Just in nick of time for Hess…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Friday night will mark the final Bellator event of what has been a tremendous first season for CEO Bjorn Rebney and company.
And all eyes (at least mine) are on the middleweight championship bout between Hector Lombard and former UCO standout Jared Hess.
I’ll have more on Lombard later this week. But today is all about Hess. The 25-year-old said this would be his final year fighting if nothing came of it. It did, and now he’s got a chance to not just make some money but make a name for himself.
Like I said last week, had a chance to watch Hess train as well as speak with those who know him best, including trainer/head coach Mike Messina.
Hess used to work with Messina in the concrete business, and Messina has been the man in charge of Hess since his debut two years ago.
Messina said he knew because of Hess’ work ethic that he could amount to something. He also said something Hess has told me before that Jared absolutely loves to train and spend time in the gym.
Messina, like everyone else (me, too), was skeptical about Bellator but realizes it’s the real thing. He said Hess has always trained hard but now with Bellator, Hess is training even harder.
Messina said Hess realizes that the possibilities are out there for him to do something special.
Also spoke with UCO wrestling coach David James. He’s excited for Hess and proud of the person he’s become. It wasn’t a shock to see Hess succeed, James said, because Hess has always been so dedicated, grounded and humble.
Hess has been a volunteer wrestling coach for the Bronchos, and James said he is a natural corner coach.
And as I ask every wrestling coach, his feelings on MMA: He wasn’t too sure about it all, at first. But now, he recognizes the opportunities it presents to college wrestlers. “It’s an additional opportunity for a wrestler to continue on. That’s a good and positive thing.”
And like I ask every MMA fighter, when did it all start for Hess?
It was about my junior or senior year in college where it really started to get big and expand. But I was a fan before that. I used to rent all the early UFCs at Blockbuster. I was a big fan of The Ultimate Fighter, at least the first couple of seasons. It’s definitely something I’ve thought about for a while.
For much more on Hess (including video), read Wednesday’s Oklahoman and check out NewsOK.com.
Back tomorrow with some news and notes on stuff other than Bellator. Yes, believe it or not, there are other things going on.
Cotto ekes out decision…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Maybe I’m being too harsh, but my gut feeling after watching the Miguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey welterweight boxing fight Saturday night is it’s a fight I may never watch again.
In the end, Cotto was given a split-decision by pretty wide margins of 116-111, 115-112 and 114-113 Clottey.
So one judge saw the bout 8 rounds to 4 for Cotto while another saw it 7 rounds to 5 for Clottey. That’s a pretty big discrepancy.
Cotto fought bravely with a gruesome cut over his left eye. Clottey battled a bad left leg. But in the end, I wasn’t impressed by either man’s fighting performance on this night and left with a whole bunch of “meh.”
I don’t know how anyone can watch those last five rounds and be happy with either man. Cotto is in full retreat because he can’t see anything. Clottey is too complacent and doesn’t get busy enough to really press the action.
The result? An unsatisfying decision in just about every way possible.
Cotto SD 12 Clottey
Round 1 was all Clottey until a left jab by Cotto dropped an unbalanced Clottey. I made a judgment call and said it was 10-9 Cotto. I felt Clottey had easily won that round, and I wasn’t about to dock him two points (essentially) for that minor slip up. Sorry, he wasn’t hurt.
Rounds 2 and 3 were good back-and-forth action as Cotto had a hard time penetrating Clottey’s defense while Clottey was having success going right through the middle, especially with the uppercut.
At the end of round 3, a bad cut was caused by a clash of heads for Cotto. His vision would be impaired the rest of the night.
Then in the fifth, Cotto would shove Clottey down, who temporarily really messed up his left knee. However, that was also Clottey’s strongest round of the fight.
Cotto had an all-out assault in round 6 but didn’t really touch up Clottey. Easy round for Cotto, at which I have it 58-56 for the Puerto Rican star.
Rounds 7, 8 and 9 are easily Clottey stanzas as Cotto was backing up and trying to determine within himself how he would have to fight down the stretch.
And then the final three rounds are nothing to write home about. Clottey ineffectively stalking with Cotto on his bicycle and landing a couple of shots sporadically.
Color me unimpressed.
Some say it was a brave move by Cotto to fight with the eye when he could have asked for a decision at the end of round 4 (and clearly would have won).
