Bellator 300

The official Tapology discussion thread for the event!

Cotton vs. Neal
Grant Neal, DEC
Cotton might be a interesting dog here but after that turd he dropped against Rosta I can't pull the trigger.

Easy win for Hrytsenko (DEC 30-27)

Nurmagomedov vs. Primus
Usman Nurmagomedov, DEC
Primus is underrated imo, he has weaknesses but is a dangerous and tough fighter. But Usman is the truth, he can do it all and is only getting better. Hopefully Primus will make it interesting with scrambles and this should be a fun one!

Carmouche vs. Macfarlane
Liz Carmouche, DEC
Ilima-lei is so dang likable, but the division has caught up with her recently and Liz is an all-time great on a tear. I hope they let it all out and it isn't boring given their history as friends, and we get to see both have a good night.

Hrytsenko vs. Montalvo
Dmytrii Hrytsenko, DEC
This is a tough one, both are a little unknown to me. Montalvo is a fantastic boxer and Dmytri seems pretty solid everywhere, plus he trains with Amosov which is a good sign. I'll go with the Ukrainian assuming that he can wrestle and neutralize Montalvo.

McCourt vs. McMann
Sara McMann, DEC
Fan of McMann! McCourt is tricky on bottom and has good scrambling ability but McCann is so strong and I think she can deal with the sub threat. She looked great against Blencowe who is one of the best 145ers in the world.

Cotton vs. Neal
Grant Neal, DEC
Cotton is real strong, and a pretty good athlete. Neal is both those things and also a better martial artist in my view. It's a new weight class for Neal, but he was a pretty small lhw so it shouldn't affect him too much.

Joanne vs. Bishop
Jena Bishop, DEC
Ilara is solid but hasn't broken out of the middle of the pack, only gotten close decision wins over Kielholtz who is probably her best opponent. Idk how good Bishop is yet but she has some decent wins herself.

@Thesnake101 

That loss was at lhw, his recoverability was much worse.
Moot point now anyway lol

This will be the second title defense of his Bellator Lightweight title for the Russian phenom, Usman Nurmagomedov. Coming in he’s riding a 6-fight win streak in his Bellator run, four of those by first round stoppage. The challenger will be the tough, hard nose veteran in Brent Primus. Primus has had mixed results in the last few years, winning two of his last four, but he will come into this with a good amount of experience being a former Bellator Lightweight champion. Will this be a chance for Primus to turn back the clock and reclaim Bellator Gold or will the young, hungry Russian continue his path of destruction within Bellator and build upon his own growing legacy? 

Stand Up Phase:

Nurmagomedov (OX) has a traditional kickboxing style with heavy emphasis on using a variety of kicks to set up his offense. He’s primarily an OX fighter but has shown the ability to control from SP as well. Nurmagomedov throws kicks using his front and back leg, attacking high and low to confuse his OPPs before finding the chance to land combinations or secure the clinch. He has solid defensive footwork and good head movement. Primus (OX) uses a lot of wild hook combinations and forward pressure, but his unpredictability can be an asset. He tends to be somewhat of a plodding fighter and can be reckless offensively at times. His speed is not great but his ability to absorb damage and his great cardio allows him to wear down more adept strikers he’s faced before. He does, however, tend to retreat in straight lines when avoiding strikes. Prediction: Nurmagomedov will be able to control the stand up with little issue unless Primus is able to sporadically find chances to uses his bursts of offense to keep Nurmagomedov confused or land a heavy shot. 

Clinch Phase:

Nurmagomedov has a variety of ways of attack and TDs to force the fight to the ground. He uses heavy elbows and knees to wear down his OPPs within the clinch and if the opportunity arises, can lock on quick neck attacks. His TD defense is great as well which he uses to reverse position and find opportunities to secure the TD. He’s also shown the ability to seamlessly transition from striking into TD attempts. His quick level change causes his OPPs great trepidation as they’re unable to comfortably settle into their stand up due to the looming TD threat. Primus has very strong control in the clinch being able to overpower OPPs and find chances for leg trips and double underhook TDs. He seems to have a sizeable strength advantage over most of his OPPs. However, he does tend to give up top position by choosing to jump on neck attacks or arm locks from the clinch. Primus has good TD defense against the cage. Prediction: This will probably be the phase that is the most interesting in terms of determining the course of this fight. Primus most likely has the strength advantage and will lean on that to slow down the grappling exchanges. However, I believe Nurmagomedov will find chances to shoot for TDs in open space with doubles and singles. This will allow him to quickly find top position and not waste energy attempting to force Primus to the ground against the cage or remain in a constant underhook battle. 

