Bellator 185: Mousasi vs. Shlemenko - October 20 (OFFICIAL DISCUSSION)

Bellator 185
October 20, 2017
Mohegan Sun Arena
Uncasville, Connecticut, USA

Main Card:
Gegard Mousasi (19-2)    vs. (17-4) Alexander Shlemenko   
Main Event | Middleweight | 185 lbs (84 kg)
Neiman Gracie (6-0)        vs.                 (18-8) Zak Bucia   
Co-Main Event | Welterweight | 170 lbs (77 kg)
Heather Hardy (1-0)         vs.        (0-0) Kristina Williams  
Main Card | Female Flyweight | 125 lbs (57 kg)

Gegard Mousasi (42-6-2) will make his promotional debut against former champ Alexander Shlemenko (56-9, 1 NC) on Friday, October 20 at Bellator 185: Mousasi vs. Shlemenko, an event that takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

In addition, the co-main event of Bellator 185: Mousasi vs. Shlemenko will feature a light heavyweight contest pitting "King Mo" Lawal (21-6, 1 NC) against former titleholder Liam McGeary (12-2) аnd Heather "The Heat" Hardy (1-0) in MMA, (20-0) in boxing will return to the Bellator cage. She made her MMA debut at Bellator 180 where she defeated Alice Yaguer in the final round of their match in Madison Square Garden. Additional main and preliminary card bouts will be announcing in the coming weeks.

Long-considered to be one of the elite two-division threats in MMA, Mousasi is set for his Bellator debut and is currently riding a five-fight win streak that includes recent knockout victories over two former world champions in Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort. Prior to his UFC tenure, Mousasi captured the STRIKEFORCE light heavyweight title, as well as the DREAM light heavyweight and middleweight titles in Japan. "The Dreamcatcher," who currently trains out of The Netherlands, has earned victories over some of the sports' biggest names, including Dan Henderson, "Jacare" Souza, Mark Hunt, Ovince Saint-Preux, Melvin Manhoef, Hector Lombard and "Babalu" Sobral.
   
Shlemenko, a former middleweight champion, has competed under the Viacom-owned promotion's umbrella since Bellator 16 in 2010. Known for his vicious finishing ability, "Storm" ruled with an iron fist over Bellator's 185-pound division, defending his belt on three occasions. One of the most dominant champions in Bellator history and currently riding a five-fight win streak, which includes a TKO victory over Kendall Grove at Bellator 162, Shlemenko has his sights set on earning a shot at once again becoming world champion.

Great fight coming up. Card is looking really good.

Can't miss this one tonight.

I thought Shlemenko won the fight two rounds to one.

CDF47 wrote:I thought Shlemenko won the fight two rounds to one.

Aewsome fight Bellator need to do 5 rounds main event

Kingfedor wrote:

CDF47 wrote:I thought Shlemenko won the fight two rounds to one.

Aewsome fight Bellator need to do 5 rounds main event

It was a great fight and very close. I agree, I would have liked to see 5 rounds in that one.

Really terrible decision. They had judges who did not know what they were watching.

Schlmenko deserved to win that fight. This decision directly impacts the size of Schlmenko's bank account.

Schlmenko was the underdog; managed to set himself apart in the fight, and was in control down the stretch. If it had been 5 rounds, Schlmenko likely would have got a knockout.

"They should be 5 round fights" is not an excuse for the judges getting this 3 round fight wrong.

Judges who determine winners merely on the basis of takedowns, are disgusting filth who are single-handedly able to make MMA close to unwatchable.

nodogoshi wrote:Really terrible decision. They had judges who did not know what they were watching.

Schlmenko deserved to win that fight. This decision directly impacts the size of Schlmenko's bank account.

Schlmenko was the underdog; managed to set himself apart in the fight, and was in control down the stretch. If it had been 5 rounds, Schlmenko likely would have got a knockout.

"They should be 5 round fights" is not an excuse for the judges getting this 3 round fight wrong.

