Date: 10/14	5:15 PM
Views: 2,229

Tonight we'll be covering Bellator Fighting Championships 32 LIVE from cageside at the Power & Light District in Kansas City. Check here for all preliminary fight results at 7 ET as well as the main card which will be televised on tape delay (check your local listings).

6:15 ET. Not a whole lot to report yet except that they've moved the cage closer to the middle of the plaza in the Power & Light District, and put the media row on an elevated platform right in front of the Kansas City Live! neon sign. I'll post pics of the cage and tonight's card + main event momentarily.

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6:40 ET. Last time I was here the promoter told me that local fights wouldn't begin as scheduled unless the EMT's and medical personnel were on time - but they were and they did. This time they're here 20 minutes early so there's DEFINITELY no worries about things going off without a hitch - I just saw them carry in two stretcher boards. Hopefully they won't be needed but it is MMA and you never know. Michael C. Williams just tested the house mic and came through loud and clear over the speakers.

6:50 ET. Williams just announced that Brian Davidson vs. Shane Hutchison will kick off local fights in ten minutes. While we've got a few minutes I want to take this time to thank Doc G for helping me score two tickets to UFC 124: GSP vs. Koscheck II in Montreal today. I was live in Las Vegas the first time they fought at UFC 74 and it will be a pleasure and an honor to cover their rematch. After a full season of feuding on The Ultimate Fighter it will be explosive!

7 ET. We're listening to the strains of Black Eyed Peas while waiting for the first fight to be announced. I got a feeling, that tonight's gonna be a good night.

* Shane Hutchison (4-6, Topeka, KS) vs. Brian Davidson (5-3, Kansas City, MO) - Bantamweight

Hutchison is fighting out of the red corner and appropriately enough he's wearing red trunks trimmed with white. Davidson is in in the blue corner, black trunks with a Combat Clinic logo and green trim. Williams is announcing the ringside doctors, timekeepers and Bellator sponsors. Our referee for this bout is Jason Herzog. They touch gloves at 7:09 and it's time to get it on!

Hutchison is the first fighter to hit the canvas but quickly pops back up. Hutchison is throwing looping punches and not hitting much. Davidson caught him with a leg kick, started pummeling him on the ground when he stumbled, and just like that THIS FIGHT IS OVER. The handy video monitor near us shows a clear view of him turtling up to avoid more damage before Herzog saved him. OFFICIAL TIME OF 54 SECONDS FOR THE WINNER BY KNOCKOUT VICTORY FOR BRIAN 'B-RIAN' DAVIDSON! He improves to 6-3 and Hutchison falls to 4-7. Williams announces or next fight will be in a few minutes, plus the KC Live! Plaza, and tells everybody to go nuts at the top of the hour to show the world that Kansas City is the best venue on the Bellator tour.

* Chris Page (1-2, Kansas City, MO) vs. Michael Chandler (3-0, Tucson, AZ) - 165 Lb. Catchweight

'Pitbull' Page is described as 1-1 by the announcer Williams. He lists Chandler trunks as 4-0 so both records on our bout sheet are incorrect. Chandler is on top of Page less than 30 seconds into the fight and is BLASTING him with shots in the fence. He pulls Page to his feet in a TIGHT guillotine and once again we have another prelim under in less than a minute as Page TAPS OUT. Page is pissed off and punches a pole after his poor performance. 50 SECONDS OF R1 FOR THE WINNER VIA SUBMISSION AND STILL UNDEFEATED: MICHAEL CHANDLER. Incidentally this was originally listed as a live televised bout on the card but got switched with the Danny Tims fight - undoubtedly a good choice.

7:50 ET. Lots of time to fill since the two local fights ended early so I had a good chance to talk to one of the local radio hosts (O-Zone) from FightShowLive.com (website in development) and we talked about fighters taking too many concussions in both MMA and boxing - both Muhammad Ali and Chuck Liddell came up. Incidentally another of the fights on the bout sheet has been changed - Rudy Bears will be fighting Chad 'The Grinder' Reiner instead of the originally scheduled Demi Deeds from Des Moines.

