While expectations have been high, maybe too high, on Cole Konrad since his inception into the mixed martial arts world, it looks that the former two-time NCAA champion has finally arrived. After hearing rave reviews of his obvious potential from fellow wrestlers turned mixed martial arts stars, including former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion "King" Mo, and current UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, it was Konrad who put any doubters to rest when he was able to submit veteran Neil Grove, inside of the first round at Bellator 32, last night. ...

Bellator 33 will be the place where a new champion will be crowned, come October 14. Neil Grove, a one-time UFC heavyweight fighter, stormed through Bellator with a commanding debut against veteran Eddie Sanchez, a well traveled fighter who at one time looked to be a possible contender in the UFC's heavyweight division before he dropped two in a row in the promotion. ...

Bellator's heavyweight tournament has been trimming away the fat of the group thus far, leaving us with the prime rib, the final four of the 8-man tournament. While "The Goliath" Neil Grove was already impressive in his debut, when he dispatched of UFC veteran Eddie Sanchez inside of the first round in their bout at Bellator 24, some new challengers have emerged from Bellator 25, which was held just last night, on August 19. ...

While many may remember Neil Grove from his UFC debut at UFC 95, losing by way submission to the unheralded Mike Ciesnolevicz, a now UFC washout, "The Goliath" erased the memory, and in impressive fashion. While Sanchez had been establishing himself as an early contender, to become Bellator's first heavyweight champion with 2 finishes in 2 appearances inside the Bellator cage, Neil squashed any hope for "The Manic Hispanic". ...

"New York Bad Ass" Phil Baroni (11-10) clocked Scott Jansen (3-3) in the first round of Baroni's 170-pound debut, knocking the Brit stiff in London Saturday night. "I had a lot of doubts going in here," Baroni said after losing three straight and spending his entire career at 185-pounds, "but I erased them with that right hand." The usually brash "Bad Ass" lost a bit of bravado with the 15 pounds of inflated muscle, graciously admitting, "I feel really lucky to have this opportunity." In an unfortunate scene of MMA hooliganism, a friend of Jansen's attacked Baroni in the cage after the knockout; but, order was quickly restored. A reinvigorated Baroni asked after the fight, "Who's next?" CageRage is owned by ProElite, which also owns EliteXC and Icon and has a working relationship with Strikeforce, leaving open a lot of options for Baroni in his new weight class. Heavyweight Neil Grove (6-1) knocked out "Buzz" Robert Berry (12-8) at 1:29 of round two, ending any leftover controversy from a Grove corner stoppage "W" over Berry last December. ...

Last Saturday I quizzed "The World's Most Dangerous Man" Ken Shamrock (26-13-2) about when it's time to hang-up his four ounce gloves. "When I can't beat mid-level guys.  I'm not going to let myself get beat by mediocre fighters," Shamrock confided. Saturday at CageRage 25 in London, "Buzz" Robert Berry (12-7) knocked out Shamrock at 3:26 of round one. "He comes to fight," Shamrock had described Berry; and, it's likely this loss won't convince the king of the Lion's Den to retire. Shamrock is 3-8 since his Y2K return to MMA.  He's lost five consecutive fights by first round stoppage since TKOing Kimo Leopoldo at UFC 48 in 2004. Ken won't retire because he's a fighter with fight left in him.  He won't retire because, even after four consecutive losses, he still headlines a card; and, after five straight losses, his next fight will be a main event too.  He won't retire because we still pay to watch him fight, because our memory of Shamrock at his best continues to eclipse Shamrock at this, his worst. The "Ashikan Judan" Masakazu Imanari (14-5-1) earned his stage name by twisting "White Bear" Jean Silva's (15-8-3) foot in a heel hook at 2:30 of round one for the CageRage World Featherweight Championship. British heavyweight Rob Broughton (7-3-1) dealt undefeated Neil Grove (5-1) his first "L" in a majority decision. Middleweight "Kong" Tom Watson beat Pierre Guillet to a TKO at 2:05 of round one. Heavyweight Mustapha al Turk (5-3) submitted kickboxer Gary Turner (4-1) on strikes at 3:19 of round one. Heavyweight Ivan Serati (8-2) stopped Roman Webber (4-4) at :48 of round one. Brazilian "Lagartixa" Henrique Santana (5-3) won a unanimous decision over England's Michael Johnson (5-5). Giorgio Andrews (3-0) made it a tough night for the Shamrocks by winning a TKO over Ken's son Ryan Shamrock (1-1) after Ryan broke his hand in the first round. Undefeated John Hathaway remained so with a TKO of Marvin Arnold Bleau at 1:32 of round one. Finally, John Phillips (7-1) opened the night with a TKO of Jake Bostwick at 4:10 of round one. ...