High Fives: ‘Afro Monkey’ Business
Even without an
Ultimate Fighting Championship or Bellator
MMA event during the weekend of June 15-17, there were pivotal
matchups taking place across three continents. Here are five of the
highlights:
CHOKE ARTIST … A new
CES MMA bantamweight champion was crowed at CES 50 on June 15
in Lincoln, Rhode Island. The clash between southpaws Andre Ewell
and Dinis Paiva
was closely contested in the first and second rounds.
Early in the third, Paiva shot unsuccessfully for a takedown. Ewell
immediately seized a hold of his rival’s neck, applied a brabo
choke and kept squeezing, forcing Paiva to tap 36 seconds into
Round 3. In victory, the “Afro Monkey” improved to 13-4; Paiva
slipped to 11-7.
SHOULDERING THE LOAD … In other action at M-1 Challenge 94, lightweights Roman Bogatov and Raul Tutarauli went head to head. Much of the first round took place on the mat, where Bogatov attempted several submissions. Tutarauli enjoyed some success on the feet. In the middle stanza, Bogatov secured a shoulder choke from side control and rendered his Georgian adversary unconscious. The finish came at the 3:05 mark of Round 2. Bogatov remains unbeaten at 6-0, while Tutarauli fell to 18-5.
MAJORITY RULES … In the Absolute Championship Berkut 88 headliner on June 16 in Brisbane, Australia, light heavyweight Karol Celinski faced off against Luke Barnatt. Their match was contested primarily on the feet. Both fighters had their moments, but the 37-year-old “Cebula” saw his hand raised by majority decision. With a fourth consecutive victory, Celinski improved to 16-6. England’s Barnatt, who fell to 14-6, has lost three of his last five fights.
CAPTAIN HOOK … Absolute Championship Berkut also hosted a much-anticipated lightweight clash between Australian Callan Potter and Polish leg lock specialist Marcin Held. It was no surprise when Held dragged the fight to the floor. The UFC and Bellator veteran immediately transitioned to a heel hook, which had Potter screaming in pain. The end came 1:09 into the first round. Held upped his record to 24-7, while “The Rockstar” dipped to 16-7.
Dinis Paiva vs Andre Ewell #CES50 pic.twitter.com/0nys1suaM8
— ZombieProphet (@GIFsByZP) June 16, 2018
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FRACTURED … In the M-1 Challenge 94 main event on
June 15 in Orenburg, Russia, M-1 Global
lightweight champion Damir
Ismagulov squared off against Artem
Damkovsky. The fight ended prematurely in the first round,
where Damkovsky threw a wild right hook to his opponent’s head and
broke his own forearm in the process. Damkovsky signaled to the
referee that he could not continue. With the win, Ismagulov moved
to 16-2 and retained his title; Belarus’ Damkovski dropped to
22-11.
SHOULDERING THE LOAD … In other action at M-1 Challenge 94, lightweights Roman Bogatov and Raul Tutarauli went head to head. Much of the first round took place on the mat, where Bogatov attempted several submissions. Tutarauli enjoyed some success on the feet. In the middle stanza, Bogatov secured a shoulder choke from side control and rendered his Georgian adversary unconscious. The finish came at the 3:05 mark of Round 2. Bogatov remains unbeaten at 6-0, while Tutarauli fell to 18-5.
MAJORITY RULES … In the Absolute Championship Berkut 88 headliner on June 16 in Brisbane, Australia, light heavyweight Karol Celinski faced off against Luke Barnatt. Their match was contested primarily on the feet. Both fighters had their moments, but the 37-year-old “Cebula” saw his hand raised by majority decision. With a fourth consecutive victory, Celinski improved to 16-6. England’s Barnatt, who fell to 14-6, has lost three of his last five fights.
CAPTAIN HOOK … Absolute Championship Berkut also hosted a much-anticipated lightweight clash between Australian Callan Potter and Polish leg lock specialist Marcin Held. It was no surprise when Held dragged the fight to the floor. The UFC and Bellator veteran immediately transitioned to a heel hook, which had Potter screaming in pain. The end came 1:09 into the first round. Held upped his record to 24-7, while “The Rockstar” dipped to 16-7.
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