Judges who determine winners merely on the basis of takedowns, are disgusting filth who are single-handedly able to make MMA close to unwatchable.

I agree, Shlemenko won that fight.

^^ so much for the whole the ufc dominates everyone don't take as this I'm ripping on gegard I'm not this just proves that fighters from other organization can beat fighters from the ufc even though that has been proven numerous times.

nodogoshi wrote:Really terrible decision. They had judges who did not know what they were watching.

Schlmenko deserved to win that fight. This decision directly impacts the size of Schlmenko's bank account.

Schlmenko was the underdog; managed to set himself apart in the fight, and was in control down the stretch. If it had been 5 rounds, Schlmenko likely would have got a knockout.

"They should be 5 round fights" is not an excuse for the judges getting this 3 round fight wrong.

Judges who determine winners merely on the basis of takedowns, are disgusting filth who are single-handedly able to make MMA close to unwatchable.

Sadly, that's Unified Rules for you. We all know the judging and the criteria sucks.

westcott123 wrote:^^ so much for the whole the ufc dominates everyone don't take as this I'm ripping on gegard  I'm not this  just proves that fighters from other organization can beat fighters from the ufc even though that has been proven numerous times.

Yup. Yet, the media and the zombies still don't get it. Of course, if Mousasi lost, they would think of some excuse like him being passed his prime or something.

Rocksoldier84 wrote:

westcott123 wrote:^^ so much for the whole the ufc dominates everyone don't take as this I'm ripping on gegard  I'm not this  just proves that fighters from other organization can beat fighters from the ufc even though that has been proven numerous times.

Yup. Yet, the media and the zombies still don't get it. Of course, if Mousasi lost, they would think of some excuse like him being passed his prime or something.

They are/were saying mousasi sucks they sure as Hell like to flip flop

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10156413498189057&id=151428654056

I thought I post this my opinion ? The ufc is very overrated they have people believing "they're the best everyone else sucks" the ufc is a sinking ship anyway the zombies don't see that companies like bellator, Rizin, ksw,one fc etc these organization are growing bigger each year ksw with europe one fc in se Asia Rizin in north Asia bellator is also threat to the ufc .

I will add this the zombies might laugh at these organization for signing unknown at the end of the day those unknown will be the next super stars . They can laugh and say 'what a bunch of nobodies " I bet they wouldn't laugh when all of a sudden all the ufc most popular fighters have retired or moved onto something else the ufc has never built a star any way Chuck Tito Randy gsp Penn etc they built the ufc .

westcott123 wrote:https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10156413498189057&id=151428654056

I thought I post this my opinion ? The ufc is very overrated they have people believing "they're the best everyone else sucks" the ufc is a sinking ship anyway the zombies don't see that companies like bellator, Rizin, ksw,one fc etc these organization are growing bigger each year ksw with europe one fc in se Asia Rizin in north Asia bellator is also threat to the ufc .

I will add this the zombies might laugh at these organization for signing unknown at the end of the day those unknown will be the next super stars . They can laugh and say 'what a bunch of nobodies " I bet they wouldn't laugh when all of a sudden all the ufc most popular fighters have retired or moved onto something else the ufc has never built a star any way Chuck Tito Randy gsp Penn etc they built the ufc .

MMAFighting has also brought it up. It's like these sites are dumbfounded as to why guys have been struggling in Bellator. Maybe it's because UFC isn't the be-all, end-all. Then again, everyone is late to the dance anyway since the whole "UFC has the best fighters in the world" bit should've been debunked years ago when PRIDE fighters like Rampage, Big Nog, and Shogun won titles despite coming from a promotion where they used steroids and competed in fixed fights with dangerous rules as well as Strikeforce when their fighters began showing up and winning titles after the media and zombies laughed at Scott Coker for even saying his guys could compete with UFC's best. Not to mention, UFC never sent fighters to other organizations or even compete in a tournament. Of course, they can't afford that. It's not the end of the world for Bellator for Mo to have won RIZIN's Grand Prix in 2015 while losing in 2016 cause you win some and you lose some. UFC has built themselves a sort of house of cards where they couldn't afford one of their top fighters to lose elsewhere because they built the brand on the illusion of having the best in the world and the place where a fighter HAD to go in order to prove they were the best. Now, the illusion is getting exposed with UFC losing their top fighters who then don't light the world on fire when they go someplace else while others are either constantly injured or flunking drug tests.

