Two weeks ago, I wrote about how Bellator President Scott Coker may have a new star in light heavyweight Liam McGeary and on Friday night at Bellator 126, he may have found another one in new middleweight champion Brandon Halsey.
Halsey ended the 596 day title reign of Alexander Shlemenko as he easily took the now former champion to the ground and immediately looked for the rear-naked choke submission.
The fight was called by referee “Big” John McCarthy at the 35 second mark of the opening round when Shlemenko passed out, and this is now the third fastest submission in Bellator middleweight history.
Hasley (8-0) is now the third middleweight champion in Bellator history and six of his eight wins have come by submission. His last two victories have come by submission and he is only getting better. When he entered Bellator last year, he was a light heavyweight and was known for his wrestling. Since dropping down to middleweight, he has shown the improvements in the game and becoming a complete mixed martial artist.
Earlier this week, Halsey talked to TheMMAReport.com about the changes in his game over the past couple of months and how he is a different fighter now.
“Early in my career, I was able to wrestle guys into certain positions and impose control, but I wasn’t able to see certain openings like opportunities to advance into a better spot or to finish the fight outright with a submission,” Halsey said. “These last few months I’ve been able to start noticing these openings, which will help me finish the fight in dominant positions whereas before I was only controlling position. It’s made a big difference.”
Halsey’s has a favorite line, which is “hard work beats talent when talent fails to work, but when the talent starts to work too, it’s unbeatable.” Halsey is building a resume in Bellator and right now, he has been unbeatable.
Every fight in the career of Halsey will be a test and that will once again happen in his next fight. While Shlemenko is known for his unique striking style, his first title defense will be against an explosive striker as he will be challenged by Melvin Manhoef, who secured a title shot last week with a first round knockout against former title challenger Doug Marshall.
If Halsey is able to have another impressive performance over Manhoef, like he has in his last two fights against Cooper and Shlemenko, there will be no question that Coker has a star in Brandon “The Bull” Halsey.