Another fight weekend is in the books. We had a cornucopia of combat sports over the last few days: ONE led off with perhaps the best kickboxing card of the year on Friday, with Bellator following with the semis of its light heavyweight grand prix that evening and a UFC show to follow on Saturday.
The UFC show was perhaps the weakest ever among a series of weak Fight Night cards, but we still saw some fun action. So, as usual, here’s a look at three fighters who boosted their stock the most this past weekend.
The semifinals of the Bellator light heavyweight grand prix proceeded as planned, and gave us the final matchup we expected all along. In the main event, champion Vadim Nemkov dominated alternate Julius Anglickas – a good fighter who was a perfectly solid choice to replace the withdrawn Anthony “Rumble” Johnson – to retain his belt via fourth-round submission.
Nemkov has evolved from hot young talent to one of the very best light heavyweights in the world, and Friday was another exhibition of just how good he’s gotten. But nobody at Phoenix’s Footprints Center made a bigger statement on Friday night than the man who will be facing Nemkov for the world title, Corey Anderson.
Anderson was my personal pick to take home the tournament – quite simply, he’s one of the best light heavyweights in the world, in his prime. Anderson was one of the UFC’s top 5 ranked contenders at 205 but was released from his contract so he could sign a much bigger-money deal with Bellator to become one of that division’s anchors. Anderson says that in three fights in Bellator, he’s made more money than he did in his entire 15-fight UFC career. Money is a hell of a motivator. And Anderson’s looking pretty motivated.
Anderson has now torn through the competition with three straight KO/TKO wins in the circle cage. In the quarterfinals, Anderson beat former ACB champion Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov to a pulp. And in the semifinals, Anderson matched up against Ryan Bader – the former light heavyweight champion and one of Bellator’s headline stars for the last four years – and put his lights out in 51 seconds.
Bader has slowed some, and was taken apart by Nemkov to lose his light heavyweight title last year. Still, Bader is one of the best, most experienced higher-weight fighters that Bellator has to offer, and always poses a threat to implement his wrestling game. Most expected Anderson would win, but certainly not like this: the quickest win of Anderson’s career, one short little right hook behind the ear and a series of punches on the ground.
Once regarded as a one-note wrestler, Anderson has matured into an all-around threat who’s realizing the power that he has – and over the last couple years, I’ve been very impressed by his killer instinct and ability to capitalize on a moment of weakness. Nemkov hasn’t shown many weaknesses, but if he has them, Anderson may well find them.
The final is set: Vadim Nemkov and Corey Anderson in the finals of the light heavyweight grand prix with the title on the line. This was the best possible result, and feels like the only way it could have ended. These are two bona fide top 5 light heavyweights in the world matching up in the title shot that has eluded Anderson his entire career. If that’s not worth watching, I don’t know what is. Should be a hell of a fight.
Fighting is a hard sport. It’s hard on your body, your brain and your bank account. We remember the champions and the superstars, but for every one of them, there’s 100 who finished their combat sports career with little to show for it than pain and memories. That’s why I love so much when one of the grunts gets his due.
Jim Miller was, for a few years, one of the best lightweights in the UFC, but never challenged for a world title – he always ended up one or two wins short. His last big chance was in 2017, when he battled Dustin Poirier to an entertaining majority decision loss. He lost four of his next five, and at 38 years old, will never again be a contender.
Miller has been a pro since 2005, and a UFC fighter since 2008. For most of the last several years, he’s been an undercard journeyman who many seemingly have forgotten was once a star. Saturday’s bout with the debuting Erick Gonzalez was his 50th pro fight and 38th in the UFC Octagon. But as we found out, this old man’s still got some punch.
Miller has long been regarded as a grappling-first fighter, and it was his strong matwork that pushed him into the title hunt for much of the 2010s. But that counter left he landed Saturday night was one of the cleanest single punches of his career, putting the younger Gonzalez down for the count for just the fifth KO/TKO win of Miller’s 16-year career.
In the long run, it will mean little. Gonzalez has proven nothing on the big stage, and it won’t make Miller any less past his prime. But what did mean something to me was the reaction to Miller’s win, and the outpouring of appreciation and support from media, fellow fighters and fans, appreciating the career Miller has put together and his unmatched longevity.
It was a record-setting night for Miller. His 38 UFC fights are the most ever. His 34 in the lightweight division is also a record. His 20 lightweight wins are the most ever. His 22 victories in the UFC overall is second all-time, and he’s one away from tying record-holder Donald Cerrone – Cerrone’s KO win over Miller in 2014 now stands as the tie-breaker.
And over all that time, Miller has never missed weight, always done his job, always been nothing short of a credit to the sport. And as he keeps chugging along in his late 30s – towards what should be a ready-made place in the UFC Hall of Fame – we should never miss a chance to appreciate him.
Perhaps it’s a guilty pleasure, but there are few combat sports events I enjoy watching more than the first hour or two of the Bellator prelims. Unlike the UFC, Bellator has put itself in the prospect development business – since Scott Coker took over a few years ago, Bellator has been quite proactive in hoovering up hyped amateur prospects, or fighters who have only just started their pro careers, and building them up from the beginning.
Watch the beginning of a Bellator show and you’ll often see a few of these fighters in action. Sometimes it goes well, sometimes it doesn’t. But it’s a fascinating glimpse of the future – the arrival of fighters like A.J. McKee and Ilima-Lei Macfarlane proves this system can work, and produce elite talents.
Friday night was one of the nights where it worked like it should. The first four pro fights on the card had developing fighters early in their careers fighting lower-level opponents appropriate for their experience levels, and all impressed.
Sullivan Cauley, a hard-hitting light heavyweight and Ryan Bader protege, won by first round KO. Sumiko Inaba, a 3-0 flyweight who earned acclaim in the amateur ranks, won an entertaining bout with Randi Field by second-round arm-triangle. Bantamweight Jaylon Bates moved to 4-0 with a dominant first round submission win. Lastly, Lance Gibson Jr., son of Canadian MMA pioneer Lance Gibson and stepson of former Bellator featherweight champion Julia Budd, caught Raymond Pina in a modified crucifix and smashed his face in.
Gibson is the closest to being an actual contending factor in his division – he’s a lightweight in a division that’s been in some turmoil as of late – but I’m choosing to highlight Bates, because I think he has one of the brightest futures among any youngster on the Bellator roster.
I’ve been enamored with Bates since I first saw him. Super tall and lanky for the bantamweight division – 5-foot-10 with a 73.5-inch reach – Bates turned pro with Bellator in November after an acclaimed amateur career. So far, he’s proved himself at every turn to be a dominant grappler. His opponent on Friday, Raphael Montini, was no world-beater, but was the most experienced fighter he’d ever faced: Montini entered with a 6-4 record, and had been in the cage with UFC veterans Anthony Birchak and Mario Bautista.
An appropriate test for Bates at this stage. Bates completely owned him.
Bates has a wiry strength and fantastic positional awareness, and once he got Montini to the ground, the Brazilian had no hope. Bates completely controlled the action for the entirety of the first round, spending the balance of it in dominant positions, before turning over into mount and finishing Montini with one of the quickest and slickest armbar transitions you’ll ever see.
Bates’ combination of physical gifts and his grappling acumen make him an extremely interesting prospect for the bantamweight division, one who might be a real factor sooner rather than later. And he has a good role model to follow: Bates has become a training partner of A.J. McKee, the poster boy for the Bellator prospect development system. 135 is deep no matter where you go, and Bates will be in the tougher end of the talent pool soon. That’s what this is all about – getting him ready to sink or swim. I think he’s going to swim.
The Big Fight 