The seventh season of the Bellator Fighting Championships continues tonight with Bellator 80 from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
The preliminary card will begin at 6 p.m. ET on Spike.com and the main card will start at 8 p.m. ET on MTV2 and in commerical free high definition on EPIX HD.
To discuss the fights, use the comments section below and follow Jason Floyd (@jason_floyd) and on Twitter, who will be at cageside tonight in South Florida covering the fights.
Mitchell Quinones vs. Brandon Girtz
Round 1 – The round began with the fighters feeling each other out with Quinones having cage control. Girtz would land a right hand that had Quinones on his heels. Girtz would go for a takedown which was successful and get side control on the ground. While on the ground Girtz went for a submission but Quinones would defend the attempt. Girtz would be able to transition to the mount in the final 30 seconds of the round, but Quinones would survive the round.
Round 2 – After circling around each other for the first 90 seconds of the round, the two fighters would exchange combos. They would continue to circle around each other and Quinones would land a front kick. The fighters would have a brief exchange at the end of the round.
Round 3 – Girtz would look for a takedown in the first minute of the round, which was successful and would achieve full mount. Girtz would throw multiple strikes, which included elbows. Quinones was blocking some of the strikes and continued to throw his legs up to get out of the position. Quinones would be unable to get off his back, but would make it to the bell.
Result: Brandon Girtz def. Mitchell Quinones via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Joe Vedepo vs. Mike Bernhard
Round 1 – The action would quickly go to the ground when Bernhard missed a kick and Vedepo would attempt to lay on him. Bernhard was able to wrap his legs his opponents neck and looked for a triangle choke. As the fighters were nearly in a north-south position, Vedepo landed strikes in attempt to loosen the submission attempt. With the submission looses, Vedepo would be able lock in his own choke and get the submission victory.
Result: Joe Vedepo def. Mike Bernard via submission (shin choke) – Round 1, 3:26
Robert Otani vs. Cristiano Souza
Round 1 – The round opened with both fighters landing strikes before Otani would land an illegal strike and Souza took a minute to recover. Souza would drop Otani with a left hand but Otani would be able to get back to his feet. Souza would continue to get the better of the strikes and would drop Otani once again. This time, he would finish the fight on the ground.
Result: Cristiano Souza def. Robert Otani via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:46
Sky Moiseichik vs. Shanon Slack
Round 1 – Moiseichik opened with a low leg kick and the fighters would circle around each other. Slack would be able to take control of the cage. Slack would be able to slam Moiseichik to the ground and began to land strikes from the top. He would go into the guard of Moiseichik. He would continue to land strikes and looked to advance to side control. Moiseichik would be able to get up for a moment but Slack would take the action back to the ground. The round would end in this position and Moiseichik was unable to get off his back.
Round 2 – Slack would be able to take the fight to the ground and have top position. Moiseichik attempted to hold onto the wrist of Slack to control his opponents ground strikes. Moiseichik struggled to get off his back and Slack looked to advance his position, but could not land much offense. The referee warned the fighters to improve position and Slack was able to land a couple of strikes before the end of the round.
Round 3 – The fighters opened the round by exchanging kicks and Slack would once again take the fight to the ground. He would be in top position on the ground, but was unable to mount much offense. Moiseichik would get back to his feet and Slack would grapple his opponent against the cage. Slack would be able to take the fight to the ground with 45 seconds left in the round. Moiseichik would get back to his feet before the round would end and the judges will decide the fight.
Result: Shanon Slack def. Sky Moiseichik via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-37, 30-37)
Josh Quayhagen vs. Cosmo Alexandre
Round 1 – Alexandre came out as the aggressor and pushed the pace of the fight. After trading strikes around the cage, Quayhagen went for a takedown and Alexandre was able to lock in a guillotine choke. Quayhagen was able to escape the choke and end up in top position. Alexandre looked for a triangle choke, but once again Quayhagen was able to defend the submission attempt. Quayhagen would transition to side control, but Alexandre would get back to his feet before the end of the round.
Round 2 – As the second round started, Quayhagen appeared more confident with his strikes. Alexandre would land a right hook that grazed his opponents chin. Quayhagen would look for a takedown, which was successful. However, Alexandre would get back to his feet. Alexandre would continue to get the better in the standup game and Quayhagen looked for another takedown. The attempt was unsuccessful and he would end up on his back. Alexandre threw a punch and go into the guard of Quayhagen. The round would end up Alexandre in top position and throwing strikes.
Round 3 – Alexandre opened with several leg kicks. He would continue to get the better strikes in the stand up and Quayhagen could not find his range to land a big shot. Alexandre would land a left hand that had Quayhagen rocked and running away. Quayhagen would end up on the ground with Alexandre looking for a big shot. Quayhagen would be able to get to his feet in the final 30 seconds of the round. Neither fighter was able to do anything before the final bell and the judges will decide the winner.