Ground Phase:

Nurmagomedov has heavy top pressure and ground control that he uses effectively to secure dominant positions. From there, he chooses to either find the submission or punish his OPPs with vicious GnP. He also has good cage awareness and routinely forces his OPPs body away from the cage so they’re not able to use the cage to assist their return to the feet. When in top control he typically remains in HG and lands GnP before wearing down the OPP to transition to the mount or back control. Primus has heavy top pressure and ground control which he mainly uses to secure position. His GnP is a bit lacking, but his variety of submission attempts do well to keep his OPPs wary and forces them to expend energy. He’s very active on bottom choosing to attack kimuras from HG or guillotines from FG to reverse position and return to top position. His submission defense is very good along with his defensive scrambling ability. Prediction: The one to control the top position in this fight will most likely win. Nurmagomedov has great control along with effective GnP but this will probably be his toughest challenge on the ground to date. Primus has great cardio so I could see the possibility of Nurmagomedov being forced to expend too much effort in order to control Primus. If that happens, it’s not impossible for Primus to grind his way to an uneventful decision win. 

Prediction: Nurmagomedov wins by Third Round TKO

I predict Nurmagomedov to remain calm and control Primus on the feet before finding opportunities to land good counters and set up kick combinations. Due to his good conditioning, Primus will be extremely durable and possibly find bursts of offense to put Nurmagomedov on the back foot, but Nurmagomedov’s patience and clean striking will wear Primus down before ultimately finding a well-timed combination to set up a GnP finish. 

Abbreviations: 
OX: Orthodox 
SP: Southpaw 
GnP: Ground and pound 
TD: Takedown
HG: Half Guard 
FG: Full Guard 
OPP: Opponent 

Carmouche vs. Macfarlane
Liz Carmouche, SUB, R3
Ilima-lei getting a title shot off a robbery lol...that Justine Kish loss was bad even though Kish has done well for herself

Cyborg vs. Zingano
Cat Zingano, DEC
Zingano is so ****i** hot

Santos vs. Cataline
Jackie Cataline, DEC
Cataline 🥵

Nurmagomedov vs. Primus
Usman Nurmagomedov, SUB, R2
Easy W for Usman

Def takin chuck norris here 🤣😂

Cyborg vs. Zingano
Cris Cyborg, TKO, R3
Out

Santos vs. Cataline
Lorrany Santos, DEC
Out

Hrytsenko vs. Montalvo
Dmytrii Hrytsenko, DEC
Out

McCourt vs. McMann
Sara McMann, DEC
Out

Cossio vs. Roberts
Jesse Roberts, DEC
Out

Corrales vs. Kamaka III
Kai Kamaka III, DEC
Out

Franklin vs. Trabelsi
Slim Trabelsi, TKO, R1
Out

Yagshimuradov vs. Różański
Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov, DEC
Out

Berkhamov vs. Terrado
Mukhamed Berkhamov, SUB, R2
Out

Cotton vs. Neal
Grant Neal, DEC
Out

Hokit vs. Smith
Josh Hokit, TKO, R1
Out

Bellator has so many catchweight fights, I can't decide if that's annoying or if I like it.

Grant Neal easily made MW, I'm excited for him in this weightclass! He should be big and strong, even if Cotton isn't the best opponent to show that against lol.

 Drake Riggs on X: "Liz Carmouche vs. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane has now been changed to a three-round non-title fight. ANOTHER CORRECTION: The fight WILL remain a five-round title fight. Carmouche can win and defend the title. If Macfarlane wins, the title is vacant. #Bellator300" / X (twitter.com)    a mess lol

* Edited at 10.06.2023, 2:47 PM ET *

Imagine missing weight three times. Ilima lei is such a joke, hope carmouche sleeps her

* Edited at 10.06.2023, 2:47 PM ET *

How did Usman look at weigh in they said he was recovering from injury?

* Edited at 10.06.2023, 3:05 PM ET *

He had to use the towel but looked fine & made weight 

@notmisery 

Wow so two opponents in a row for Carmouche miss weight and cannot win the title? That division needs help lol, Liz deserves better.

Update: vibes at the weigh-in are super weird. Ilima-Lei seems like she's just showing up to lose to her friend, super bizarre. She didn't make weight and spent the face off pointing to Liz.

* Edited at 10.06.2023, 4:24 PM ET *

And I keep waiting for them to change the bout order, is this really it? Doesn't make much sense

Meredith vs. Peimbert
Bryce Meredith, SUB, R1
When people ask why Bellator went bankrupt, show them matchmaking like this. NCAA div I wrestler vs guy who got submitted at ******* GLADIATOR CHALLENGE.

McCourt vs. McMann
Sara McMann, DEC
good time to run to the store for snacks

Hokit vs. Smith
Josh Hokit, TKO, R1
Football Man