Last Friday night, powerhouse MMA promotion, Bellator, touched down at CenturyLink Arena for their first show ever in the state of Idaho. The eight fight undercard was highlighted by a quartet of SBG Idaho athletes and another from SBG Montana. Results are as follows-
Brendon Raftery (CF/SBG Idaho) lost to Casey Johnson via submission (rear naked choke), Round 2. Raftery started the fight strong, moving well from the outside and using his superior hand speed and kicks to keep Johnson off balance and guessing. After several hard kicks to the legs and body of Johnson, Raftery landed a perfectly placed left cross to Johnson’s chin, dropping him to the canvas. Raftery followed him to the ground in an attempt to finish, but Johnson did well to wrap Raftery up and recover. The remainder of the round was spent with Raftery posturing up in Johnson’s closed guard to land hard ground striked.
Round 2 began with Johnson coming forward aggressively only to be met with a flurry of punches from Raftery, who quickly circled out of danger. Another charge from Johnson led to a clinch along the cage that was quickly reversed by Raftery. After briefly jockeying for position, Raftery attempted to spin out of the clinch and in doing so exposed his back to Johnson, who quickly jumped on, secured both hooks, and sunk the fight-ending choke.
Jesse Brock (CF/SBG Idaho) winner over Olly Bradstreet via submission (rear naked choke), Round 3. After a brief exchange of kicks Bradstreet ducks under a Brock right hand to land a clean double leg at the base of the cage. Brock posts a hand and stands quickly before stuffing a trip attempt from Bradstreet. The two fighters separate briefly before Bradstreet comes in hard for another clich which is quickly reversed against the cage by Brock. Knees from Brock lead to a trip takedown immediately into side control. Bradstreet regains his guard only to have it passed again. As Bradsteet turns away, Brock moves to the back and threatens with a rear naked choke, but is out of position with his hips and can’t secure the finish before the round ends.
Round 2 starts with Brock moving well from the outside while landing kicks to Bradstreet’s outer thigh. Bradstreet responds with a few hard kicks of his own. Brock slips a Bradstreet punch and lands a clean double leg against the cage. Brock moves to north-south and then a guillotine attempt as Bradstreet turns hard to his belly. The remainder of the round is spent with Brock on top attacking with ground strikes and submission attempts, or transitioning to takedowns against the cage when Bradstreet makes his way back to his feet.
Round 3 sees Brock again use a missed Bradstreet punch to change levels and score a strong double against the cage. Transitioning immediately to side control, Bradstreet turns away and turtles up. As Bradstreet stands, Brock pushes him against the cage, where he scores with knees and elbows before dropping down again for another double leg. As Bradstreet turns away from side control once more, Brock quickly secures the back and locks in the fight-ending rear naked choke.
Scott Thometz (CF/SBG Idaho) winner over Josh Tyler via unanimous decision. Tyler comes out aggressively with punches before changing levels and putting Thometz to a hip at the base of the cage. Thometz stands quickly and lands several knees in the clinch before the two fighters separate. Tyler again changes levels for a takedown, and Thometz attempts a guillotine as they hit the mat. Tyler frees himself from the choke, but Thometz transitions quickly to halfguard and uses the position to sweep to top. From there Thometz settled in Tyler’s halfguard and lands brutal short range elbows and punches to Tyler’s head and body for the remainder of the round.
Round 2 sees Thometz begin to throw hard kicks to Tyler’s body and head. A partially blocked head kick seems to hurt Tyler, causing him to take an ill advised shot. which turns into a takedown for Thometz. Thometz again settles into Tyler’s halfguard and resumes his ground strike assault. Transitions to side control and mount soon follow and by round’s end Tyler is bleeding badly and exhausted.
Round 3 follows a similar pattern as the previous, with hard strikes by Thometz prompting a Tyler shot which is immediately countered by Thometz. More halfguard, side control, and mounted ground strikes come from Thometz, as Tyler is reduced to survival mode in the final minutes before the bell. Final scores for Thometz were, 30-27, 30-25, and 30-25. A truly dominant victory!
Veta Arteaga (CF/SBG Idaho) winner over Jackie Vandenburgh via unanimous decision. Both fighters are moving well at the beginning of the round, with Arteaga being the more aggressive of the two. A flurry from Arteaga leads to a clinch against the cage where Arteaga scores with a strong double leg. Vandenburgh does well to stand and reverse the position before scoring a takedown of her own before the round expires.
Round 2 begins with Arteaga again coming forward with hard flurries but Vandenburgh is doing well to avoid any damage while scoring with hard body kicks from her southpaw stance. Vandenburgh scores a double leg against the cage following a clinch, but is unable to consolidate any damage before Arteaga pushes her away and stands. Vandenburgh again clinches and scores another takedown but is stuck in Arteaga’s closed guard. Arteaga again manages to push away and return to standing. With the round winding down Arteaga lands a beautiful spinning backfist that staggers Vandenburgh! Arteaga flurries on her dazed opponent, and drops her at the base of the cage, but is unable to land the necessary follow up strikes to finish, before the round ends!
Round 3 begins with Arteaga being very aggressive with her punches. A few hard strikes are finding their mark, but Vandenburgh takes them well. Vandenburgh drives hard for a takedown against the cage, but Arteaga defends and threatens with a standing guillotine. There are a few tense moments, as the choke looks deep, before Vandenburgh is finally able to finish her takedown. Arteaga wraps her up in closed guard before once more pushing away to stand. The round ends with Arteaga maintaining her aggressive boxing attack. Final judges scores were, 29-28, 30-27, and 29-28 for Arteaga in a very close and entertaining fight!
Side note: CF/SBG Idaho rising star, Ricky Steele, had his bout with Eric Cronkhite scratched from the event after weighins on Thursday night. Cronkhite came in 9.5 lbs over the bantamweight limit, and per Idaho Athletic Commission rules, the bout was removed from the event. This is truly unfortunate for Ricky, as he put in months of effort for this event and came in at his contracted weight, but was unable to showcase his improvements.
For the entire event play-by-play, go to http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Bellator-155-Carvalho-vs-Manhoef-Results-PlaybyPlay-RoundbyRound-Scoring-105263.
Congratulations to all our athletes on their performances! Each showcased their skills, courage, and most importantly, their class. A huge thanks to all the coaches, training partners, and worldwide SBG tribe for their hard work and support in preparing our athletes to shine on the big stage!!!
