Everyone is expecting an absolute slugfest in the main event at Bellator 133 in Fresno, California. Melvin Manhoef and former middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko will do battle. Before those two square off, there's a bevy of preliminary bouts and three intriguing main card bouts on tap.
Here's a look at the results as they happen in Fresno. Just beneath the table is a breakdown of the main card scraps.
| Spike.com Prelims at 8 p.m. ET | ||
| Fight | Weight Class | Result |
| Paul Ruiz vs. Nick Sperling | Flyweight | Ruiz by submission - first round |
| Blake Watkins vs. George Zuniga | Middleweight | Watkins by KO - first round |
| Art Arciniega vs. Emilio Chavez | Featherweight | Arciniega by unanimous decision (29-28x2, 30-27) |
| Main Card - Spike TV at 9 p.m. ET | ||
| Fight | Weight Class | Prediction |
| Chris Honeycutt vs. Clayton MacFarlane | Welterweight | Honeycutt by TKO - third round |
| Julia Budd vs. Gabrielle Halloway | Women's Bantamweight | Budd by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-25, 30-24) |
| Pat Curran vs. Daniel Weichel | Featherweight | Weichel by split decision (28-29, 29-28x2) |
| Melvin Manhoef vs. Alexander Shlemenko | Middleweight |
Spike TV Broadcast
Honeycutt Dominates MacFarlane
Every wrestler is not created equal. Both Chris Honeycutt and Clayton MacFarlane came into Saturday night's clash undefeated and with strong wrestling backgrounds. It didn't take long for us to see that Honeycutt was more skilled and simply the more powerful fighter in the Bellator cage.
From very early on in the first round, Honeycutt had his way whenever the two men clashed on the ground. MacFarlane had designs on keeping the fight standing, but he simply couldn't stop Honeycutt's takedowns.
After enjoying several sequences in dominant position, Honeycutt induced the stoppage in the third round as he flattened MacFarlane on his belly and pounded the exposed ribs. Zombie Prophet has the finish:
Chris Honeycutt vs Clayton MacFarlane #Bellator133 https://t.co/yP7lpgSDxM
— ZombieProphet (@ZProphet_MMA) February 14, 2015
Referee Jason Herzog was forced to call halt to the bout with just a minute remaining as MacFarlane was offering no resistance.
The win sent Honeycutt's record to 7-0 with five of the victories coming via TKO/KO. Honeycutt is still a few fights away from being a serious threat to 170-pound champion Douglas Lima, but the 26-year-old powerhouse is opening some eyes.
Others aren't as impressed. Adam Martin of Parting Shot doesn't put much stock in MacFarlane as a formidable opponent.
Nice late TKO stoppage for Chris Honeycutt. There's no doubt his ground and pound is legit but really, beating Macfarlane doesn't mean much.
— Adam Martin (@MMAdamMartin) February 14, 2015
It will be interesting to see what happens when Honeycutt faces someone who can expose his remedial stand-up skills. As of now, he's looked great in seven professional bouts.
Budd Destroys Halloway
.@JuliaBudd using the cage to her advantage vs @GabbyGabanator #Bellator133 pic.twitter.com/fGZeAwmTtK
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) February 14, 2015
To put it plain, Gabby Halloway had no business in the cage with Julia Budd. The latter was superior in every aspect of mixed martial arts and it showed.
From the opening of the first round, Budd dominated Halloway with a sprinkle of stand-up and a heap of wrestling. The lone moment Halloway had came from a headlock takedown, but she quickly lost the position to the much stronger Budd.
Bellator is working to increase interest in its women's divisions, but this bout was booed loudly by the Fresno crowd and the matchmaking was taking to task by Combat Press' Rob Tatum.
Julia Budd just demolished Gabrielle Holloway. Squash match in every sense of the word. Terrible matchmaking. #Bellator133
— Rob Tatum (@RobTatumMMA) February 14, 2015
To be fair, Halloway was a late replacement for Talita Nogueira. Still, the bout was far from competitive. Budd looks like the real deal, but it might be a good idea to put her in with a better opponent for a more desirable result.
Weichel Inches Past Curran
Daniel Weichel wins by SD over Pat Curran. Two judges scored it 29-28 for Weichel. #Bellator133 pic.twitter.com/DpLP4eZj0t
— Anthony Galaviz (@agalaviz_TheBee) February 14, 2015
There's a new featherweight on the scene in Bellator, and his name is Daniel Weichel. On Saturday, he earned a split-decision victory over former champion Pat Curran.
Weichel got the nod from two of the three judges, but one somehow saw it for Curran. In my opinion, Weichel won all three rounds, although the second round was close because of a Curran takedown.
Aside from that moment, Weichel controlled the action with pressure and more effective striking. Curran seemed bothered by Weichel's perpetual movement and striking clearly made this his fight.
Reigning champion Patricio Freire also thought Weichel won all three rounds.
Although I had it 30-27 Weichel it was a competitive fight.
— Patricio Freire (@PatricioPitbull) February 14, 2015
He also seems happy to have a fresh face emerge in his division.
I must say this result was a surprise to me. I thought Curran would win, but it's good. Gives new life to the weight class.
— Patricio Freire (@PatricioPitbull) February 14, 2015
A Weichel-Freire scrap could be exciting. Perhaps that's a fight that can be made in the coming months.
Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter. I dig boxing and MMA.
