An unfortante weekend for Main Events across the major promotions
Across all the bouts the weekend many of the highly anticipated main events failed to meet expectations or were cut short due to some unfortunate circumstance.
Firstly, Bellator 215 was brought to an abrupt end after an accidental low shot landed from Matt Mitrione left Sergei Kharitonov unable to continue after 15 seconds, you can check out the accidental blow below.
🥜#Bellator215 pic.twitter.com/nZRwPgIzdw
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) February 16, 2019
Bellator’s second main event of the weekend went the full distance and to the surprise of many wasn’t as action packed as expected. The bout between MVP and Paul Daley disappointed many as the promotion debuted on Sky Sports. The bout had large spells on the floor when many expected a striking masterclass. In terms of striking there were some very positive and entertaining points but did not live up to the hype.
👊😎🎤 @Michaelpage247 advances in the #BellatorWGP Tournament with a win at #Bellator216.
Here is his post-fight interview as well as a quick word from his next opponent, @PhenomLima. pic.twitter.com/l8OMwooX5x
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) February 18, 2019
Cage Warriors’ return to Liverpool ended early too as a freak accident occurred in the headliner. Tom Aspinall defended a kick from Sofiane Boukichou early in the first round which resulted in Boukichou’s leg breaking. The fight ended and was declared a victory via Tom Aspinall via TKO. Hopefully Boukichou has a speedy recovery and get’s an opportunity to showcase his skills as soon as he’s ready.
An unfortunate ending to our main event here at #CW101.
We wish Sofiane Boukichou a speedy recovery. pic.twitter.com/1VKpCnxF8h
— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) February 16, 2019
Invicta FC 34 had it’s main event cut short after an eye poke which left newly crowned champion Vanessa Porto unable to continue. Her fight with Pearl Gonzalez was in the fourth round when the eye poke occurred. The bout was after going on long enough for a decision to be made. Luckily for Porto she left with a title and both her eyes but the damage was rather serious as shown below.
Finally the UFC Phoenix headliner was over in less than 30 seconds. Francis Ngannou defeated Cain Velasquez via TKO, however, it appeared as though Cain Velasquez picked up an injury to his knee which contributed to him losing the bout. An uppercut from Ngannou was also a factor, however, Velasquez cited the injury as the main cause of him falling to the mat.
WOW!@Francis_Ngannou gets it done in Arizona! #UFCPhoenix pic.twitter.com/xGF4ziuAZA
— UFC (@ufc) February 18, 2019
An unfortunate weekend for headline fights but asides from that some exceptional bouts took place and there was enough action across many different cards to make up for any disappointment.
University of Limerick Economics and Finance Graduate. Editor for MMA Latest News and contributor to MMA Viking also featured on IMMAF, Fox Sports Asia, FanSided MMA and MMA-Today.