Wow, is that really what the sport has come to? Already know what a man (and warrior) Cotto is, didn’t think for one second he was going to back out.
Clottey has no complaint because he didn’t step on the gas late in the fight. Cotto didn’t win the fight by a 116-111 margin.
I would like to see it again, but something tells me it won’t happen anytime soon (if at all).
***
At UFC 99, it was Rich Franklin earning a unanimous decision against Wanderlei Silva in Germany.
From the reports, sounds like a good one between two guys who aren’t what they used to be. Each landed significant shots, will be fun to watch down the line.
Biggest shock was my next heavyweight star, Cheick Kongo, dropped an easy decision to former Arizona State star Cain Velazquez. Cain took Kongo down repeatedly and dominated from the top position.
***
We have a new Bellator welterweight champion, and his name is Lyman Good. In impressive fashion, Good needed less than two minutes to take out Omar De La Cruz.
He was able to get on top and throw haymaker after haymaker before the ref stopped it 1:23 into the first.
***
This week is all about the final Bellator event. While there is another championship with Eddie Alvarez and Toby Imada, my focus will be on former Central Oklahoma wrestler Jared Hess and Hector Lombard for the middleweight crown.
Happy 1st birthday, Blog…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Who knew we’d get this far? On June 12, 2008, I wrote my first post as an introduction to who I am and what this blog would be about.
This marks the 177th post. Man, feel sorry for you guys having to read all this drivel.
But if you’ve made it this far, hope you’ll stick with me in the future. This weekend is shaping up to be a good one, highlighted by the welterweight boxing title bout between Joshua Clottey and Miguel Cotto.
Tonight is the second of the four Bellator championships as Lyman Good and Omar Cruz will battle for the welterweight championship and $175,000.
Interesting how Bellator is doing the final two weeks. Week No. 11 is back at the Mohegan Sun Arena where it was for Week 2. And then next week is at the Seminole Hard Rock Live event center, which was the site for the very first Bellator event.
Also UFC 99 is Saturday. Not much hype for that one, either, as actually seemed like Zuffa was OK with hyping up the WEC bout between Mike Brown and Urijah Faber more than the UFC event.
***
But I admit this weekend is all about Clottey and Cotto for me. The lack of media coverage puzzles me as I’ve said a couple of times how I think this might be something special.
Clottey was introduced on a world stage in his decision loss to Antonio Margarito in 2006. For me, my first taste of Clottey was a resounding decision win over Diego Corrales. Sadly, that would be the final fight of Corrales’ colorful career as he would die in a motorcycle accident a month later.
Since then, Clottey’s been on the radar. In his last fight, Clottey won a technical decision against Zab Judah last August.
However, that actually took off some of the luster for me as I expected Clottey to give Judah a beating. But it’s possible (probable) that looking a little vulnerable helped in getting this fight.
Cotto, what can you say about him? I detested him early in his career. Learned to respect later on and am one more fight away from turning that corner and just saying I like the guy.
It was hard for me to let go of Felix “Tito” Trinidad as Puerto Rico’s hero. But Cotto isn’t a bad person to hold that torch.
Cotto’s only loss, of course, was to Margarito. That fight (and most of Tony’s other wins) are now under scrutiny because of the hand wrap issues.
Cotto bounced back with a five-round KO of Michael Jennings in February. But this will be the real test, both physically and mentally.
More mental, if you ask me. Even though there is that cloud over Margarito, the mystique of Cotto is gone.
Clottey doesn’t have the one punch power, but he comes at you. He’s skilled, and he’s not going anywhere.
It’s been a debate over the last year or so if him or Paul Williams are the most avoided fighters, so you know he’s itchin’ to get at this one.
What’s great about Cotto is he can make the mid-fight adjustment. He can box or punch. And he does both at a world-class level.
Think the first five, six rounds will be extremely competitive. Then Cotto will start to turn it on. Don’t know if he’ll drop or knock out Clottey, but definitely see Cotto putting himself back as one of the top dogs in the sport.
That’ll do it for post No. 177 and Year 1 of the Bout Blog. Be back Sunday with thoughts about Cotto and Clottey and post No. 178 and the first of Year 2.
In the Hess camp…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
It’s a pretty big week in the fight game with UFC 99 on Saturday as well as the mega-welterweight boxing title bout between Joshua Clottey and Miguel Cotto.
