Bellator Signs Cosmo Alexandre; Muay Thai Champion Debuts at Bellator 52
by Fraser Coffeen on Sep 3, 2011 11:00 AM EDT
in Bellator News
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In a fantastic piece of signing news for any fan of the stand-up game, Bellator has signed highly decorated Muay Thai fighter Cosmo Alexandre. Cosmo will make his debut at Bellator 52 on October 1. He'll be competing in the Lightweight division, with no opponent yet announced for his debut.
The 29 year old fighter is a veteran of the international Muay Thai scene, with some very impressive stand-up credentials. Highlights of his Muay Thai and kickboxing career include winning the It's Showtime 77kg title, and the prestigious King's Cup tournament in Thailand in 2009. He possesses excellent kicks, and a beautiful jumping knee that he has used to win a number of fights.
Recently, Alexandre has been training extensively with Rashad Evans and K-1 fighter Tyrone Spong, helping work with Evans before his UFC 133 fight with Tito Ortiz. Alexandre has spoken openly of his desire to transition into MMA, and has been focusing on his ground skills and grappling game in order to make that move.
In short, Cosmo Alexandre has the potential to raise the level of technically proficient striking in Bellator's Lightweight division. If he does indeed get a decent ground game together, he could be a true force in Bellator's exciting Lightweight division.
HT: Head Kick Legend
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From China with love.
And rice. A lot of.
by Mr.Zhang on Sep 3, 2011 11:27 AM EDT reply actions 2 recs
Leaving Jackson was the best thing to ever happen to Rashad
If he is working his stand up with Spong. That is awesome. He will come a long way.
Bellator Rocks
I’m glad Bellator is around and signing exciting fighters. Sure, most are no where near as good as ufc guys. I’m willing to bet that their top guys will cross over into the ufc in years to come. I wish Rick Hawn were given more money to train so they could have him improve his Judo for mma further. Alexandre vs. Alvarez would be awesome. I’m glad that there is so much good mma nowadays. We’re all really lucky it’s not like boxing. Bob Arum and Don King are problems there. They make Dana and the Fertitas look like respectable, intelligent, businessmen who give the fans what they want. MMA is for the fans. Boxing is for the promoters.
"Myths are made for the imagination to breath life into them" -Albert Camus
by Michael Shulski on Sep 3, 2011 12:03 PM EDT reply actions
Good post, except...
Thinking he has a shot vs. Alvarez is a bit of a stretch. Start him slow and see how he does.
MMA in general regardless of UFC, Bellator, etc needs more high level MT guys in it. Striking in MMA specially MT is still low level with a few exceptions who are far and in-between.
Well,
it’s tricky. Top level muay thai alone isn’t enough to do well in MMA… just look at how Malaipet did against middling competition in EliteXC. The problem with pure MT as a striking style for MMA is the mentality behind it; in straight Thai Boxing the judges favor aggression, holding your ground in the center of the ring, and punishing your opponent with hard round kicks especially. Knees and elbows are favored heavily, and punches are given the least weight.
Nak Muays tend to be more flatfooted, and as such don’t use the kind of fleety footwork needed to keep wrestlers from getting their hands on you; they favor kicks over punches, which makes it easier for wrestlers to take you down, and also makes it easier for boxers to counter you with the smaller gloves.
I think Cosmo specifically can be successful because he’s rangy, uses more movement than your typical Nak Muay, and he’s quite fast. If he can learn some adequate takedown defense, submission defense, and learn to get up from his back, then he can be very successful in MMA. He’s a little older at 29, and has been fighting for 10+ years, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he does fairly well against Bellator level competition.
Xtreme Couture- The best never rest! The girl in my av is Kari Sweets (you're welcome).
"I swear it upon Zeus an outstanding runner cannot be the equal of an average wrestler."
-Socrates
by ElliotMatheny on Sep 3, 2011 8:18 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Good Grab
I really like how bellator is getting these guys, good talent, their lightweight division is shaping up, and their featherweights are pretty high caliber, but I wish they would get more of the higher divisions like light-heavyweight and middleweight because those ones need to be more stacked, also heavyweight for sure. But having said that the talent level is pretty even for the divisions making it competitive, which will always bring the fans in. Also Megumi vs Agular should have been the woman’s final, and Weedman vs Hawn should have been in the finals.
Cosmo should fight in the welterweight
The guy is too big for the lightweight, one can only wonder if he will stress his body too much in the cut. I want to see him fighting in the 77kg wich is the weight he fougth in Muay Thai, and he is big at 77 kg.
I was just thinking the same thing. I mean Jesus Christ, just look at him next to Rashad and Spong in that picture, he looks just as big as those guys. 155 sounds like a bit of a stretch.
by Horselover Fat on Sep 3, 2011 7:45 PM EDT up reply actions
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