westcott123 wrote:^^ so much for the whole the ufc dominates everyone don't take as this I'm ripping on gegard  I'm not this  just proves that fighters from other organization can beat fighters from the ufc even though that has been proven numerous times.

Very true

Rocksoldier84 wrote:

westcott123 wrote:https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10156413498189057&id=151428654056

I thought I post this my opinion ? The ufc is very overrated they have people believing "they're the best everyone else sucks" the ufc is a sinking ship anyway the zombies don't see that companies like bellator, Rizin, ksw,one fc etc these organization are growing bigger each year ksw with europe one fc in se Asia Rizin in north Asia bellator is also threat to the ufc .

I will add this the zombies might laugh at these organization for signing unknown at the end of the day those unknown will be the next super stars . They can laugh and say 'what a bunch of nobodies " I bet they wouldn't laugh when all of a sudden all the ufc most popular fighters have retired or moved onto something else the ufc has never built a star any way Chuck Tito Randy gsp Penn etc they built the ufc .

MMAFighting has also brought it up. It's like these sites are dumbfounded as to why guys have been struggling in Bellator. Maybe it's because UFC isn't the be-all, end-all. Then again, everyone is late to the dance anyway since the whole "UFC has the best fighters in the world" bit should've been debunked years ago when PRIDE fighters like Rampage, Big Nog, and Shogun won titles despite coming from a promotion where they used steroids and competed in fixed fights with dangerous rules as well as Strikeforce when their fighters began showing up and winning titles after the media and zombies laughed at Scott Coker for even saying his guys could compete with UFC's best. Not to mention, UFC never sent fighters to other organizations or even compete in a tournament. Of course, they can't afford that. It's not the end of the world for Bellator for Mo to have won RIZIN's Grand Prix in 2015 while losing in 2016 cause you win some and you lose some. UFC has built themselves a sort of house of cards where they couldn't afford one of their top fighters to lose elsewhere because they built the brand on the illusion of having the best in the world and the place where a fighter HAD to go in order to prove they were the best. Now, the illusion is getting exposed with UFC losing their top fighters who then don't light the world on fire when they go someplace else while others are either constantly injured or flunking drug tests.

As for the pride guys people seem to or purposely forget these guys had a ton of fight's 4-6 per year even "cans" can still cause mileage .

Wand the whole 22 Japan can't win 2 over here the left out the part after he beat rampage he went 4-4 was and was brutally ko in 2 of them

Cro cop was fighting at the highest level even before mma k1 he had he over what at least 60-100 matches prior to his ufc debut of course the injuries will pile up the whole uh he won a grand Prix just last year yeah how many people have won a championship just to lose next year ?

Big npg accumulation of damage still won a interim belt .

Gomi 2-2 even before his ufc debut

Fedor even before the werdum lost you could tell he was slowing down .

Then you have

Shogun won ufc belt even with all the injuries

Rampage was ko twice by wand comes and easily ends the ice man era

Werdum former pride/strike force fighter beat the new breed Cain

Anderson goes from being tapped by cans in japan to being a world champion in less then 2 years in the USA

Overeem 7-7 in pride he shit talks Fedor he should talk had a shot at the ufc belt .

westcott123 wrote:

Rocksoldier84 wrote:

westcott123 wrote:https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10156413498189057&id=151428654056

I thought I post this my opinion ? The ufc is very overrated they have people believing "they're the best everyone else sucks" the ufc is a sinking ship anyway the zombies don't see that companies like bellator, Rizin, ksw,one fc etc these organization are growing bigger each year ksw with europe one fc in se Asia Rizin in north Asia bellator is also threat to the ufc .

