Official Bellator 97 Results

Main Card:

Michael Chandler def. David Rickels
via KO in round one
Ben Askren def. Andrey Koreschkov via
TKO (strikes, ref stoppage) at 2:58 of
round 4
Muhammed Lawal def. Jacob Noe via
TKO (strikes, verbal submission) at 2:51
of round 3
Vitaly Minakov def. Ryan Martinez via
TKO (strikes, ref stoppage) at 4:02 of
round 3
Patricio Pitbull def. Jared Downing via
TKO (strikes, ref stoppage) at :54 of
round 2

Undercard:

Jeremy Kimball vs. Keith Berry
Russell Wilson vs. Shawn Bunch
Javier Palacios vs. Richard Jacques
Adrian Cruz vs. Felipe Chavez
Cliff Wright Jr. vs. Donald Sanchez
Bubba Jenkins def. Mike Barreras via
TKO (strikes, ref stoppage) at 1:05 of
round 2
Anthony Leone def. Frank Bacavia
submission (rear naked choke) at 1:07 of
round 3
Rafael Silva def. Rodrigo Lima via
submission (rear naked choke) at 2:03 in
round 3
Will Brooks def. Cris Leyva via TKO
(strikes, ref stoppage) at 2:20 of round 3

As a long time UFC who at one point didn't ever watch Bellator MMA, I must say that I AM IMPRESSED. Of course the was no emotional investment seeing as I am less familiar with the fighters but I must say that it was fun to watch the sport for what it is rather than who I was watching.  Every single bout on the main card was a great fight.  I was very impressed with King Mo's ability to use his strong wrestling base to control his opponent and secure a verbal submission due to ground strikes.

The two Championship fights were great displays of both fighters winning impressively through two different methods of victories. Ben Askren's ground work was a display of an elite grappler at work. He methodically picked apart Koreschkov to win a TKO victory in the fourth round.

Michael Chandler was impressive with his quick knockout victory of Rickels.  For someone with a wrestling base in MMA, he came out like an elite striker to earn the K.O. victory. I would rate the night a 7.5 out of 10.

Rampage Faces off with Tito

After rumors of a fight with Roy Jones Jr. in a boxing match on PPV, Bellator and Rampage kill the rumor by announcing that Rampage Jackson will be fighting Tito Ortiz under the Bellator promotion on November 2nd in Long Beach California.

It is definitely an interesting twist considering the fact that it was rumored that Tito Ortiz was trying to make comeback to the UFC.  I think that it is a good move for Bellator to try to use a former two UFC Light Heavyweight Champions, with heavy fan followings, to bring attention to Bellator.

As for the fight itself, I feel that the best time for this fight would've been before both of these fighters were out of their prime. Let's be honest neither one of these fighters have been exciting for quite some time. I will definitely watch the fight to see if Rampage's 'new found love for MMA' will spark any signal to the returm of the Rampage from Pride FC that we all know and love. As for Tito I have no expectation of anything great from him.

It will be unwise of Bellator to air this fight on Dec. 28 as it was rumored for the proposed Boxing match between Rampage and Jones Jr. There is not a fight on earth that can compete with UFC 168 Which includes the most anticipated rematch in MMA and UFC history--Current UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Wiedman vs. former long time UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. Plus a rematch between UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey and challenger Miesha Tate.