The hype surrounding Bellator 161 was quickly overshadowed by one man, who came out of retirement and signed with Bellator MMA. Three years after getting into trouble with the SAC and announcing his retirement, Chael Sonnen signed up with Scott Coker – led promotion, garnering the attention of MMA fans from all around the world.
Sonnen and Coker took part in a media conference call just hours before the preliminary card of Bellator 161 took place, as Sonnen was asked about why he joined Bellator, and if he would face any repercussions from NSAC. Sonnen made it clear that while he did join the USADA testing pool not too long ago, the decision to join Bellator wasn’t a long, drawn out process. Instead, apparently Coker and Sonnen talked and texted for 2 – 3 days before the former UFC middleweight decided to join Bellator MMA.
The Bellator 161 card had some good bouts, but the talk of the town was none other than “The American Gangster”. The eyes of the MMA world were also on the Russian sensation, Anastasia Yankova as she took part in her second BMMA bout. Below are the results from the preliminary card of Bellator 161.
Preliminary card:
Armando Villareal (1-0) defeated Tommy Burghardt (0-1) via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:08 of round one
Sean Clements (1-0) defeated David Ramirez (0-1) via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27 2x)
Matt Mazurek (4-4) defeated Jose Guerra (0-3) via split decision (29-28, 30-27, 28-29)
Daniel Pineda (22-12) defeated Mark Dickman (11-3) via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:07 of round three
Emily Ducote (4-1) defeated Kenya Miranda (2-3) via submission (armbar) at 4:37 of round two
Rey Trujillo (21-15) defeated Deuce King (15-18) via submission (reverse arm triangle) at 1:20 of round one
Garrett Scott (2-0) defeated Waylon Bronstrup (0-1) via submission (rear-naked choke) at 0:50 of round one
Nick Gonzalez (19-13) defeated Warren Stewart (11-23) via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Main card:
On the main card, the first fight of the evening was between the inspirational Djamil Chan and Derek Campos. The first round of the fight saw Chan landing a good jab, followed by a vicious left hook, sending Campos crashing to the mat. However, Chan wasn’t successful in finishing the fight, as he swarmed in, but Campos somehow managed to stay in the fight.
In the second and third rounds, Campos maintained his composure and worked on Chan, taking him to the ground. Campos carried this momentum till the very end, picking up a unanimous decision victory in the process.
Derek Campos defeated Djamil Chan (UD, 29 – 28 x 3)
The second fight on the main card saw the former Muay Thai world champion, Anastasia Yankova taking on the gritty Veta Arteaga. Yankova told us in an exclusive interview before the fight that she was looking forward to the challenge, especially against someone like Arteaga, who is a purple belt in BJJ. However, Veta came in with a different game plan, as she traded with Yankova on the feet.
Veta managed to slip into the pockets and connected with some good combinations, while Yankova unsuccessfully tried to work from the outside. Veta rushed in and closed the distance, showing great skill and slick movement, while Yankova had very little idea about containing the high volume offense of Arteaga. In the end, while it looked like Veta had done enough to pick up a decision victory, the judges went ahead with Yankova.
Anastasia herself didn’t look happy with the result, while the fans inside the H – E – B Center in Cedar Park expressed their displeasure at the decision. Yankova said she wanted to go three more rounds with Veta next time to produce a clear winner.
Anastasia Yankova defeated Veta Arteaga (SD, 28 – 29, 29 – 28 x 2)
The co – main event saw the former two division champion, Joe Warren taking on Sirwan Kakai. Both the fighters tried to establish control in the first round, while neither fighter managed to get the edge over their opponent. In the second round, Kakai nearly finished Warren off with a flying armbar, but couldn’t clamp his legs together to put enough pressure on Warren.
Warren survived the submission attempt, and in the third round, defended a takedown attempt and immediately caught Kakai in a guillotine choke, as Kakai tapped out in the opening minutes of the third round to give Warren the submission victory.
Joe Warren defeated Sirwan Kakai (Guillotine) (Round 3, 1:04)
In the main event, former UFC competitor Cheick Kongo took on Tony Johnson, in what turned out to be a typical Cheick Kongo fight. Kongo did very little to ensure he could finish the fight, and instead coasted to a majority decision victory. The fans weren’t thrilled about the main event, but a victory over Johnson ensured that Kongo continues his win streak, as he has now racked up three consecutive victories.
Cheick Kongo defeated Tony Johnson (Majority Decision) (28 – 28, 29 – 28 x2)