I will add this the zombies might laugh at these organization for signing unknown at the end of the day those unknown will be the next super stars . They can laugh and say 'what a bunch of nobodies " I bet they wouldn't laugh when all of a sudden all the ufc most popular fighters have retired or moved onto something else the ufc has never built a star any way Chuck Tito Randy gsp Penn etc they built the ufc .

MMAFighting has also brought it up. It's like these sites are dumbfounded as to why guys have been struggling in Bellator. Maybe it's because UFC isn't the be-all, end-all. Then again, everyone is late to the dance anyway since the whole "UFC has the best fighters in the world" bit should've been debunked years ago when PRIDE fighters like Rampage, Big Nog, and Shogun won titles despite coming from a promotion where they used steroids and competed in fixed fights with dangerous rules as well as Strikeforce when their fighters began showing up and winning titles after the media and zombies laughed at Scott Coker for even saying his guys could compete with UFC's best. Not to mention, UFC never sent fighters to other organizations or even compete in a tournament. Of course, they can't afford that. It's not the end of the world for Bellator for Mo to have won RIZIN's Grand Prix in 2015 while losing in 2016 cause you win some and you lose some. UFC has built themselves a sort of house of cards where they couldn't afford one of their top fighters to lose elsewhere because they built the brand on the illusion of having the best in the world and the place where a fighter HAD to go in order to prove they were the best. Now, the illusion is getting exposed with UFC losing their top fighters who then don't light the world on fire when they go someplace else while others are either constantly injured or flunking drug tests.

As for the pride guys people seem to or purposely forget these guys had a ton of fight's  4-6 per year even "cans" can still cause mileage .

Wand the whole 22 Japan can't win 2 over here the left out the part after he beat rampage he went 4-4 was and was brutally ko in 2 of them

Cro cop  was fighting at the highest level even before mma k1 he had he over what at least 60-100 matches prior to his ufc debut of course the injuries will pile up the whole uh he won a grand Prix just last year yeah how many people have won a championship just to lose next year ?

Big npg accumulation of damage still won a interim belt .

Gomi 2-2 even before his ufc debut

Fedor even before the werdum lost you could tell he was slowing down .

Then you have

Shogun won ufc belt even with all the injuries

Rampage was ko twice by wand comes and easily ends the ice man era

Werdum former pride/strike force fighter beat the new breed Cain

Anderson goes from being tapped by cans in japan to being a world champion in less then 2 years in the USA

Overeem 7-7 in pride he shit talks Fedor he should talk had a shot at the  ufc belt .

Yeah, that's what a lot of people don't get. Cans or not, you fight 4-6 times a year, it will add up cause you're constantly training and you never rest your body.

All of these are true.

Big Nog not only had mileage but his whole thing is getting mauled until catching his opponent in a submission.

Gomi was arguably beginning to decline when he fought Diaz as he then had a mixed record after that before going to UFC and even lost to Kitoaka in less than two minutes in Sengoku.

Fedor's decline seemed to begin with Arlovski and really showed with Rogers before losing to Werdum which was mostly cause he was overzealous.

Overeem was not only 7-7 in PRIDE but went from a skinny 205er to a jacked up, roided up 265er who was accused for roids for years before eventually getting caught.

Cro Cop was a bunch of reasons namely injuries, mileage, admitting he didn't adjust and still trained in a ring, had outdated training, and even said he really went to the UFC for the money.

The Werdum one was hilarious because Dana treated him like some can after he beat Fedor by usually not referring to him by name and saying how Fedor lost to "a guy they cut" only for him to not only beat the next evolution in heavyweight MMA but the guy UFC crowned the heavyweight GOAT.

