Askren Funks Thompson; Hieron, Chandler Advance at Bellator 40
Rob Fitzpatrick Apr 9, 2011
Ben
Askren dominated Nick Thompson on the floor at Bellator 40. | Keith
Mills/Sherdog.com
NEWKIRK, Okla. -- At the First Council Casino, Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren used his trademark “funky” wrestling to take a unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27) over veteran Nick Thompson in the non-title headliner of Bellator 40.
The large, imposing Thompson sought to use his reach and jab, but simply could not stay off of his back against the Olympian Askren. The former standout wrestler for the University of Missouri put Thompson on the canvas again and again, showing true positional dominance as he moved repeatedly to side control and north-south position. When Thompson was able to reclaim guard, Askren simply passed; when he stood up, Askren took him down again.
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“I’ve been a fan of his in wrestling; now I’m a fan of him in MMA,” Thompson said after the bout. “As [Bellator CEO] Bjorn [Rebney] and Bellator pointed out, I’ve fought all over the world, fought some of the best guys and beaten some of the best guys. I’ve never been so frustrated in a fight. The last 10 seconds was the only part I felt not-frustrated.”
At the post-fight press conference, Askren announced his intentions
to move to Milwaukee to train with the team at Roufusport
full-time, while Thompson also committed to Wisconsin in a
different way. A practicing attorney in La Crosse, Wisc., Thompson
announced his intent to retire after an eight-year, 53-bout
career.
Hieron, Chandler Lock Up Spots in Bellator Tourney Finals
K.
Mills
Hieron (right) bested Weedman.
From beginning to end, it was a close fight and one in which “The Thoroughbred” did not take many risks. The first round was extremely close, with Weedman landing many clean strikes. However, Hieron picked up the pace in round two, landing wicked combinations and uppercuts from the clinch. Weedman kept Hieron moving backwards, but allowed the Xtreme Couture representative to use his counterpunches to great effect.
The third round featured similar ebb-and-flow, but Hieron’s superior boxing earned him the unanimous nod with three 29-28 scorecards.
“Sometimes it goes smooth, sometimes you gotta grind. Lucky for me, I know how to do both,” said Hieron after the bout. “I personally think I did more. I was sharp on the feet, more well-rounded. Brent came to fight, but I just fought better, bottom line. I’m happy with the decision. He’s a tough guy, he’ll be back.”
The second semifinal of the Bellator lightweight tournament saw a battle of unbeatens, as Hieron teammate Michael Chandler put on a wrestling clinic against Missoula, Mont., native Lloyd Woodard.
K.
Mills
Chandler outpointed Woodard.
Woodard continued to stand up from the former Missouri Tiger’s takedowns and scored one of his own in the third, only to be reversed by Chandler. The final takedown sealed the bout for Chandler, who took 29-28 scorecards across the board and improved to 7-0.
With the win, Chandler locked up his position in the tournament final against formidable Brazilian Patricky Friere.
Stinson Takes Split over James on Local Undercard
The local undercard featured a clash of game welterweights, as Winfield, Kan., resident Tyler Stinson took a hard-fought split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) over Nathan James.
K.
Mills
Stinson edged James.
In the third, with the fight on the line, a late Stinson slam sealed the deal. Judge Gary Ritter scored the bout for James, while David Sutherland and Jim Lambert had it for Stinson, who moved to 20-7 with the victory.
Prescott, Ariz., heavyweight Eric Prindle lost a point for low blows in his bout with Josh Burns, but “The American Soldier” used heavy leather to open a cut over Burns’ left eyebrow and force the cageside physician to halt the bout after the second round.
In lightweight action, Michael Osborn viciously pounded out the debuting Cody Carrillo in just 87 seconds.
In the welterweight opener, Derby, Kan.’s, David Rickels stayed unbeaten, as the 22-year-old tapped Dylan Smith with a triangle choke at 3:32 of the first round.
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