7:55 ET. They just threw to Sean Wheelock and Jimmy Smith to preview tonight's fights, and it's airing over the video feed locally (don't know if this is also going out to the Fox affiliates but it looks like it would/should be). They put over Cole Konrad vs. Neil Grove for the Bellator Heavyweight Championship huge as well as Ryan Thomas vs. Jim Wallhead and Ed West vs. Zack Makovsky for the Bantamweight Championship.

8:02 ET. We are LIVE from KANSAS CITY! There appear to be almost as many people watching live from the balcony as there are in the seats around the cage, and they're definitely loud and enthusiastic about tonight's show.

* Ryan Thomas (11-5, Danville, IL) vs. Jim Wallhead (19-5, London, UK) - Welterweight

Thomas enters the cage first, then Wallhead is coming out to "Not Afraid." I doubt he is given the many different organizations he has fought for/in. Both fighters are stalling and bouncing up and down on their feet in the cage so we've obviously gone to a commercial break before the bout begins. Williams starts announcing the opening TV bout at 8:09 ET and plugs Full Tilt Poker. Out of the red corner, Thomas wears the black trimmed in gray and was a welterweight semi-finalist in season two - he fights for American Top Team and trains in Coconut Creek, Florida. In the blue corner with the black and Union Jack trunks the experienced veteran 'Judo' Jim Wallhead. Mike England is our ref. Here we go!

Thomas is favoring strikes and Wallhead is favoring leg kicks early. Neither man is giving up much ground in the center of the cage. Thomas shoots for the single leg, can't get it, tries to pull the head down and Wallhead pushes him into the fence. Wallhead has him down to a knee for a split second and Thomas is right back up. They move back to center with 3:15 to go and Wallhead may have stung Thomas with a shot. His strikes seem to be getting better as the round progresses. One or two fans try to start a U-S-A chant which doesn't take. Thomas BLASTS him with a right but Wallhead gets him back into the fence again. Thomas finally shoves him off with 1:40 to go. Wallhead sprawls to avoid the takedown. They're off the fence again with 55 seconds to go trading shots. Thomas is finding his range with the right and he's using body kicks to set it up. Both men trade kicks and shots in the last 10 seconds. Tough round to call - they each had moments of shine but I'll go with Wallhead 10-9 by a narrow margin.

Both fighters are content to trade on their feet for the first minute of R2. Thomas continues to work the body kicks to set up punches. Wallhead responds with a flurry at the 3:15 mark but nothing rocks Thomas' world. Some of Thomas' kicks snap VERY loudly live, but I have no idea how nasty they sound on TV. Thomas seems to have turned this into a kickboxing match and it's too his advantage. He covers up to avoid taking any damage when a shoot attempt puts them in the fence. 1:25 to go. Thomas shoots for a single leg, Wallhead sprawls effectively, Thomas lays on the ground for a second then Wallhead lets him back up. Thomas goes for the clinch again with 45 seconds and Wallhead pushes him into the fence. Thomas had good momentum the first 3 minute but lost a lot of it in the last 2, resulting in another close round. I'll say he took it though and we stand a round each going to the third.

Good crowd tonight BTW - there have been a few slow moments in this contest but no one has booed so far. Wallhead either hits Thomas or he slipped at the start of R3 - I wasn't able to see which. One man really needs to take the fight this round and make it his. Wallhead misses wide with a leg kick and then backs away from some head shots. They get in tight for an exchange but both seem to avoid each other's shots. Thomas pushes forward and puts a couple on Wallhead's chin. He seems to be the aggressor so far in this round. Thomas backs him all the way to the fence with a flurry then lets himself be put on the ground so he can work from his guard. If the judges see Wallhead on top for the next two minutes though that may be all they need to give this fight to him. So far Thomas isn't doing much but holding Wallhead down and throwing pitty-pat shots. Wallhead does appear to have blood in his blonde hair from somewhere - actually I think he cut Thomas open and it's his opponents blood turning his head pink. We're going to the cards and I'll hazard a guess it's Wallhead 29-28 unanimous.