But Tuesday night, I had a chance to get in the camp of former Central Oklahoma All-American wrestler Jared Hess as he prepares for his Bellator middleweight championship bout with Hector Lombard next Friday night in Florida.
I’ve seen a lot of boxing sparring sessions, but this was the first time to see how an MMA fighter prepares for a bout.
Hess looks and sounds ready. I was wondering if there would be a change in his attitude and approach now that he’s made the finals. But he seems like he’s on an even keel and just ready to get at it.
He was crisp in his workouts with the pads and when he was going through his five-minute sparring sessions.
Also had a chance to speak with Hess’ trainer and coach, Mike Messina. He told me something I hadn’t really thought about. He said the toughest thing with Hess was trying to change his mental attitude.
As a wrestler, there’s just a certain mentality. That doesn’t really translate in the MMA world. The two have been together the last two years, and Messina will be in Hess’ corner next weekend.
I’d like to thank Hess and Messina for their cooperation as well as all the people at Premier Martial Arts in Edmond for their assistance.
Look for a big story on Hess next week to be accompanied by photographer John Clanton, who helped the Boneman out and shot photos and video.
***
The MMA world is still abuzz about the brilliant WEC battle between Urijah Faber and Mike Brown.
Think a lot of Web sites are short-changing Brown and saying if Faber didn’t break his hand then Brown wouldn’t have won.
Maybe, but there’s no guarantee. Brown has earned my respect and this is coming from a big Faber backer.
Want to see it again? VS. is showing the entire event Wednesday night. This is what the WEC should be about.
UFC 99 is Saturday and is dubbed “The Comeback.” The main event pits Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva. Eh, color me unimpressed. This is just a stay-busy event to get us to UFC 100 on July 11. Though there is a strong argument to say that UFC 101 in August is even better.
***
And finally, the bout that isn’t receiving any hype at all. Clottey and Cotto is a gift to the fight fan. It didn’t need to be made, but man oh man, it’s great that it was.
Both are under the Top Rank banner with Bob Arum. Cotto has been a staple during this weekend in June in New York with the big Puerto Rican celebration.
This has a chance to be a Fight of the Year. From what I know of Cotto and Clottey, got a feeling we’re about to see a classic.
Much more on this fight Friday as well as a little “did you know” trivia piece for ya.
Brown bests Faber again…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
The Sacramento crowd was going nuts for their hometown boy, Urijah Faber, and that was the best WEC atmosphere I’ve seen on VS.
He’s not much flash, but Mike Brown proved once again he is the best featherweight in the WEC with a convincing unanimous decision over Faber on Sunday. Scores read 49-46 twice and 48-47. Boneman’s card read 48-47 for Brown.
It’s true that my boy, Faber, broke his right hand on the top of Brown’s head, but I didn’t see that influencing the decision all that much.
Brown is “strong like bull” and tough as one, too. The only thing that perhaps having two good paws would have done for Faber was allowed him to cut up Brown. Brown’s left eye was cut early but nothing really came off of that because Faber couldn’t attack it.
I saw the first fight as a fluke and thought Faber would out-class Brown on Sunday. He didn’t, and I don’t think he ever will. Brown doesn’t have the hype machine, but he has the goods.
It reminds a little bit of Shane Mosley and Vernon Forrest. Confused? Stick with me, I’ll get ya to the destination.
In 2001, Mosley was on top of the world. He was becoming a household name and on his way to being an all-time great.
In 2008, Faber was close to being recognized by the common man. WEC has done a good job of making him the poster boy, and he was getting hyped.
Then Mosley met Forrest in 2002 and with one big right hand and one uppercut, destroyed Mosley to win the welterweight title and end any thought of Mosley being the best pound-for-pound.
Then Faber met Brown in 2008 and with a cocky attempt at a spinning back fist, got laid out by Brown to win the featherweight title and derail the California Kid.
Mosley, a fighter with so much pride and skill, elected for no tune-up bouts. He went right back in there with Forrest. Trained as hard as he could and still lost a unanimous decision six months later.
Faber, a fighter with so much pride and skill, elected for no tune-up bouts. He went right back in there with Brown. Trained as hard as he could and still lost a unanimous decision six months later.
The question is does Faber bounce back and still have a Hall of Fame career like Mosley?
