It’s semi-finals time for Bellator’s Fight Master, with the remaining fighters from Team Jackson and Team Couture squaring off. Will Mike Bronzoulis and Cole Williams be able to make it an all-Couture final bout, or will Eric Bradley and Joe Riggs bring it all home for Coach Greg Jackson? Tonight, we find out, with three round fights, and elbows finally made legal.

Bellator Fight Master episode 10 recap

The show proper starts off in what is, undoubtedly, the most unnecessary way possible: Seeding the semi-finals. Randy Couture wants Cole Williams in the #1 slot, while Greg Jackson insists that it should be Joe Riggs. However, eliminated coaches Frank Shamrock and Joe Warren were quick to side with “The Natural,” noting his pupil’s two first round finishes in the tournament. So, it ends up pretty much as might be expected, with Cole Williams #1, Joe Riggs #2, Eric Bradley #3, and Mike Bronzoulis #4. Couture, in a cardio session with Williams, dropped a not-so-subtle hint to pick his teammate, Bronzoulis, but Cole decided to challenge himself yet again and picked Joe Riggs. So that means the semi-finals will see Riggs vs. Williams, and Bronzoulis taking on Eric Bradley.

Fight 1: Cole Williams (Team Couture) vs. Joe Riggs (Team Jackson)

Round 1 began with an extended feeling-out process between the top two seeds of the semi-finals. “Diesel” eventually clinched up with the younger fighter, pushing him back into the cage and even landing a knee to the head as the position was reversed. The fight soon returned to the center of the cage, with both men landing occasional shots, eventually expanding into occasional flurries of strikes as Williams backed the #2 seed up against the fence with strikes. Nearly half-way through the round, Cole rushed in, looking like he wanted a takedown, only for Riggs to go lower and shrug him off. Williams slipped, and scrambled back against the cage and eating a couple of strikes as he returned to his feet. The striking of Riggs did not appear to have too much of an effect on “The Spartan” as he eventually broke off. The veteran “Diesel” was getting the better of the striking, throwing and landing slightly more than his opponent, but was eventually caught and pushed up against the cage. Riggs tried to knee his way out of the position, only for Williams to drop down for a single leg and push him back against the cage. “The Spartan” landed the takedown, and retained back control when Team Jackson’s top-ranked member got back to his feet. Williams hit another takedown and pinned Joe against the cage, slowly advancing position even when Riggs was landing punches. Williams controlled the back soon after until the last 10 seconds, when Riggs managed to break off and attempt a knee at the horn. Given the two late takedowns, and his retention of control, I give the round to Williams, 10-9.

Round 2 started with a little more fireworks, with Riggs going for a head kick about 15 seconds in. About 30 seconds in, Riggs went for a knee as Williams moved in, only to be taken down. “Diesel” landed the odd elbow from his guard as “The Spartan” tried to pass. Williams passed to half-guard before Riggs shrimped and re-guarded, landing another elbow. Cole finally threw a ground strike after this, and started in with a very methodical, Sonnen-esque tactic, trying to grind down on Riggs from within his guard while landing the occasional strike while the Team Jackson member continued to land elbows from the bottom. Cole backed out to his feet, then dove back into Joe’s guard with a diving punch. About 3 minutes in, “Diesel” was able to cut “The Spartan” open with an elbow, but it was not enough to stop the grind from Williams, who tried to pass guard multiple times without success. With 3:30 left in the round, Coach Jackson’s cries of, “You’re winning from the bottom, Joe!” began to reach a crescendo. The fight continued to remain in guard for the duration of the round, with Riggs even attempting a gogoplata to no success. Hard round to score, as Riggs did more damage, but was held down for almost the entire round by Williams. I score it 10-9 for “The Spartan,” for a total of 20-18 after two rounds, but the judges may see that differently.

The third stanza saw “The Spartan” start off aggressive, only to be backed up by punches from Riggs. Williams went for a takedown off another knee attempt from Riggs, but “Diesel” was able to whizzer and sprawl out. The Team Couture fighter, though, would not be denied, continuing to work for the takedown. After getting the long-time veteran fighter down for a second, Cole held on and tried to take the back as Joe got back to his feet, landing a knee to the thigh as he went. Joe managed to turn around and break off, but allowed his “Natural”-coached opponent to take the center of the cage. Both men continued to exchange blows, with Riggs appearing to land more, including a knee to the head. With 3:25 left in the round, Williams faked a shot and popped back up to throw a 3 punch combo. Both men started to open up with their striking a bit more, with Riggs even attempting a spinning backfist. Riggs slipped off a flying knee attempt, and Williams dived on him, getting a front headlock as Coach Couture screamed for knees. His fighter, however, was reluctant to throw them, instead opting to change position and attempt a single leg, only to leave his neck out for the veteran. Riggs caught the front headlock, and attempted to pull guard for a guillotine choke, but ended up taking top position in north-south as Williams defended. “The Spartan” managed to power his way back to his feet around the 2:56 mark of the round, and pushed the Team Jackson member up against the cage. They eventually returned to the cage’s center, with Riggs getting the better of the striking, landing kicks, knees, and punches until Williams shot in for a takedown. Riggs stuffed it, attempted one of his own, and was rebuffed as well before the Team Couture member went for another single leg takedown. “Diesel” limp-legged and escaped, going for a spinning backfist on exit. Riggs continued to win the stand-up, and was able to stuff Williams’ final takedown attempt and land some ground and pound. Riggs clearly took this round 10-9, with it going 29-28 for Williams on my personal score card. The judges, however, disagreed, and awarded the split decision victory to Joe Riggs.

