Before it's popularity the only way I got to see this sport live and in person was when going to see my training partners compete in small local events and on pay per view TV. But, now that it is growing in popularity it's easier to see and one of the organizations that have a unique format that compliments traditional martial arts is Bellator MMA. They do a tournament in various weight classes every year and it gives you something to follow which adds some legitimate drama to draw in fans following a fighter they know.
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| My view of the action |
This seasons tournament opened on 2/28 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut and as a Valentines Day gift from my awesome girlfriend, we got tickets to the opening rounds of this seasons tournaments. Watching the event live in itself was an awesome experience, I've been to other sporting events and have been bored out of my mind but this was entertaining from start to finish. My girlfriend is a mild fan, probably because I am a fan but after this we are both hooked to these shows in this format and having been to this has me glued to my TV more so on Friday nights than normal since we were there for the opening rounds. I was so into the action I probably could have taken better photos but I was so drawn in I almost forgot to take any.
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| Rampage Entrance |
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| King Mo Entrance |
This one was of particular interest to me because a fighter I had followed since his early days in King of the Cage, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. His match was the main event against Christian M'Pumbu and the drama that followed it electrified everybody in the arena, by this point if you haven't read anything else about it you know that he won by TKO in the first round. The drama that followed after was more talked about then the match because of the tournament format, Bellator usually has the main even next round guys meet in the cage to promote the next match. Mr. Jackson is not old, I know people in their mid 30's can be considered too old for combat sports but Martial Arts is not like boxing, your game can adjust to compete longer so why M'Pumbu would say he would "retire" Jackson is a little confusing (M'Pumbu is a year older than he is). Regardless, this really upset Jackson and when his next opponent Mohammed "King Mo" Lawal walked in the ring, he almost went after him there. He pretty much wanted to put the division on notice, do not take him lightly. They are slated to be the co-main event for the Chandler/ Alvarez III Pay per view on May 17th. Too bad it's not earlier in the month, when they are at The Revel in Atlantic City as I may make that show, but that card looks pretty good too for the main event alone. I'll be writing about that one and watching the the Pay per view on the 17th so May is pretty exciting for the fight fans of Bellator MMA.
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