There's a brief discussion in press row about whether or not a Kansas vs. Kansas State game affected local coverage. ALL THREE JUDGES SCORE THE BOUT 29-28 FOR THE WINNER BY UNANIMOUS DECISION: 'JUDO' JIM WALLHEAD. I'm not surprised one bit. Thomas shouldn't have given up top in the third. The bantamweight title bout is up next!

* Ed West (15-4, Tucson, AZ) vs. Zack Makovsky (11-2, Philadelphia, PA) - Bellator Bantamweight Championship

'Wild' West is the first to make his way down the steps from the balcony at 8:39 ET, fighting out of the red corner, and coincidentally wearing red trunks. He must have been checked over before coming down because he goes right into the cage. Makovsky makes his way down to fight out of the blue corner wearing dark blue trunks with yellow trim, and he stops first to remove his footwear before stepping in. Williams announces both fighters at 8:42 ET and Jason Herzog is our referee in charge for 5x5 if needed. Here we go!

Makovsky throws the first kick of the contest. For the recap's sake I'm calling him MAK for short. 'Wild' West is content to just back away and let Mak give chase. Mak throws a left head head kick that misses. He grabs a single leg when West tries a kick and takes him down into guard that doesn't look like it favors him one bit. He's trying to pass to side and West is throwing NASTY elbows at the ribs from the bottom. His upstrikes are nasty too. Mak finally has enough and backs out of it with 2:30 to go and we're to the feet. That was a picture perfect example of a fighter on the bottom winning on his opponent without going for a submission (would have been even more lopsided if he had). Mak throws a thrust kick. West misses and Mak immediately shoots and lands the takedown. 80 seconds left in R1. Once again West is using his guard as an offensive weapon and Mak can't do much to him. He backs out with 42 seconds left and we're to the feet. They circle for the last 20, West lands one good punch before the bell and one that MIGHT have been late after it, but Mak waves it off and doesn't protest. You may disagree with me but I'll give that one 10-9 to West.

Mak shoots for another takedown and gets it 25-30 seconds into R2. He's nearly caught with an upkick backing out of it. Sooner or later one of these takedowns will pay dividends for Mak just by sheer repetition. He has West in a bad spot on the fence for just a second at 3:15 but West rotates away. Mak looks like he's waiting for West to throw any kind of kick now and take him right down again. 2:10 to go in the round. One fan loudly yells QUIT RUNNING at West twice and the moment he does Mak takes him down again. That's why you never let the crowd be your corner man. Mak has finally passed to side control but West is keeping him high and tight so Mak lets go and starts trying to throw bombs down the hole. West stays on his back looking for upkicks and when Mak closes the distance West starts throwing VICIOUS elbows at his head. I can't keep giving West every round from the bottom but I want a lot more from Mak on the ground. I'll wait to decide who won this round until I see more of both men in the third. Pantera's "Walk" entertains us between rounds.

West is very bouncy to open the third but his kicks just wind up getting him taken down again by the Big Mak. Makovsky has his best side control of the whole fight but lets it go and West rolls backward to his feet. 3:30 to go in the third. Mak throws West to the ground at the two minute mark and pops the KC crowd. He's got side again and now he's punishing West with forearms to the forehead. I'm giving Mak R2 now and he's winning R3 too. He pulls out and has to watch those upkicks again, then winds up in full guard. Every time he tries to posture up, he has to watch West catching him. Once again West rolls to his feet at 1:35 left. West guillotines Mak on a takedown but I don't think he's got it tight. The ref is checking closely. Mak pops his head out with 20 seconds to go and throws some nice shots. He ends R3 on top and I've got him up 2-1 and I'm now doubting picking West in the first.