“The Spartan” was upset, obviously, but Riggs, now the gentlemanly elder sportsman, went over to him, hugged him, and told him, “You just made your career. This fight made your career.” We then get Riggs talking about how he gets to go home and tell his kids that he won, and that he feels like he’s won the whole tournament now. Williams feels like he blew it, and that he let down his family. Couture, though, tells him that he didn’t blow anything, that he went out and he competed.

Joe “Diesel” Riggs def. Cole “The Spartan” Williams via Split Decision

Mike Bronzoulis (Team Couture) vs. Eric Bradley (Team Jackson)

Before we get the fight, we get Bronzoulis talking about how being last seed works in his favor, as he’s underestimated. He also says that he will make good on the last wishes of his father, who passed away from cancer, and will become a champion and take care of his mother. Bradley says he won’t lose, he’ll find a way to win, and that he has a champion’s mentality.

Round 1 started slowly, with neither man throwing a serious strike until “The Greek” attempted a leg kick 30 seconds in. “Sideshow” Eric kept his distance, giving a lot of respect to Bronzoulis’ 4″ reach advantage. In fact, there were no strikes landed until about 1:17 in, when the underdog, Bronzoulis, connected with a leg kick. After a minute and a half, Bradley finally waded in and landed a couple of sloppy hooks, eating a sloppy hook and a body kick from “The Greek” for his trouble. After another leg kick from Bronzoulis, “Sideshow” Eric finally shot for a takedown near the 2 minute mark, pushing Bronzoulis up against the cage. The former NCAA standout managed to get “The Greek” down and landed some shots to the body as the Team Couture member managed to shrimp into half-guard. Bronzoulis fully re-guards, with Bradley landing a couple of shots and pushing his opponent away from the cage wall. Bronzoulis made sure to land some punches from the bottom whenever possible as Bradley tried to smother him. “Sideshow” Eric pass guard at around the 3:30 mark, and took mount shortly afterwards. Bronzoulis trying to escape, only to be flattened out and eat the odd punch from time to time. Bradley with the back take with 30 seconds left, and he retains control though to the end of the round. 10-9 for Eric Bradley.

Round 2 started with Bradley, who was breathing heavy during the rest period, staying on the outside again, avoiding a leg kick and a head kick attempt from Bronzoulis. “The Greek” rushed in with punches, backing “Sideshow” up against the cage before throwing a knee. Mike’s strike connected, but allowed Eric to catch the leg and spin Team Couture’s last hope into the cage wall while attempting a single leg takedown. The Team Jackson member eventually scooped his opponent up and slammed him down, landing in half-guard and going back to pressuring for the pass. At around 1:08 into the stanza, Bronzoulis exploded and got up to his knees as “Sideshow” took his back. “The Greek” eventually got to his feet, and sprawled, then limp-legged out of another series of Bradley takedown attempts while elbows to the head of his large-coifed opponent. Bradley, on the fourth attempt of the chain, managed to take Bronzoulis’ back and trip him down to the mat. Mike got up to his feet as Eric started punching him, and got back to his feet. The sequence repeated, with Bradley taking “The Greek” down again, only for the Team Couture fighter to get back to his feet. “Sideshow” Eric moved around to the front of Bronzoulis and attempted another takedown, only to have it stifled by a kimura attempt followed by a guillotine choke attempt. The Team Jackson member pushed his opponent back into the cage, but was unable to get another takedown. “The Greek” breaks off and lands a couple of punches, chasing down the Team Jackson wrestler and even landing a body kick. Bradley goes for a takedown off the kick, and hits it, but Bronzoulis is able to get to his knees in a sprawl position and begins to tenderize “Sideshow’s” kidneys with punches. “The Greek” defended against Bradley’s takedown attempts for about a minute, landing a variety of punches before transitioning to elbows that appeared to land within a few centimetres of the spine. This sent Greg Jackson into a fury, screaming for the ref that they were illegal strikes as his pupil rolled onto his back and was pinned against the cage by Bronzoulis, who was unloading with strikes. Bradley was unable to intelligently defend himself as the ref called for him to do something, and with 15 seconds left in the round, the fight is stopped. Even then, it was still a late stoppage, and Greg Jackson stormed the cage after the fight was called, continuing to shout about 4 illegal elbows that he claims Bronzoulis landed.

In a review of the footage, you can see that in a series of 4 elbow strikes, 3 were legal, and one was questionable, landing within what appears to be an inch to an inch and a half of Eric Bradley’s spine along the lower back. After this, and Greg Jackson continuing to grumble about the stoppage, we cut back to the cage and see that Eric Bradley is still down and regaining his wits as Bronzoulis checks on him and compliments his strength. Bradley notes in a talking-head segment that this is a setback, and that he won’t let it get him down. Couture notes “Sideshow” Eric’s talent, and says it’s never good to see someone get hurt in the cage, but makes sure to note his pupil’s Cinderella story. Bronzoulis is stoked to have made it to the finals, and says that he is now catching his dreams.

Mike “The Greek” Bronzoulis def. “Sideshow” Eric Bradley via TKO (punches) at 4:45 of Round 2.

The finals are now set, and will go down on the live Bellator MMA special on Spike TV on September 7th. It will be Mike Bronzoulis, representing Team Couture, taking on Team Jackson’s Joe Riggs. Both men are confident going into it, with “The Greek” claiming he’ll win the finals against Riggs by knockout. With all that said and done, here are the final standings.

Team Couture (2-2, 2-0, 1-1)