As for the fight itself, Faber broke his hand with a right to the top of Brown’s head. Any boxer will tell you how much that hurts, so imagine not having all that padding for a shot like that.
Faber became a kick/elbow fighter from that point on. Brown never let up in the pressure department, took Faber down repeatedly. And with the fight in the balance (at least to me), won the fifth and final round to pull out the victory.
Gutty effort by Faber, but don’t discredit Brown because even with two healthy hands, don’t know if Faber will ever get the best of him.
***
Didn’t expect 500 words on that, but when I feel I have a point to be made, I can ramble with the best of them. On tap for this week in the least-talked about great fight in a while with Joshua Clottey vs. Miguel Cotto. Cotto’s got some stones to be taking this fight when nobody wants Clottey. Much more on that and whatever else happens later this week.
Shields makes Lawler tap…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
I don’t know if I was more excited about the quality of the five Strikeforce fights on Saturday night on Showtime, or if I was just thrilled that I was finally able to watch an MMA event live again.
In the main event, Jake Shields snapped on a guillotine on the bigger Robbie Lawler to force Lawler to tap out in the first round of the main event from St. Louis.
Shields Rd. 1 submission Lawler
It was interesting because Shields was clearly going to be overpowered, but he was thinking on his feet.
He tried to take down Lawler a couple of times and simply didn’t have the strength to do it. So he took a gamble to get in a defensive position to try for the choke. Outstanding stuff.
Shields admitted to being a little shocked at the strength difference but stayed composed and fought through it.
Lawler was classy in defeat, but he knew there was nothing he could do when the guillotine was put on.
Brett Rogers KO 1 Andrei Arlovski
The shocker of the night as Rogers put himself on the map in the heavyweight division in MMA.
Both men were posturing for position for about 15 seconds until Rogers went for it and landed lefts and rights unanswered, forcing referee Big John McCarthy to step in.
Whew.
Was it a quick stoppage? Interesting question. When I watched it live, I definitely thought so.
But on the replay, saw the look in Arlovski’s eyes after the left-right-left combo (all landed flush), and those eyes were back in his head. Good call by the sport’s best.
Rogers said he wanted to win, so he could buy a house. He’ll have the money for that now.
In other action, Nick Diaz did it on the ground and with the strikes before finishing off Scott Smith with a rear-naked choke in round 3. Diaz threw over 200 punches in the second round alone.
Joe Riggs pounded out a decision over veteran Phil Baroni while the comeback attempt of Kevin Randleman fell short in a loss to Mike Whitehead.
The announcing was superb with Gus Johnson, Mauro Ranallo and Frank Shamrock. Have to give credit to Ranallo tonight. I’ve bashed the guy in the past for trying too hard to promote the guys.
On this night, he let the action do the talking. You don’t need to hype stuff like this at times. The event itself takes care of that. Ranallo was informative, toned it down and was solid in his interviews. Shamrock has a real future in commentating should he choose to do so.
***
Bellator has its first champion as Joe Soto thoroughly controlled Yahir Reyes before winning with a rear-naked choke in round 2.
With the win, Soto earns $175,000 for his three fights. Bellator has two more weeks left of championships, culminating with former UCO wrestler Jared Hess against Hector Lombard on June 19.
Sunday night is the WEC rematch between Mike Brown and Urijah Faber. Busy night between that and Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Back late Sunday/early Monday with the Faber-Brown report.
Bellator, Strikeforce, WEC take center stage…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
I don’t think we’ll ever see another weekend like this. There are three major MMA events and not one of them includes a UFC event.
Maybe that’s a testament for how strong the sport is doing right now. Friday will be the featherweight championship in Bellator. Saturday will be a Strikeforce event on Showtime. And rounding out the weekend, a WEC event on VS. on Sunday night.
To go with those events, numerous news and notes have been floating around, so lemme stop my yappin’ and get to it.
- Affliction has its main event for its August PPV event with Josh Barnett vs. Fedor. I’m not necessarily soured on Affliction, but I’m starting to think it’s not an organization that we’ll still be talking about in three, four years. It seems so short-term and just trying to cash in right now. I might be wrong, just my impression.
Barnett is definitely one of the top heavyweights while Fedor is most pundits’ No. 1 heavyweight. Fedor impresses and maybe more shockingly, might be an even more likeable fella than he is as one of the best fighters.
