Bellator 246 Results: Juan Archuleta Wins A Gold Strap

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By Anthony “Zute” George

The vacant bantamweight title was on the line for both Juan Archuleta and Patchy Mix. It was a battle billed as an imposing striker, Archuleta, against a beautiful grappler Mix. Five rounds for all the marbles. They needed all twenty-five minutes to decide the champion. When it was all said and done, it was Juan Archuleta with a unanimous decision victory. Scorecards read 49-46, 48-47, 48-47. Ringside Report scored the fight for Archuleta 49-46.

The first round was fought on Patchy’s terms. With Archuleta spending most of the round trying to defend against takedowns and submission attempts.

The second round saw Mix with another takedown in the first minute of the stanza. Archuleta was once again in defensive mode, taking away from his patented striking attack. However, Archuleta had some moments on the ground and scored with some hard ground and pound, appearing to win the round. Yet, the Bellator announcers scored the round for Mix.

Round three was fought entirely on the feet. Archuleta fought much better in his comfort zone. The telling thing about round three is Patchy Mix did not commit to a takedown attempt, despite being clearly outclassed on the feet.

Patchy Mix never saw a round four until this fight, and he spent the first part of the round on his feet. Archuleta appeared to have a slight edge here, and it was surprising that he took Mix down. However, the fight did not stay on the ground long, and Mix performed more on an even playing field the rest of the round. Archuleta appeared to take the round with better striking in the last seconds. Juan was inadvertently poked in the eye during the round, but the referee failed to see it.

Archuleta took over in the pivotal fifth round with hard pinches to the body. Mix was just following Juan around, not even trying to take the fight to his comfort zone. Mix could not have made it more comfortable for the striker Archuleta in the first three minutes of the deciding round. The last two minutes were just as comfortable for Juan, as he had Mix pinned against the fence the majority of the time.

Patchy Mix fought the wrong strategy after the second round. Still, all the credit must go to Juan Archuleta for taking control on the ground at the end of round two and performing the way he was supposed to when the fight landed in his wheelhouse. He is a worthy champion. It should be fun watching him defend it.

Undercard

Jon Fitch Vs Neiman Gracie (welterweights):

In this co-feature bout, Neiman Gracie put on a clinic. Positioning for a submission pretty much from the start of the fight. Fitch did his best to defend these attempts, but he did extraordinarily little in terms of offense. Neiman Gracie was patient but persistent in his quest for a stoppage. His moment came at 4:47 of the second round via a heel hook. It was a very impressive victory, as submitting Jon Fitch is no small accomplishment. Gracie should soon fight for a title. Jon Fitch signaled his retirement at the end of the fight by removing his red gloves and placing them in the center of the cage, “It has been a long journey, my body has been through a lot…it is time to go,” is what Fitch said in the post-fight interview. “He’s one of the best welterweights of all-time,” is how Gracie described his opponent.

Liz Caramouche Vs Deanna Bennett (flyweights):

Liz Caramouche defeated Deanna Bennett via rear-naked choke submission at 3:17 of the third round. The fight appeared to be even at one round apiece going into the third round, Liz winning round one and Deanna coming back with a big second round. The veteran Caramouche stepped up her skill level in the pivotal third round, eliminating the judges’ voices from the decision. It was Liz’s Bellator debut and her first submission victory since 2012.

Keoni Diggs Vs Derek Campos (Lightweights):

Keoni Diggs secured a last-second rear-naked choke submission over the veteran Campos. The official time of the stoppage was 4:59 of the third round. Campos would not tap and took a nap with one second left in the fight. Diggs almost secured a rear-naked choke submission in round one; however, Campos has always been a tough nut to crack and managed to defend it. All Keoni did from that point on was get the better of Campos in every possible way. Instead of being satisfied with a decision, Diggs was determined to make a late surge at a submission. His determination bore fruit. Keoni Diggs has a bright future in Bellator.

Preliminaries

Pat Casey Vs Daniel Madrid (middleweights):

Daniel Madrid edge Pat Casey with a split decision victory. Scorecards read 29-28 for Casey, and 30-27, 29-28 for Madrid. It was a fight that was fought at a very deliberate pace with not a lot of intriguing action.

Ty Gwerder Vs Tuco Tokkos (middleweights):

Ty Gwerder’s crisp, clean striking earned him an impressive stoppage over Tuco Tokkos. The stoppage came at 1:05 of round three courtesy of a straight left hand, followed by a powerful knee. The knee sent Tokkos to the ground, and he appeared to be out of it, causing the referee to call a stop to the bout.

Ras Hylton Vs Davion Franklin (heavyweights):

Franklin defeated Hylton via technical decision. Scorecards read 30-27 three times. Both fighters had their moments with the ground and pound in round one. Round two was void of any exciting action. Yet Franklin had a couple of takedowns and a great deal of ground control to take the round. Franklin stepped up the tempo with his ground and pound in round three, but referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the action because Franklin delivered an illegal blow to the back of the head. The ruling was an accidental, thus the need for the official scorecards. Even though round three was not complete, it was counted in the scoring. Franklin has plenty of promise. However, He needs to improve his stamina immensely to take his career to the next level.

Anthony “Zute” George is the Author of Tough Man: The Greg Haugen Story, a new boxing book that covers the skilled champion from Auburn, Washington, as well as the scope of the times during his days of pugilism.

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