Mak has him down 15 seconds into R4 and Jimmy Smith's unofficial scoring on the press row monitor has Mak up 3-0. Mak is circling to the side but backs off AGAIN when he gets too high 90 seconds in. When he comes back down West is clearly looking for a submission, his legs wrapped tightly around Mak's back and moving up ever higher inch by inch. Inexplicably the ref decides there's too much inactivity and stands them up at 2:40. Leg trip into another takedown with 90 seconds to go in the round. West has no answer for the takedowns at this point - Big Mak gets them any way he wants them, made to order. Mak has him trapped against the fence now throwing body and head shots, but he pulls back AGAIN and is in West full guard before he backs out. This time when West stands up he comes in with a flying knee. The two break apart right before the bell. Unless Mak hoses it in R5 the title is his.

Both fighters touch up for the championship round and West comes forward with kicks. Mak responds with one of his own and it's BING TO THE GROIN BONG BONG BONG. Nothing worse than watching a guy double over and grab his crotch for 90 seconds straight, but it is what is is. Finally West sucks it up and the fight continues with 4:10 left. Mak takes him down again and West motions like he's going to get a leg triangle but well, he doesn't. Mak avoids the upkick and he's in full guard with 3 minutes left until the belt is his. Mak backs out and we're back on the feet with 80 seconds left. West is doing foot stomps! Mak takes center. West tries a desperation flurry at the end to no avail - the title is going to Mak.

Here's Michael C. Williams to make it official. 50-45, 49-46 2X, ALL FOR THE WINNER BY UNANIMOUS DECISION FOR THE NEW BELLATOR BANTAMWEIGHT CHAMPION - ZACK MAKOVSKY. Makovsky gives the standard post-fight interview for a new champ - it was a tough fight, I'm happy to have come out on top, so on and so forth. Our heavyweight championship fight is up next!

* Cole Konrad (6-0, Minneapolis, MN) vs. Neil Grove (10-2-1, London, UK) - Bellator Heavyweight Championship

'Polar Bear' Konrad makes his way to the cage first. I heard in press row earlier that both of these guys had to cut to get DOWN to 265 and looking at Polar Bear in person I believe it. We get a hype video of him training with Brock Lesnar. He's wearing black Full Tilt trunks. His opponent Grove makes his way down the stairs in the white trunks and he's also a big beat at 6'6". The live crowd is told he originally hails from South Africa during his hype video. While we have a moment before the titans clash, shoutout to Sprewell Rimz and Josh Gross for plugging tonight's recap. We're ready for 5x5 at 9:27 ET. with Williams introducing Konrad in the red corner first, noting again that he's undefeated and that he fights out of St. Paul, Minnesota. Grove is 39 but all 10 of his 10 victories came by KO, so you can't doubt him for his age - this is a bad bad dude. Our referee in charge is Jason Herzog. Let's go!

Both fighters are tentative to start. They spend the first 45 seconds circling. The crowd is getting impatient. Swing and a miss, takedown, both guys are right back to their feet. 90 seconds gone. There's another takedown and Konrad is smothering Grove. He's got full mount with 1:40 left and is pushing Grove's head into the fence. Grove is doing his best to spin away but with Konrad's weight straight down on him it's like watching Big Country basically sit on Kimbo. If he could posture up this would be over quick. With 25 seconds Grove tries to buck him off and actually PUT HIMSELF INTO POSITION FOR THE SUB IN THE PROCESS. This fight is DONE. A swarm of Death Clutch t-shirts hit the ring to high-five him and congratulate him. Grove sits on his knees, stunned, dejected, clearly overwhelmed by the moment. We see Konrad locking up the arm on the video monitor during replay and it's clear Konrad could have ripped that thing off and taken it back to Minnesota as a trophy.