- Oklahoma City wasn’t the only city being promised a UFC event as it’s been reported UFC 102 will be in Portland, Oregon. I’ve harped on it enough, just another example of a wider vision for the company.
- Also the battle to bring MMA back to New York is underway. I’ll have more to say about this on a later date and when things get further along in the discussions. For now, here’s a link to catch you up to speed.
- Let’s start with Bellator. Two weeks away from local product Jared Hess competing in the middleweight tournament championship, the promotion starts its round of championship bouts Friday in the featherweight division.
It’ll be Joe Soto vs. Yahir Reyes for $175,000. The Bellator X event is also the first one to take place in California. Always interesting to see how word-of-mouth will factor in with the attendance.
The tape-delay definitely hurts but having more signature KOs and submissions has given plenty of ammo for MMA message boarders to talk about.
- Showtime has a loaded Strikeforce card. Normally stationed in California, Strikeforce is venturing to St. Louis on Saturdy.
The main event should whet just about anybody’s appetite with Jake Shields vs. Robbie Lawler.
Lawler is naturally bigger, but both (I feel) are among some of the best fighters in the world.
Lawler hasn’t fought since taking care of Scott Smith last July. This is a fight fans have been clamoring to see for a while. Also competing is heavyweight Andrei Arlovski and Nick Diaz.
- And to close out the fight-filled weekend, it’s the rematch between Mike Brown and Urijah Faber.
There might be others, but for me, this is the most anticipated fight in WEC history. Again, just one Boneman’s opinion.
Faber got caught being a little arrogant and going for a spinning back punch only to KO’d himself by Brown in December.
WEC, operated under the Zuffa LLC umbrella, has done a fantastic job in the build up of this fight.
I wonder if the ratings won’t reflect it because of Game 2 of the NBA Finals between Los Angeles and Orlando.
- Not much boxing news, but a couple of things wanted to pass along. Israel Vazquez has been cleared to fight after battling a detached retina the last year.
Safe to assume we can pencil in another Fight of the Year in his next bout? I don’t know, but I hope Vazquez doesn’t take on Rafael Marquez for the fourth time.
All three have been instant (and maybe all-time) classics, but I want to see them clean out some of the other guys before going back at it.
- And finally, the folks at maxboxing.com have done it again. This piece by Steve Kim really got me thinking. Very intriguing piece examining why African-Americans have been unable to become major draws in boxing recently. Would love to hear what readers think.
Speculating on UFN 19 in Oklahoma City…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
With the news that the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City will be the home to Ultimate Fight Night 19 in September, the “thinking out loud” piece I did two weeks ago comes back to the forefront.
Here’s what we know: The event will be September 16, which is a Wednesday. Good thing for MMA/football fans as there will be no football conflict with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
These events normally try to get you geared up for the next season of The Ultimate Fighter. The 10th season coming up already has some buzz with the addition of Kimbo Slice to the TUF heavyweight roster.
With “Sugar” Rashad Evans and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson the coaches, I’m pretty pumped as well.
Only two fighters are confirmed for the card: newly-signed heavyweight Mike Russow as well as Ronnys Torres (who will be making his UFC debut). I admit to having not seen either guy fight, so can’t give a brief synopsis.
It’s pretty safe to say some local flavor will be on the show. It would be a good chance for those guys to make a name, and it would certainly help ticket sales.
Norman’s Matt Grice fights at UFC 100 (July 11) but could return as long as he ends up healthy.
Former Oklahoma State star Jake Rosholt is definitely itching for another chance in the Octagon.
I would pencil out Johny Hendricks. The former OSU star fights at UFC 101 in August against TUF winner Amir Sadollah. Even if Hendricks wins and isn’t marked up, that’s a lot to ask for such a quick turnaround.
Give credit to UFC president Dana White for giving some “minor” locations a shot at an event. The first six UFN events were held in Nevada and Nevada and Florida have played host to most of them.
But in between (and definitely in the last two years or so), it’s been in the “small markets.”
UFN has been in Colorado, Nebraska, North Carolina and Tennessee. Now UFN 19 will be in Oklahoma City.
A UFN event is a great gauge of fan interest. If it does well, who knows what the future could hold?
I ask this to my readers, is there a price limit on the tickets that you won’t go over? A lot of the local shows go anywhere from $20-50. What if UFC is asking $100-200? Also, any local names that you really want to see fight? Sound off, love to hear from you.