Also, let's not forget that PRIDE guys had to adjust to fighting on the other side of the world, different rules, a cage instead of a ring, different judging criteria, and even the amount of time they fought.

In the mean time, what was so special about a lot of the UFC legends?

Chuck Liddell is one of the most protected fighters in MMA history as he spent most of his prime facing grapplers who played right into his strengths. He rarely fought strikers and when he did, he usually struggled. Finally, when he lost his chin, he got knocked out right and left.

Anderson Silva is supposed to be the GOAT at one time and a guy "who pulled off stuff you see in movies" but only fought one striker in Belfort while most of his opponents were sloppy headhunters and grapplers. Also, for all the matrix stuff, it's not that hard to pull off if you're a great technical striker facing off against a swing for the fences puncher. Cro Cop more or less did it against Wanderlei in their second fight though he did take damage.

GSP is a great and smart fighter but is also known for playing safe and uses his opponents weaknesses. Sure he outgrappled Koscheck in their first fight but for the most part, he would strike with grapplers and grapple with strikers.

BJ Penn is considered the lightweight GOAT and does have some good wins including one over Gomi but he never dominated a stacked and murderer's row lightweight division, he didn't have a big schedule, and he always was bouncing around weight classes so he didn't have a long dominant run. Outside of the loss to Penn, Gomi easily has a better argument to lightweight GOAT as does Aoki and Alveraz to name some. Penn is a legend and a talented fighter who could've been the GOAT but didn't and is an example of someone put on a pedestal because he was successful at one time or another in the UFC.

Jones is very talented but has not only flunked two drug tests but has earned a reputation as a dirty fighter with his constant oblique kicks and eye pokes. You could also argue he probably should be at heavyweight given his height and reach.

Tito Ortiz benefited from a weak UFC as he earned several records the easy way by dominating a shallow UFC, he won the title when the guy who he previously lost to vacated it & briefly retired, and he only made two good title defenses in Kondo and Matyushenko while also defending against a declining Ken Shamrock, can Elvis Sinosic, and an undersized Evan Tanner.

Cain Velasquez is another great fighter but was never able to stay healthy and is riddled with injuries despite being an evolved fighter.

Even Royce Gracie is overrated as he dominated at a time when few Americans knew about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or Vale Tudo so he always had advantages coming in with a martial art styles Americans were unfamiliar with while being one the few to know anything about Vale Tudo or Japanese MMA. Meanwhile, it was also said his family made sure judokas couldn't compete in UFC tournaments and he bailed once more rules were added. Finally, he became notorious for throwing his and his family's reputation around to get special rules for his fights instead of fighting with the same rules like everyone else and he tried to rig the game in his favor against Sakuraba only to STILL lose.

Now, these guys are good to great fighters but people need to realize UFC fighters and champions aren't super saiyan or anything.

CDF47 wrote:

westcott123 wrote:^^ so much for the whole the ufc dominates everyone don't take as this I'm ripping on gegard  I'm not this  just proves that fighters from other organization can beat fighters from the ufc even though that has been proven numerous times.

Very true

Last week he is going to tear through everyone now today he was never get that good anyway .

Rocksoldier84 wrote:

nodogoshi wrote:Really terrible decision. They had judges who did not know what they were watching.

Schlmenko deserved to win that fight. This decision directly impacts the size of Schlmenko's bank account.

Schlmenko was the underdog; managed to set himself apart in the fight, and was in control down the stretch. If it had been 5 rounds, Schlmenko likely would have got a knockout.

"They should be 5 round fights" is not an excuse for the judges getting this 3 round fight wrong.

Judges who determine winners merely on the basis of takedowns, are disgusting filth who are single-handedly able to make MMA close to unwatchable.

Sadly, that's Unified Rules for you. We all know the judging and the criteria sucks.