Result: Cosmo Alexandre def. Josh Quayhagen via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Ryan DeRocher vs. Taylor Krahl
Round 1 – DeRocher opened the fight by landing a right hand that dropped Krahl and wasted no time with strikes on the ground to finish the fight.
Result: Ryan DeRocher def. Tayloe Krahl via KO (strikes) – Round 1, :20
Darryl Cobb vs. Brett Cooper
Round 1 – After feeling out his opponent, Cooper went for a takedown, which was successful. Cobb would be able to get back to his feet after Cooper went for a kimura submission. The fighters woould brawl against the cage before Cooper decided to take the fight to the ground. Once on the ground, Cooper landed several strikes and would end up taking the back of his opponent. Cobb attempted to get up, but Cooper slammed him back to the ground. After trading strikes, Cooper would once again take the fight to the ground and be in top position. While on the ground, Cooper landed multiple shots before the end of the round.
Round 2 – After over a minute of stand up striking, Cooper took the fight to the ground and began to work his ground strikes. He was able to land multiple shots to the body and his opponents face. Cobb would be unable to get off his back for the rest of the round and Cooper continued to and strikes.
Round 3 – As Cooper looked for a takedown early in the round, Cobb looked to stop it by attempting to lock in a choke. He would be unsuccessful and Cooper would get the takedown and once again be in top position. Cooper continues to maintain top position with the crowd becoming restless because of the action. Cobb attempted to get back to his feet, but he was unable to do. When he attempted to get up Cooper locked in a choke. Cobb would get to his feet in the final 30 seconds and made the fight a brawl before the final bell.
Result: Brett Cooper def. Darryl Cobb via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Wagnney Fabiano vs. Rad Martinez
Round 1 – The fighters opened the fight by finding their range before Fabiano took the fight to the ground. Martinez was able to get back to his feet and avoid the submissions of his opponent. The fighters would grapple against the cage and Martinez would be able to land a combination. Martinez was able to win the stand up battle in the round and Fabiano struggled to get the fight to the ground.
Round 2 – As the round opened, Martinez continued to get the better of the striking and stunned Fabiano with a left hand. The fighters would end up against the cage and grapple. Once they separated, Martinez continued to get the better strikes and used front kicks to create separation. At the end of the round, Fabiano was able to land a combination and the round ended before he could get any more offense.
Round 3 – The action would continue to be a striking battle and the fighters looked for their openings. Fabiano did look for a takedown, but once again it was unsuccessful. With the action against the cage, Martinez looked for a takedown and Fabiano was able to stop the attempt. The fighters would exchange strikes for the remainder of the round and Martinez was able to land a combination in the final 10 seconds which should get him the win.
Result: Rad Martinez def. Wagnney Fabiano via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Vinicius Queiroz vs. Alexander Volkov
Round 1 – The action started with both fighters attempting to land big shots and Queiroz was able to take the fight to the ground. He would be in top position, but Volkov was able to hold onto him and cause the referee to stand them up. After the stand up, they both started to landed strikes with Volkov landing the better shots. After taking several strikes from his opponent, Queiroz decided to take the fight back to the ground. Once on the ground, Queiroz was unable to mount much offense.
Round 2 – Queiroz looked for multiple over hand rights as the round started, but was unable to connect. He would then look for a takedown, but it was stopped by Volkov. The Russian would land a two punch combination that move Queiroz bad near the cage. Volkov would land another combination and it would drop Queiroz this time, but he was able to survive and get to this feet. Queiroz would then take the fight to the ground but the fighters were stood up quickly by the referee. Once they stood up, the fighters began to brawl against the cage. Volkov would began to land several strikes that would drop Queiroz and the referee came in to stop the fight.
Result: Alexander Volkov def. Vinicius Queiroz via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:59
Joe Warren vs. Owen Evinger
Round 1 – Warren immediately looked for a takedown, but Evinger stopped the attempt. Warren would be able to get a takedown on his second attempt though. Once on the ground, Warren began to work his ground game. Evinger would end up getting back to his feet and the fighters grappled. Once again, Warren would take the fight to the ground. Warren looked for an armbar submission, but Evinger would escape and transition into top position. Warren would be able to get off his back and he would take the fight to the ground. The round would end with Warren on top of Evinger.
Round 2 – Warren would once again get the fight to the ground and was able to attempt a choke that appeared tight. Evinger was able to survive the submission, but Warren maintained a dominant position. He continued to work his submission game and dominated Evinger on the ground. Evinger would not be able to make it off is back until the final bell rang.
Round 3 – Warren would look for a takedown in the first 30 seconds and Evinger would stop the first attempt. However, Warren would get the takedown on his second attempt. Warren continued to work his ground game as the crowd booed the action. Warren would be on top of Evinger the rest of the round and will get a decision victory.
Result: Joe Warren def. Owen Evinger via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)