Quinton “Rampage” Jackson laid waste to Christian M’Pumbu at
Bellator 110. | Photo: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
Christian
M'Pumbu said he was going to retire Quinton
“Rampage” Jackson. Instead, he became the latest in a long line
of victims for the former Ultimate Fighting Championship
titleholder.Jackson (34-11, 2-0 Bellator) knocked out M’Pumbu with first-round
ground-and-pound in the Bellator MMA Season 10 light heavyweight
tournament semifinals at Bellator 110 on Friday at the Mohegan Sun
Arena in Uncasville, Conn. M’Pumbu (18-6-1, 3-3 Bellator), who had
never before been finished by strikes, succumbed to the blows 4:34
into round one.
Photo: D.
Mandel/Sherdog.com
Rampage made it 2-0 in the Bellator cage.
Prior to the finish, the two semifinalists spent much of their time
circling the cage. Jackson knocked M’Pumbu off-balance with a
glancing left hook in the final minute of the first round and
settled into top position. Soon after, he rendered the one-time
Bellator champion unconscious with a volley of violent right
hands.“These guys think I’m finished? They think they’re going to retire
me? I take that personal,” Jackson said. “Bellator, you don’t know
what you’re messing with. I’m a monster. Anybody who steps into
this cage [with me] is going to sleep.”
‘King Mo’ Outpoints Zayats, Secures Spot in Tournament
Final
Photo: D.
Mandel/Sherdog.com
King Mo won a snoozer over Zayats.
Former Strikeforce champion Muhammed
“King Mo” Lawal utilized a stout jab and an effective clinch
game in earning a unanimous verdict over Mikhail
Zayats in their Season 10 light heavyweight tournament
semifinal. Lawal (12-3, 4-2 Bellator) swept the scorecards by
identical 30-27 marks.A 2008 combat sambo world champion, Zayats (22-8, 3-2 Bellator)
bloodied the Murfreesboro, Tenn., native’s lip with a handful of
right hands but mounted little else in the way of meaningful
offense. Lawal scored with his jab throughout the 15-minute affair
and turned a number of takedown attempts into time- and
energy-sapping clinches
along the cage.
Lawal, 33, still has never suffered consecutive defeats as a
professional.
Bessette Upsets Nunes, Eyes Featherweight Semis
Photo: D.
Mandel/Sherdog.com
Bessette found a way to claim victory.
Matt
Bessette extended his winning streak to a career-best five
fights with an emotional split decision over UFC and World Extreme
Cagefighting veteran Diego Nunes
in the Season 10 featherweight tournament quarterfinals. Two of the
three judges sided with Bessette by 30-27 and 29-28 scores; a third
levied a 29-28 judgment in favor of Nunes.Nunes (18-4, 0-2 Bellator) controlled the first round with a trip
takedown and some ground-and-pound before dropping the Hartford,
Conn., native with a flying knee.
Bessette (13-4, 4-0 Bellator) recovered and pushed the fight to
round two, where he floored the Brazilian with a clean right hook.
Badly hurt, Nunes staggered backwards on a rubbery base after
returning to his feet, but the seasoned X-Gym representative
managed to clear his head in the clinch.
The third round could have gone either way. Nunes staked his claim
with a series of right hands to the head and kicks to the legs and
body. Bessette picked up his pace down the stretch, delivering a
stout head kick in the closing moments.
“The best fighter comes out when I fight the best guys,” Bessette
said. “I get another one in four weeks. I didn’t win the first
round, but I did win two and three. I kind of froze in the first
couple of minutes. Then he hit me hard in the eye, and I thought,
‘I’m [fighting like I’m] just happy to be here. Time to
fight.’”
Green Outduels Richman in Featherweight Quarterfinals
Photo: D.
Mandel/Sherdog.com
Green outworked Richman late.
Takedowns, ground-and-pound and effective
counterpunching carried Team Bombsquad’s Desmond
Green to a unanimous decision over Mike
Richman in the Season 10 featherweight tournament
quarterfinals. All three judges scored it for Green (10-2, 2-1
Bellator): 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.Richman (16-4, 5-3 Bellator) never seemed to establish a consistent
rhythm against his elusive counterpart.
Green did his best work in the second round, where he grounded the
Minnesotan repeatedly and paired punches and hammerfists to the
head with knees to the body. Richman spent much of the final five
minutes chasing Green, eating jabs and counter lefts from “The
Predator.”
Green, 24, has won four of his last five fights.
Martinez, Weichel Advance to Featherweight Semifinals
Photo: D.
Mandel/Sherdog.com
Martinez scored a huge upset.
In preliminary action, Will
Martinez (9-2-1, 5-0 Bellator) took a unanimous decision over
hyped Brazilian prospect Goiti
Yamauchi (16-2, 2-1 Bellator), securing 30-27 scores from all
three judges in their one-sided Season 10 featherweight tournament
quarterfinal; German import Daniel
Weichel (32-8, 1-0 Bellator) submitted Scott Cleve
(14-4, 1-1 Bellator) with a rear-naked choke 3:46 into the first
round of their Season 10 featherweight tournament quarterfinal;
Saul
Almeida (14-5, 2-2 Bellator) captured a unanimous verdict from
Andrew
Fisher (12-6-1, 0-2 Bellator), earning 29-28 nods from all
three cageside judges; Pride Fighting Championships alum Egidijus
Valavicius (26-10, 1-0 Bellator) stopped
Photo: D.
Mandel/Sherdog.com
Valavicius' knee wrecked Djambazov early.
Atanas
Djambazov (18-4, 0-2 Bellator) with a first-round knee strike
and follow-up punches 48 seconds into the first round of their
light heavyweight duel; Ryan Quinn
(10-4-1, 6-0 Bellator) recorded his third win in four fights with a
unanimous decision over Andrew
Calandrelli (6-4, 2-1 Bellator) at 155 pounds, sweeping the
scorecards with 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 marks; an accidental eye
poke from Josh
Diekmann resulted in a no-contest with Manny Lara
just 18 seconds into their heavyweight scrap; and a lightweight
clash pitting Rico
DiSciullo and Marvin
Maldonado ended in a no-contest when DiSciullo landed a series
of inadvertent but illegal knee strikes to the head 1:53 into round
one.