“The best birthday present I can give
myself.”-@JArchMMA#Bellator246
pic.twitter.com/OErk6RAKaY— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA)
September 13, 2020
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The second time was the charm for Juan
Archuleta, birthday boy and newest Bellator MMA champion.
In the main event of Bellator 246 on Saturday, almost
exactly a year after his unsuccessful shot at the Bellator
featherweight title held by Patricio
Freire, “The Spaniard” outworked and outlasted Patrick
Mix down the stretch to pick up a well-deserved unanimous
decision. In the early going, however, all the momentum seemed to
be with Mix, who secured takedowns with relative ease in the first
round, took Archuleta’s back and then threatened with a variety of
submissions for most of the round. The second round began in
similar fashion, as “Patchy” landed a quick takedown, then looked
to lock up an inverted triangle and then a rear-naked choke. With
about a minute left, however, Archuleta reversed Mix and unleashed
a furious volley of ground strikes, arguably stealing the
round.
That rally set the tone for the remainder of the fight. Mix never
completely faded, but failed to land a takedown in the final three
rounds and was punished by Archuleta’s increasingly confident
boxing, especially his diligent body work. After five rounds, the
cageside judges awarded the fight to Archuleta by 49-46, 48-47 and
48-47 scores, and with it the bantamweight belt vacated by Kyoji
Horiguchi last November. The former four-division King of the Cage titleholder—who turned 33 as midnight
ticked over at the Mohegan Sun—is now 25-2 overall and an
impressive 7-1 in Bellator. Mix’s first professional setback leaves
the 27-year-old with some positive takeaways as well as lessons,
and a 13-1 record (2-1 Bellator).
Gracie Taps Out Fitch; Fitch Retires
Against one of the toughest and wiliest ground fighters in
welterweight history, Neiman
Gracie made quite a statement, completely dominating Jon Fitch on
the way to a second-round submission. Gracie was in control
throughout, scoring takedowns early in the first as well as second
round, then keeping Fitch on the defensive. The first round
featured an extended chess match as Gracie tried to secure an
armbar while Fitch countered calmly, but essentially all of the
offense in the round came from the younger man. The second round
offered more of the same, as Gracie chose to attack the leg,
eventually securing a slightly modified kneebar for the tap with 13
seconds left on the clock. The dominant win puts Gracie (10-1) back
on track after his unsuccessful title shot against Rory
MacDonald last year. The 42-year-old Fitch, who chagrined, “I’m
an old man” as he congratulated his foe with a smile, announced his
retirement, leaving his red gloves in the center of the Bellator
cage. Assuming the announcement sticks, Fitch leaves behind a
32-8-2 record with one no-contest and a legacy as one of the
greatest welterweights of his generation.
Carmouche Throttles Bennett
In her delayed and hotly anticipated Bellator debut, Liz
Carmouche tapped out DeAnna
Bennett—who came in over five pounds heavy for the flyweight
match—with a very slick third-round rear-naked choke. The fight was
a grappler’s delight: Carmouche struck for a takedown within the
first 30 seconds with a nifty go-behind, moving straight into back
control. “Girl-Rilla” got the better of the grappling for the
balance of the first round, but Bennett turned things around in the
second, bringing the action to the ground, applying some
ground-and-pound and making Carmouche pay for a leglock attempt. In
the final round, Carmouche countered a takedown with a textbook
inside switch, ending up behind Bennett. Moments later, Carmouche
hopped on Bennett’s back, sinking the hooks and applying a
rear-naked choke so quickly that Bennett was tapping by the time
they hit the canvas. The end came officially at 3:17 of Round 3.
With the emphatic win in her first appearance since her
unsuccessful bid for Valentina
Shevchenko’s Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight title
last summer, Carmouche (14-7) positions herself instantly as a top
contender for Ilima-Lei
Macfarlane’s Bellator strap. Fellow Invicta FC veteran Bennett drops her third
straight fight and falls to 10-7 overall.
Undefeated Diggs Steamrolls, Sleeps Campos
Keoni
Diggs moved to 9-0 and lodged the biggest win of his career,
dominating Derek
Campos for three rounds before choking him all the way
unconscious as time expired. Diggs, who missed the lightweight
limit by a pound, was largely dominant throughout, especially on
the ground, where he took Campos’ back several times and threatened
with chokes. Not satisfied with the likely 30-27 win coming his
way, Diggs applied a read-naked choke with 15 seconds left. Referee
Kevin
McDonald looked on closely as the final seconds expired, but
while a tap never came, at the final bell Campos turned out to be
unconscious. On replay, Campos’ arm appeared to go limp with just
two or three seconds left on the clock. The official result, a
technical submission at 4:59 of Round 3, sends Diggs to 2-0 in
Bellator and certifies the 33-year-old Hawaiian as one to watch in
the lightweight division. Meanwhile, former contender Campos is
mired in a 1-5 skid that accounts for half of his career
losses.
Madrid Edges Short-Notice Foe Casey
Stepping up on three days’ notice against a much more experienced
opponent in Daniel
Madrid, Pat Casey
acquitted himself well, but not quite well enough to secure the
upset. The first round was clearly Madrid’s, as he backed up the
shorter man and got the better of the majority of the striking
exchanges. Round 2 was much closer, as Casey began to navigate
Madrid’s reach and land his own shots. Madrid appeared to pull
ahead in the final frame, but scores were all over the map, as the
judges turned in a split verdict (28-29, 30-27, 29-28) in Madrid’s
favor. With the win, his first to reach the scorecards, “Demigod”
is now 18-6. Casey, who replaced Austin
Vanderford after a positive COVID-19 test last week, is now
6-3.
Gwerder Blasts Tokkos in Final Round
Ty
Gwerder and George
Tokkos put on a lively and fairly evenly matched scrap for a
little over two rounds in their middleweight prelim, until Gwerder
put an abrupt end to things early in the third. Gwerder (5-1, 1-1
Bellator) walked Tokkos to the face, where he tagged him with a
looping left hook to the jaw followed by a quick clinch knee. The
dazed Tokkos tried to recover, but seeing him still severely
rocked, referee Todd Anderson stepped in for the TKO stoppage at
1:05 of Round 3. Tokkos, who was making his first in-cage
appearance since his Bellator debut last November, goes to 4-2 (0-2
Bellator).
Franklin Wins Technical Decision over Franklin
In the heavyweight opener, Jackson-Wink MMA prospect Davion
Franklin used strength, size and superior wrestling to
manhandle Ras Hylton
for several long stretches. Despite appearing to tire quickly,
Franklin was able to secure takedowns in all three rounds, while
“The Jamaican Shamrock” had increasing difficulty escaping.
However, what was shaping up to be a routine three-round sweep was
marred by an illegal ground strike to the back of Hylton’s head
with 90 seconds left in the final frame. Despite having given
Franklin at least one previous warning for the same infraction,
referee Dan Miragliotta determined the fight-ending blow to be
inadvertent, thus sending the outcome to the judges. All three
scored the fight 30-27 for Franklin, who moves to 2-0 in his young
career with the technical unanimous decision. Hylton, who won his
short-notice Bellator debut against Rudy
Schaffroth in July, falls to 6-5 (1-1 Bellator).