Archuleta wins Bellator belt. Photo: Reproduction / Twitter @bellatormma
A new champion has emerged. Juan Archuleta and Patrick Mix They showed that they didn't reach the final of the bantamweight Grand Prix (61,2kg) for nothing and put on a show in the main fight of Bellator 246, an event held on Saturday (12), in Connecticut, USA. Better for Archuleta, who showed resilience and used his experience to win the category belt, which was vacant.
Another highlight of the event was the great victory of Neiman Gracie, who honored his family's tradition. The Brazilian submitted Jon Fitch, one of the toughest veterans in the sport. The triumph puts the Brazilian very close to a new fight for the welterweight belt (77,1kg). The American left his gloves in the circular cage and announced his retirement
See too
Archuleta is the new bantamweight champion
Nothing better than crowning a new champion in a hotly contested fight. And Bellator was lucky enough to have just that happen. Juan Archuleta and Patchy mix They gave their all in the ring. Very active, the athletes alternated good moments for 25 minutes.
In the first two rounds, Mix impressed. The fighter showed very sharp jiu-jitsu, attacking his opponent, who resisted bravely and narrowly missed out on the choke. Basically, there was no standing fight in the first ten minutes, but rather a grappling fight.
However, after the scare, Archuleta gained confidence and saw his luck change from the third round onwards. With the fight taking place standing up, the fighter was more comfortable and hit his opponent more frequently, delivering powerful blows. Recovered, he was the one who applied takedowns to his opponent.
In the fourth round, Mix, less experienced, seems to have felt his opponent's growth and was no longer able to take the fight to the ground, an area he dominates. He even tried to surprise on his feet, but Archuleta continued to be the aggressor.
The last five minutes continued to be disputed and were fought, basically, standing up, to the relief of Archuleta, who followed the strategy, scored by attacking more and denied Mix's attacks.
At the end of the fight, the referees awarded Archuleta a unanimous decision and made him the newest bantamweight champion (61,2kg), which previously had the Japanese, Kyoji Horiguchi, as number one.
Neiman Gracie finishes another one
N. Gracie beats veteran J. Fitch. Photo: Reproduction / Twitter @bellatormma
Everyone knows the tradition that the Gracie family has in MMA and the new generation athletes are carrying the legacy forward. Neiman Gracie is the name of the moment and, in the 246th edition of Bellator, he achieved a feat in his career: he submitted the tough Jon Fitch.
Right at the beginning of the fight, the experienced North American tried to use his greater physical size to gain dominance and was even succeeding, but Neiman did not despair, reversed his position and narrowly missed submitting his opponent, who showed efficiency in defense.
However, Fitch did not survive the next assault. Gracie was even more incisive in the attacks on the ground and didn't give the North American a chance, who succumbed to a heel lock. It is worth noting that the same Fitch, who was submitted by Neiman, was the same one who resisted 15 minutes with Demian Maia on his back, when he was still working in the UFC.
(I.e. @NeimanGracie bounce back at #Bellator246 with his 9️⃣th submission win as a pro. pic.twitter.com/Neqk0sXumx
- BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) September 13, 2020
The Brazilian's big victory was important, because, in the previous fight, he had been defeated by Rory McDonald, in the fight for the middleweight belt (83,9kg) and, once again, is approaching the position of challenger in the category. Fitch, defeated, announced his retirement.
Carmouche suffers, but wins
As much as Zingano cat, veteran Liz Carmouche won her Bellator debut. However, if the first had it easy, the second had a hard time getting past Deanna Bennett, who hadn't made the flyweight weight (56,7kg). Known for her good level of wrestling, Carmouche opted to keep the fight standing in the first round and managed to land a few, but good, blows on Bennett.
In the second round, the duel was very close and Bennett was dominant as he was in a dominant position on the ground, as he managed to stay on top of his opponent. With the fight tied and Bennet leading in strike count, Carmouche didn't want to be surprised. She was willing to apply her wrestling, but only managed to pin Bennett to the fence. Even without so much action, the referee did not separate the athletes and, in the only good moment he had, Carmouche capitalized. It was enough to get to the opponent's back for the choke to happen soon after. Even though the debut was not enchanting, with the resume that Carmouche has, the veteran is getting closer to another title fight in her career.
💪 @IAmGirlrilla comes away with the W in round 3️⃣.#Bellator246 is live NOW on @ParamountNet. pic.twitter.com/vtV3FmXVLg
- BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) September 13, 2020
Diggs maintains unbeaten record
By exceeding the lightweight limit (70,3kg), Keoni Diggs knew he would have to make up for the failure by having a good showing in the ring. However, the pressure remained only in the imagination. The fighter did very well, dominated the actions against the experienced Derek Campos, made his opponent bleed and, when everything was heading towards a peaceful victory, a late submission happened. Diggs was successful in the choke he applied, with one second remaining in the duel. At 33 years old, the MMA Lab athlete was dominant, he was successful in the two fights he had in Bellator and remains undefeated in MMA, with nine victories in his career.
Highlight of the preliminary
And who said there are no good moments on the Bellator preliminary card? Yes, Jered Gwerder surprised the audience by performing well and defeating George Tokkos by knockout in the third round. The 25-year-old fighter was already better in combat, but his victory happened in a strange way. The fighter applied a sequence of blows to Tokkos who seemed to have resisted, but seconds later he became dizzy, causing the referee to stop the fight. This was the Xtreme Couture gym product's fifth victory in MMA, all by knockout, and his first in Bellator.
.@Ty_Gwerder got it done in the 3️⃣rd round during the #Bellator246 prelims.
What's next for “The Savage”? pic.twitter.com/g3LOIDgjas
- BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) September 13, 2020
Bellator 246 results
MAIN CARD
Bantamweight: Juan Archuleta defeated Patrick Mix in the unanimous decision of the judges (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) – Fight for the belt
Welterweight Weight: Neiman Gracie defeated Jon Fitch via submission at 4m47s of R2
Catchweight: Liz Carmouche defeated DeAnna Bennett via submission at 3:17 of R3
Catchweight: Keoni Diggs defeated Derek Campos via submission at 4:59 of R3
PRELIMINARY CARD
Middleweight: Daniel Madrid defeated Pat Casey via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
Middleweight: Jered Gwerder defeated George Tokkos via TKO at 1:05 of R3
Heavyweight: Davion Franklin defeated Ras Hylton via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Comments