***
And in case you didn’t read the story in today’s paper, here is more with OSAC director Joe Miller on the confirmation of the UFC event…
Oklahoma City has been on the radar for an Ultimate Fighting Championship event the last couple of years.
The Oklahoma State Athletic Commission has been in the ear of Marc Ratner, the vice president of regulatory affairs for the UFC, during the same time period. And UFC president Dana White has said in the past of his intentions to bring the Mixed Martial Arts event to Oklahoma City.
The persistence has paid off as OSAC director Joe Miller confirmed Tuesday that a UFC event will be coming to Oklahoma City in September.
“The UFC is definitely coming, and we are all excited about this opportunity,” said Miller.
The event will take place Sept. 16 at the Cox Convention Center and will be “Ultimate Fight Night 19.”
Miller said it’s a little disappointing the event won’t be able to be at the Ford Center because of all the renovations going on at the Ford Center, but the Cox Center will be a good gauge to see how much interest there is.
Miller said he thought Oklahoma City would have a UFC event last year but some of the details couldn’t be worked out. Regardless, the UFC and the OSAC have had numerous discussions and have been trying to work together to make a deal for some time.
“The MMA following is so huge in Oklahoma that it makes sense for both sides to pursue this,” Miller said. “It’s logical with how popular wrestling is here in Oklahoma.”
In the past, UFN events have promoted the reality TV series “The Ultimate Fighter” on Spike. The coaches for the upcoming 10th season are light heavyweights “Sugar” Rashad Evans and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, both former UFC champions.
TUF 10 is scheduled to focus on heavyweights, and it’s been confirmed by White that Kimbo Slice will be part of the cast.
Slice, whose real name is Kevin Ferguson, was released by the Pro Elite organization last month and turned down an offer by Strikeforce, another MMA organization.
Miller said the scheduled card is not official at this point, and he wouldn’t speculate on who would be fighting.
The UFC has only been in Oklahoma once as UFC IV was at the Tulsa Expo Square Pavilion in 1994. That event was an eight-man tournament won by UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie.
State athletic commission confirms UFC in OKC
Just got off the phone with Oklahoma State Athletic Commission director Joe Miller.
UFC confirmed for Oklahoma City
By Robert Przybylo
Staff Writer
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Oklahoma State Athletic Commission director Joe Miller confirmed Tuesday that an Ultimate Fighting Championship event will be coming to Oklahoma City in September.
“The UFC is definitely coming, and we are all excited about this opportunity,” said Miller.
The event will take place Sept. 16 at the Cox Convention Center and will be an “Ultimate Fight Night” event.
In the past, UFN events have promoted the reality TV series “The Ultimate Fighter” on Spike. The coaches for the upcoming 10th season are light heavyweights “Sugar” Rashad Evans and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, both former UFC champions.
Miller said the scheduled card is not official at this point, and he wouldn’t speculate on who would be fighting.
The UFC has only been in Oklahoma once as UFC IV was at the Tulsa Expo Square Pavilion in 1994. That event was an eight-man tournament won by UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie.
Hess now one fight away…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
(Jared Hess one fight away from making a name for himself)
Had a chance to cach up with former Central Oklahoma All-American wrestler Jared Hess to talk about his dominating win over Yosmany Cabezas in the semifinals of the Bellator middleweight tournament Friday.
Hess told me earlier last week about how he was so concerned about Cabezas’ leg kicks. He obviously did a great job of prepping for it as Hess was able to catch Cabezas’ leg kicks a couple of times and turn them into takedowns and dominate from the top position.
There was a brief scare as Cabezas was able to lock in a guillotine choke that Hess said “got a little tight.” But he fought out of it.
Hess was dominant from the top position as usual. He said that’s where he feels the most natural, and if it’s up to him, that’s where the fight is going to go.
Hess also said the fact the bout went 14 minutes didn’t hurt him with his stamina. He said he was ready to go another round or two rounds, if it was necessary.
With the win, Hess has racked up $75,000 in his two Bellator victories. He’ll take on Hector Lombard in the finals on June 19 at the Seminole Hard Rock Live event center in Florida.
Hess trains out of Premier Martial Arts in Edmond. And as we get closer and closer to fight night, expect a lot more as the 25-year-old attempts to try to earn $175,000.