Here's Michael C. Williams at 9:39 ET to make it official. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN THE END TO THIS CONTEST COMES AT 4:45 OF THE FIRST ROUND FOR YOUR WINNER VIA KEY LOCK SUBMISSION AND NOW YOUR NEW BELLATOR HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: COLE 'POLAR BEAR' KONRAD! Jimmy Smith interviews him and Konrad says this fight proves he shouldn't be thought of as just a wrestler. It's hard to hear much else of what he says due to the echo in the KC Live Plaza though. The crowd definitely appreciates Cole Konrad's performance though and gives him a respectful round of applause when the interview ends.

* Chad 'The Grinder' Reiner (26-12, Omaha, NE) vs. Rudy 'Bad News' Bears (11-5, Kansas City, MO) - Catchweight 175 Lbs.

Reiner weighs in tonight at 176 and wears the solid black trunks fighting out of Omaha. His opponent Bears wears the American flag red, white and blue pattern on his otherwise black trunks and fights out of Independence, MO making him the local favorite. Jason Herzog is our referee for 3x5. Here we go!

Bears knocks Reiner to the ground less than 30 seconds into the fight. They get back to their feet and for a moment Reiner is in a choke but Bears lets it go. Reiner tries what I can only describe as a DROP KICK to no avail. Bears knocks him down again and THIS ONE IS OVER - THE REF MAKES THE SAVE. Bears immediately jumps up to sit on top of the cage and celebrate. We see a hammerfist and a left hand on the ground that sealed the deal before the save - both punches were probably academic but they were a definite exclamation point. Reiner is still out a minute later as the cornermen and doctors look him over. Intentionally or not Korn's "I'm Coming Undone" plays as Reiner slowly gets back to his feet. OFFICIAL TIME IS 1:29 OF R1 VIA KO FOR 'BAD NEWS' BEARS. I believe we've got at least two more local fights to go before the press conference begins.

* Jared Downing (4-0, Cedar Rapids, IA) vs. Danny Tims (9-3, Independence, MO) - Bantamweight

Downing comes out to "Zombie Nation" and Tims comes out to "Iron Man." It's a battle of the music as much as it is of the fighters. Downing is in the white trunks, Tims is in the black with the red mohawk. Downing is fighting out of the red corner and Tims the blue. Tims gets one of the loudest pops heard all night long during his introduction. Our referee in charge for this match is Mike England. Here we go!

Downing picks Tims HIGH up in the air for a slam 25 seconds into R1. Tims doesn't exactly get back to hs feet but he does get to a better position in the scramble that ensues and has Downing in his guard. Downing tries to stand with him but Tims has his legs locked around Downing tight. He gets a loud DAN-NY chant from the local crowd. Tims grabs the neck during one of Downing's attempts to posture up but the positioning isn't good and Downing slips out of danger. Tims scrambles and again is on his feet for a split second before Downing pushes him back down(ing) but it pops the KC spectators again. Tims momentarily sweeps to the top but Downing reverses it right back. Tims tries shots from the bottom then Downing sticks an arm in too far and Tims goes for an armbar through the legs that was THAT close. He starts a triangle right at the bell and has to let it go.

And we're back for R2 at 10:09 ET. Tims throws a spinning backfist for show and follows with a leg kick. Downing shoots double and takes Tims with relative ease. Tims is more dangerous on the ground than on his feet in this one so I'm not sure that's a wise decision. Speaking of which he gets another sub attempt at 3:12 but can't complete it and Downing takes side control on his right. Tims is squirming and sliding and not only gets free he has Downing's head trapped again momentarily. Downing gets back into guard though with 1:45 left. Downing pushes him slowly and methodically toward the fence and works from side with a minute left, transitioning to full mount as we pass that mark. Tims is doing a good job of blocking damage but that's all he can do for the last 15 seconds until the bell. Two 10-9 rounds for Downing so far.

