

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