Few fans inside the Grand Canyon University Arena in Phoenix could walk away disappointed from Bellator 126 on Friday night. From top to bottom the card had about everything you of which you could possibly ask: knockouts, surprises, great fights and dominating performances.
The event was headlined by middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko putting his belt on the line against Bellator Season 10 tournament winner Brandon Halsey. Although Shlemenko was coming off a loss to Tito Ortiz, that came in a different weight class. Since arriving in Bellator, the Russian was unbeaten in four fights as a middleweight.
The co-main event was Marcin Held and Patricky Freire's battle for the Bellator Season 10 lightweight championship.
Both the main and preliminary cards were loaded with great matchups as well. Below is a brief recap for each of the four main-card fights.
Bellator 126 Fight Card Results
| Preliminaries | ||
| Matchup | Weight Class | Result |
| Michael Parker vs. Joe Taimanglo | Bantamweight | Taimanglo via Decision |
| Raymond Pina vs. LaRue Burley | Lightweight | Burley via Submission Round 2 |
| Jacob Ortiz vs. Clifford Starks | Middleweight | Starks via Technical Submission Round 2 |
| Stuart Austin vs. Dan Charles | Heavyweight | Charles via KO Round 3 |
| Derek Campos vs. Estevan Payan | Lightweight | Campos via TKO Round 1 |
| Brandon Girtz vs. Benny Madrid | Lightweight | Girtz via TKO Round 1 |
| Ryan Martinez vs. Nick Rossborough | Heavyweight | Rossborough via TKO Round 1 |
| Main Card | ||
| Matchup | Weight Class | Result |
| Mike Richman vs. Ed West | Featherweight | Richman via KO Round 1 |
| Thiago Meller vs. Bubba Jenkins | Featherweight | Jenkins via Decision |
| Patricky Freire vs. Marcin Held | Lightweight | Held via Decision |
| Alexander Shlemenko vs. Brandon Halsey | Middleweight | Halsey via Technical Submission Round 1 |
Bellator.com
Mike Richman def. Ed West
It's a good thing Mike Richman doesn't get paid by the second. On Friday night, he made quick work of Ed West.
With the first round nearing its conclusion, Richman connected with a vicious right hook and followed up with a left that caught West flush. The 30-year-old slumped to the canvas, and that was all she wrote. Richman picked up his first victory in nearly a year, per Jason Floyd of TheMMAReport.com:
Mike Richman gets his first win since defeating Akop Stepanyan at Bellator 106, 329 days ago #Bellator126
— Jason Floyd (@Jason_Floyd) September 27, 2014
The technical knockout win is the eighth TKO/KO victory in Richman's career, which places him third in Bellator:
8th career TKO/KO victory for Mike Richman and he is now tied for 3rd most TKO/KO victories in @BellatorMMA competition
— Jason Floyd (@Jason_Floyd) September 27, 2014
The 29-year-old moved down a weight class from featherweight to bantamweight for Friday's fight. Cutting weight to hop down like that can sometimes result in a loss of power, but Richman didn't appear to be any worse for wear.
Bubba Jenkins def. Thiago Meller
Bubba Jenkins earned a fairly comfortable unanimous decision win over Thiago Meller on the main card's second fight. The judges scored it 29-28, 30-27, 30-27, per MMAjunkie:
Bellator 126 results: Bubba Jenkins def. Thiago Meller via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) http://t.co/8Dx2RPE1rA
— MMAjunkie (@MMAjunkie) September 27, 2014
Meller tried desperately to lock in submissions throughout the fight, but any time he had a slight opening, Jenkins was quick to react and get himself out of danger. That was largely the overarching narrative of the bout.
Coming into the night, you knew Meller would look to make Jenkins tap out. According to Sherdog, 13 of his 19 wins have come via submission. As long as Jenkins could land some takedowns and not leave his guard down, the fight would be his.
Jenkins gained the upper hand in the second round, and once the third rolled around, the outcome was all but decided. He continued barraging Meller with blows, and the Brazilian had no response.
At one point, Jenkins nearly landed a WWE move on Meller, per Bleacher Report's Jonathan Snowden:
.@BellatorMMA fighter Bubba Jenkins just tried to drop a fist on this guy like he was @JerryLawler. The King won a lot of matches that way.
— Jonathan Snowden (@mmaencyclopedia) September 27, 2014
Former NCAA wrestling champion Anthony Robles congratulated his former Arizona State teammate for a job well done:
Congrats to my fellow sun devil and former teammate @2sinsurrJenkins sun devil tough !! #bellator126
— Anthony Robles (@ARobles125) September 27, 2014
Marcin Held def. Patricky Freire
Held took home the Bellator Season 10 lightweight tournament championship with a unanimous decision victory over Freire. The judges had it 29-28, 30-27, 30-26:
Bellator 126 results: Marcin Held def. Patricky Freire via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-26) http://t.co/8Dx2RPE1rA
— MMAjunkie (@MMAjunkie) September 27, 2014
The bout featured a nice clash of approaches, as Held's a more scientific, submission-based fighter, while Freire relies more on his power game and looks to end the fight with a knockout.
Held took control almost right from the opening bell. He kept the pace of the fight slow, which allowed him to pick his spots and prevent things from devolving into a slugfest. Held also did a great job of attacking Freire. That served the dual purpose of softening the limbs up for a potential submission and weakening some of Freire's punching power.
Of course, Freire rarely had a chance to land a blow as he was pinned down to the mat for the majority of the night. His frustration only grew as the fight went on, but he could do little to negate Held's advantage.
Held has a bright future ahead. As Anthony Mazzuca, Bellator's director of communications tweeted out, the Polish star is only in his early 20s:
Marcin Held is 22. I repeat, 22 years old. @BellatorMMA #Bellator126
— Anthony Mazzuca (@Mazzuca87) September 27, 2014
If he's this good now, think where he'll be in a few years.
Brandon Halsey def. Alexander Shlemenko
Shlemenko no longer casts a shadow over the Bellator middleweight division.
Coming into the fight, the challenger said that he was "expecting (Shlemenko) to bring his best."
"I’m prepared for the best Alexander Shlemenko," Halsey added, per Yahoo Sports' Elias Cepeda.
Halsey didn't exactly get the "best Alexander Shlemenko," but he's probably not going to complain after locking in a rear-naked choke and winning the middleweight title in 35 seconds.
Snowden couldn't believe what he had witnessed:
Holy God! Brandon Halsey just choked Shlemenko unconscious. The whole fight was less than a minute.
— Jonathan Snowden (@mmaencyclopedia) September 27, 2014
Bellator tweeted out a photo of the victorious Halsey atop the Bellator cage:
And NEW Middleweight Champion, @BrandBullHalsey! #Bellator126 pic.twitter.com/x5adUVZ73K
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) September 27, 2014
Shlemenko made a massive miscalculation, leaving his back wide open for Halsey early in the first round. That allowed the 28-year-old American to go for the choke, and when he got his arm underneath Shlemenko, the end was nigh. The Russian attempted to get out of the hold, but it was to no avail. He passed out, and referee John McCarthy stopped the fight.
The obvious question now is, where does this fight put Halsey? Is he a flash in the pan, or is Friday night a sign of things to come from the new champion?
USA Today's Mike Bohn isn't doubting Halsey, calling him "the real deal":
Wow. Brandon Halsey is the real deal. Chokes out Alexander Shlemenko in seconds to win the Bellator middleweight title.
— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohnMMA) September 27, 2014
After Friday night, Halsey's star is as bright as it's ever been, and now he's gonna find how what every champion before him has come to realize: reaching the top of the mountain is easy; the hard part is staying there.
