Emanuel Newton abandoned his signature striking style for a grappling-based approach -- and it paid off in the form of his second defense of the Bellator MMA light heavyweight title.
Newton (25-7-1) survived multiple early submission attempts from Linton Vassell before eventually securing a rear-naked choke of his own at 0:47 of the fifth round. The 205-pound title fight headlined Bellator 130 at Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane, Kansas.
Vassell (14-4) gave Newton everything he could handle for two rounds, but the pace of the bout visibly caught up to him. He grew less effective as the fight wore on and appeared exhausted by the fifth. He sold out on one single leg attempt in the final round, after which he was pretty much finished.
"I know I've been there before," said Newton, who had fought into a fifth round three times before. "I knew if we went to deep water, my cardio would prevail and I would get the victory."
Known for his unorthodox spinning attacks, Newton was rendered mostly ineffective on his feet. He looked uncomfortable closing distance against the taller, lankier Vassell and badly telegraphed several spinning back-kick attempts at the beginning of the fight.
Midway through the opening round, Vassell scored a takedown and moved immediately into full mount. Newton gave up his back to avoid taking punches, which offered Vassell a shot at a first-round rear-naked finish. He briefly got his right arm over the chin of Newton, but was unable to nab the submission.
Vassell nearly struck again the following round, locking in a kimura sweep from his back. After rolling into mount, Vassell had Newton grimacing in pain and nearly produced a tap, but couldn't quite put enough torque on the left arm to finish the job. He would take Newton's back again later in the round, only to have him escape and survive to see the third.
With his corner urging him to throw more right hands, Newton surprised Vassell with single leg takedown attempts in the third and fourth rounds. It was an interesting strategy, as Vassell had dominated the ground game up to that point, but Newton must have sensed his opponent slowing down, as it became clear the pace had started to eat up the British challenger.
Newton, 30, will move on to a third title defense against recent tournament winner Liam McGeary. Bellator has committed to moving away from its traditional tournament format in 2015, however McGeary (9-0) still will be rewarded a title shot for his efforts. The British 205-pounder submitted Kelly Anundson in style via inverted triangle choke in the tournament final last month.
The submission win for Newton is the ninth of his career and first since January 2013. The win extends the Southern California-based champion's current win streak to seven.
"I've just got to get back in the gym and keep training," Newton said. "These guys are coming."
Lashley too much for Etherington
Karl Etherington tried to pick up Bobby Lashley. It didn't end well for him.
Lashley (12-2) earned his second Bellator win in the span of 49 days, finishing Etherington (9-1) by submission via strikes at 1:31 of the first round.
The finishing sequence was not something you see every day. Etherington attempted to lift Lashley in a hip toss, but his legs gave out from under him. He fell awkwardly to his back and immediately rolled over in a defensive position, with his hands over his ears.
Lashley took full advantage of the slip, hopping onto Etherington and raining down right hands to the temple. Referee Rob Hinds offered Etherington every opportunity to move and get back to his feet, but the British heavyweight wasn't having it and eventually submitted to the onslaught.
"That's what this sport is all about," Lashley said. "You don't want to stay in too long, risk the chance of getting hit back. As soon as I had that opportunity, I went a little nuts.
"I feel good, man. Every time I get in this cage I'm feeling better and better. I'm moving faster and hitting harder. God forbid they try to take me down. They get punished."
The heavyweight bout didn't get off to a blazing start, as Etherington hit Lashley with an inadvertent knee to the groin in the first minute. Lashley did not take long to recover, which might have been a mistake as Etherington got on him with straight right hands immediately on the restart.
That momentum was short-lived, however, as the ill-advised takedown attempt occurred moments later.
Lashley, who prior to his return last month had not fought in 11 months, earns his second consecutive finish in the Bellator cage. The 38-year-old has expressed interest in making a heavyweight title run and is off to a good start at 2-0 under the Bellator banner. Etherington suffers his first career loss.
Coenen submits Bucci in Round 3
Marloes Coenen looked pretty comfortable in her Bellator debut. Her opponent, Annalisa Bucci, did not.
Coenen (22-6) played the part of an 8-to-1 favorite well, submitting Bucci via rear-naked choke at 0:57 of the third round of the featherweight bout.
The finish came from an awkward position, as Coenen locked in the choke while still in Bucci's half-guard. Nevertheless, Bucci was forced to tap for the second time of her career.
A former Strikeforce bantamweight champion, Coenen had not fought since a loss to Invicta FC featherweight champion Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino in July 2013.
"I didn't fight for one-and-a-half years, so I had a little ring rust," Coenen said. "I didn't leave it to the judges so I'm happy about that. I'm really happy to be part of the Bellator family."
The outcome of the bout was never in doubt, as Coenen dominated from bell to bell. She lost position several times due to aggressive submission attempts, but always managed to work back into control.
An Italian kickboxer, Bucci (7-4) appeared to be more interested in survival than getting a win. She surrendered takedowns in the first 10 seconds of all three rounds, but did showcase adequate submission defense -- turning into Coenen several times to take top position.
Any time Bucci was on top, however, she employed a rather puzzling strategy of burying her head into Coenen's waist and covering up as though she were about to be knocked out. Referee John McCarthy warned Bucci for stalling several times and stood her up once in the first round.
Very little of the action took place on the feet, but even the sequences that did favored Coenen. She was quicker and more assertive to the punch, typically finishing combinations with a rush into bodylock takedowns.
For Coenen, 33, it marks the 16th submission victory of her career.
Jansen handles Hawn by decision
Dave Jansen, apparently, has a serious behind-the-scenes beef with Rick Hawn's left leg.
Jansen scored a decisive unanimous decision over Hawn, targeting (almost exclusively) his opponent's lead leg with kicks. Somehow, Hawn continued to move well despite eating a high volume of Jansen's kicks, but never managed to close distance effectively and score offense.
All three judges scored the lightweight bout for Jansen (20-2), via scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.
Hawn (18-4) briefly knocked Jansen down with a right hand midway through the second round, but that was somewhat due to Jansen being off-balance as he threw a kick. A former Olympian in judo, Hawn never sought to take Jansen down, looking to do damage with his hands instead.
That proved to a be a tall task against the busy Jansen, who kept Hawn on the outside with front kicks and a constant jab. He didn't land a whole lot other than the kicks, but that was more than enough to win the fight. At one point, Hawn, bothered by the kicks, was forced to switch stances to give his left leg some cover. Jansen, 35, who had not fought since March of last year, said he's ready for a five-round title fight his next time out.
"I'm 7-0 in Bellator," Jansen said. "Show me another lightweight with a better record."
Hawn, who suffered a second-round TKO loss to Douglas Lima for the vacant welterweight title in April, falls to 10-4 overall in the Bellator cage.