Richard Hale has gone from relative obscurity to having a video gone viral. At Bellator 38 last month, he secured an inverted triangle over Nik Fekete, netting over 140,000 hits on youtube (according to CEO Bjorn Rebney) and earning a spot in the semi-finals of the promotions inaugural Light Heavyweight tournament.
On Saturday night in Concho, Oklahoma at the Lucky Star Casino, Hale fought in the semi-final. During a highly contested 3 round affair, We didn't get to see any moments worthy of a highlight reel, The man known as the "Rare Breed" had a war with DJ Linderman. Hale used his power and size advantage, controlling Linderman's takedown attempts in the second and surviving a spinning backfist during it, and his counter punching and leg kicks to the body were enough to grind out a split decision victory, 2 judges having it 29-28 for Hale, with the 3rd having the same score for Linderman. Hale told interviewer Jimmy Smith that the fight "was more difficult than he expected" and he looked "forward to the finals".
Those finals will feature Hale vs Congolese prospect Christian M'Pumbu, who showed that with his grappling skills (also on display at Bellator 38), are a serious pair of fists. After roughly 2 minutes of the opening round, M'Pumbu caught his opponent, American Tim Carpenter, with a furious left hook that left the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and Philadelphia native prone, akin to being knocked out on his feet. After another right hand that dropped him, M'Pumbu stopped to scream loudly in Carpenter's face showing his jubilation over his victory.
Other winners included Luis Nogueira (no relation to the Nogueira brothers) winning a unanimous decision over Jerod Spoon, and British product Ronnie Mann winning a unanimous decision over Josh Arocho.
Honorable Mention : Both classes featuring the lighter weights (135 and 145) were far more interesting than the light heavyweight main events. Luis Nogueira and Jerod Spoon fought to a stalemate, with Nogueira trying several different striking attacks, featuring a spinning roundhouse in the 1st. Spoon threw a few spinning backfists in the 2nd, but it wasn't enough as the Brazilian won.
Also, DW better keep his eyes on Ronnie Mann. The British (by way of Thailand) fighter controlled an overwhelmed Arocho from the get-go, getting him on the ground and holding him there. He was able to control positioning, from side control to a north south position, and had several submission attempts (including a kimura as well as an arm triangle) on the American, simply outclassing him. I know fans and critics are also calling for "more 10-8" rounds in Mixed Martial Arts, and the judges for this fight certainly obliged : Mann won on one judges scorecard 30-25, which means not one but 2 10-8 rounds.
No Bellator fights next week, but a preview of the Finals will air at an early time (7 pm ET) on MTV2. Somehow I have a feeling nothing will be next week as there's another show in Toronto going on?
Until next time, fight fans!
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