Boy it's a good thing Joe Rogan wasn't here or we would have gotten a huge rant about ice before the start of R3. Tims comes forward aggressively but gets taken down again 20-25 seconds in. Downing may be able to ride this one to a unanimous decision with four minutes left. Tims is staying busy on the bottom though - he never gives up looking for a better position or a possible submission. Downing works from half guard and crawls up to full mount but he lost leverage in the process. Unfortunately for Tims he gets slammed down again and we pass the halfway point. I don't think the huge fan contingent for Tims locally is going home happy tonight, though they do start one more chant for him with 90 seconds left. Tims tries to get up and Downing momentarily takes his neck but then contents himself with working from the side on a high body control, blasting Tims in the face a couple of times before the bell. Should be a unanimous 30-27 clean sweep.

30-27 DOWNING, 29-28 TIMS (?!) AND 30-27 FOR THE WINNER BY SPLIT DECISION: JARED DOWNING. I can't fathom that second score but the right man picked up the W in this contest. "Zombie Nation" plays again as he exists the cage and we've got one more live fight to go!

* Ryan 'Are You Ready' Roberts (13-8, 1 NC, Omaha, NE) vs. Eric Marriott (18-5, Kansas City, MO) - Featherweight

I think Marriott is the first and ONLY fighter I've heard come out to "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails and the bass is ROCKING the KC Live! Plaza. In the red corner, wearing the blue trunks, Roberts fights out of the Big O. Marriott is in the black trunks and is a season two featherweight competitor for Bellator and is a huge fan favorite fighting out of Independence. Our referee in charge is Mike England. Here we go!

Marriott is all over him early, takedown, pops back up, and works him over with knees in the fence at the 45 second mark. Unfortunately one of those knees was South of the border so TIME OUT FOR DA GROIN. It was the right knee that left a man down. Crowd doesn't like the call at all but after a short time out the fight continues. Marriott shoots for a huge slam and gets it to the crowd's delight. Loud ER-IC chants as he pummels Roberts in the fence. How many tickets did this guy sell locally? A ton I gather, and to a lot of women too by the sound of it. Marriott pulls out and throws a bomb right down the pipe. 50 seconds left to go in the round. Roberts keeps looking for an exit or transition to no avail and the final ten seconds tick away with him on the bottom. 10-9 Marriott.

We're back for R2 at 10:36 ET. As far as I know they're setting up for the post-fight press conference at the Shark Bar right now and I'll be making my way over there immediately following this fight's conclusion. In fact Bellator is already folding down and carrying away some of the unused chairs around the ring. No reason to not start packing up when and where you can. Roberts does a spin kick for the heck of it as we pass the 90 second mark. Have I mentioned that he has a Tupac Shakur cross tattooed on his back? Well, he has a Tupac Shakur cross tattooed on his back. There you go. You may have guessed reading this paragraph that it's kind of a noting round, and you'd be right. Each man is being cautious and not taking any chances. 2 minutes to go. Finally Roberts blasts Marriott him with three or four shots when he checks a kick. Roberts tries to do the same again right at the end of the round. On to R3!

Third and final round of our final fight of the night starts at 10:42 ET. Roberts is coming off like the aggressor coming out of the last and starting in this round and lands a couple of nice shots before he gets SLAMMED (da da da) to the ground (let the boys b-boy). There are some women in the crowd going absolutely bezerk for dude. Roberts manages to sweep his way to the top in guard and he's trying like all get out to posture up and punish Marriott. I'm having to watch on the monitor at press row because both the ref and cameraman are directly in my line of view. Marriott escapes and is over Roberts' back with 1:28 to go in the round. England breaks them apart when the fight stalls so we've got stand up for the last 54 seconds. Roberts is swinging for the fences and trips Marriott to the ground as he defends. Marriott gets out of it and is on top of him looking to throw shots over his back underneath his chin as time expires. This fight was so back and forth I have no idea who got this one until the judges announce it.

Our final decision of the evening - 29-28, 29-28 AND 30-27 FOR THE WINNER BY UNANIMOUS DECISION - ERIC MARRIOTT. Off to the PFPC! You can listen to the audio from it HERE.