I actually thought he should have won, by the criteria, and that it was actually a poor decision, although the unified rules definitely make such decisions a lot more probable.

westcott123 wrote:https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10156413498189057&id=151428654056

I thought I post this my opinion ? The ufc is very overrated they have people believing "they're the best everyone else sucks" the ufc is a sinking ship anyway the zombies don't see that companies like bellator, Rizin, ksw,one fc etc these organization are growing bigger each year ksw with europe one fc in se Asia Rizin in north Asia bellator is also threat to the ufc .

I will add this the zombies might laugh at these organization for signing unknown at the end of the day those unknown will be the next super stars . They can laugh and say 'what a bunch of nobodies " I bet they wouldn't laugh when all of a sudden all the ufc most popular fighters have retired or moved onto something else the ufc has never built a star any way Chuck Tito Randy gsp Penn etc they built the ufc .

I think the world of MMA is gradually moving beyond the UFC.

It's a global sport, and the more it spreads and grows, the less relative significance, as a trend setter, does the UFC exert.

For instance, a lot of the fights in Russia, as well as elsewhere, are at a higher level, in terms of technique and skill of the average fighters. It doesn't matter where a guy fights. When you have top level muay thai fighters, absolutely obliterating people in OneFC, these guys are all world class fighters.

^^ mma would go a lot further if it was more global then just one organization.
It is great to see a specialist in any particular martial arts fighting in mma certainty much more entertaining then just your basic wrestle boxer .

nodogoshi wrote:

westcott123 wrote:https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10156413498189057&id=151428654056

I thought I post this my opinion ? The ufc is very overrated they have people believing "they're the best everyone else sucks" the ufc is a sinking ship anyway the zombies don't see that companies like bellator, Rizin, ksw,one fc etc these organization are growing bigger each year ksw with europe one fc in se Asia Rizin in north Asia bellator is also threat to the ufc .

I will add this the zombies might laugh at these organization for signing unknown at the end of the day those unknown will be the next super stars . They can laugh and say 'what a bunch of nobodies " I bet they wouldn't laugh when all of a sudden all the ufc most popular fighters have retired or moved onto something else the ufc has never built a star any way Chuck Tito Randy gsp Penn etc they built the ufc .

I think the world of MMA is gradually moving beyond the UFC.

It's a global sport, and the more it spreads and grows, the less relative significance, as a trend setter, does the UFC exert.

For instance, a lot of the fights in Russia, as well as elsewhere, are at a higher level, in terms of technique and skill of the average fighters. It doesn't matter where a guy fights. When you have top level muay thai fighters, absolutely obliterating people in OneFC, these guys are all world class fighters.

Agreed. The sport has passed the UFC by and they now come off like an outdated dinosaur while other companies come off exciting and have bright futures. UFC had it's day but it's day as the be-all, end-all is finally coming to a halt, I think.

In fact, we're now hearing Dana saying they'll probably promote boxing fights which I think is laughable given how despite being a boxing fan he has had almost nothing positive to say about it while his employees and fans have been claiming how boxing is dying or boxing is dead and that UFC will overtake it even saying how UFC was the biggest winner after the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight. UFC's fad has flamed out.

westcott123 wrote:

CDF47 wrote:

westcott123 wrote:^^ so much for the whole the ufc dominates everyone don't take as this I'm ripping on gegard  I'm not this  just proves that fighters from other organization can beat fighters from the ufc even though that has been proven numerous times.

Very true

Last week he is going to tear through everyone now today he was never get that good anyway .

Typical

CDF47 wrote:

westcott123 wrote:

CDF47 wrote:

westcott123 wrote:^^ so much for the whole the ufc dominates everyone don't take as this I'm ripping on gegard  I'm not this  just proves that fighters from other organization can beat fighters from the ufc even though that has been proven numerous times.

Very true

Last week he is going to tear through everyone now today he was never get that good anyway .

Typical

Remember the opposite is true too this guy/gal will get exposed different levels not ufc calibre then they signed and win then all of a sudden I'm a huge fan this guys the goat and don't forget oh he improved cause he/she signed to the ufc .