Bellator 13 4/8/10 Re-Cap

Bellator 13
Bellator Fighting Championships
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
April 8, 2010
Fox Sports South

Tonight is the debut of Season Two of the Bellator Fighting Championships. Tonight we will see fights from both the Featherweight and Lightweight divisions. Bellator is an interesting promotion as they are running 8-fighter tournaments in 4 different weight divisions (featherweight, lightweight, welterweight and middleweight) this year. The biggest names tonight are former UFC fighter Roger Huerta and up and coming Featherweight Joe Warren. These tournaments will run from April 8-June 24. The tournament champions will win $100,000 and the right to fight for the Bellator World Championship in their weight division. Sean Wheelock and Jimmy Smith are the announcers for the show. The Bellator fights will be three five minute rounds with no elbows to the head and no kicking or kneeing the head of a grounded opponent.

Featherweight Quarterfinal Fight- Georgi Karakhanyan (12-1-1) vs. Bao Quach (17-9-1)

R1- Quach got Georgi down early with a push and jumped on top of him but Georgi got back to his feet. Georgi tried to unload on Quach but didn't look like he hit anything too damaging. Both guys really going after it. Georgi landed a flying knee but Quach pulled guard with a guillotine attempt and then dropped that and attempted to take Georgi's back. Georgi hit a devastating knee on Quach and Quach just slumped to the mat and this one is finished. Great opening fight for Bellator!

Winner: Georgi Karakhanyan by TKO (Strikes) R1 4:05

Featherweight Quarterfinal Fight- Joe Warren (2-1) vs. Eric Marriott (17-2)

Marriott has won 9 consecutive fights. Warren only has 3 fights but one was a victory over Kid Yamamoto and his only loss was to current DREAM champion Bibiano Fernandes.

R1- Warren immediately went for and completed a take down and held Marriott down for the first two minutes of the fight. Warren got a take down slam with about two minutes left in the round. Marriott tried to get an arm bar but Warren picked him up and slammed him onto his back to break the hold. Marriott tried for a triangle and clamped it in pretty good but he couldn't finish as time ran out and the hold became unhooked. Really close round. Even though Warren dominated, Marriott came closer to finish the fight so I've got him 10-9.

R2- Warren got a take down in the first thirty seconds of the round. Warren stayed on top and briefly went for a choke with two minutes left in the round but quickly abandoned the submission. Warren easily took this round as he controlled the entire round. I've got it 19-19 going into the final frame.

R3- Warren again quickly started the round with a take down. Marriott tried another arm bar half way through the round and Warren slammed him down quickly again. Warren just grinded out a win in this fight. Warren wins on my score card 29-28.

Judges score cards: 30-27 on all three score cards

Winner: Joe Warren by Decision (Unanimous)

Mickey Rourke and Jeremy Shockey are in the audience and are being interviewed next to a bunch of empty seats. Jeremy looks like he's loaded.

Lightweight Quarterfinal Fight- Roger Huerta (20-3-1) vs. Chad Hinton (6-0)

Hinton is a 38 year old fighter who first fought at the age of 35.

R1- Lots of clinching against the cage early in the fight. Hinton missed a kick and Huerta hit a push kick and jumped on top of Hinton but couldn’t do anything with him. Hinton caught Huerta in a clinch and landed some knees. Huerta hit some good solid punches to escape the clinch and Hinton looked momentarily stunned. Hinton shot in and got a take down but didn’t do anything with hit and Huerta quickly got back to his feet. Huerta landed a couple of good shots and Hinton got another take down. Hinton tried to take Huerta’s back and went for a choke but didn’t have good position and Huerta flipped him over and started landing some Ground and Pound. Good and surprisingly even first round.

R2- Hinton tried a leg kick and hit it but without anything behind it. Then both guys slugged it out wildly. Huerta landed and got a take down. Huerta landed some good strikes from the top. Hinton looks like he’s gassed out and Huerta is landing shots and controlling this round. Huerta clearly won this round and he be able to finish Hinton in the final round.

R3- Huerta grabbed Hinton’s leg and then landed a couple punches. Hinton grabbed Huerta’s back and Huerta did a crazy somersault to the ground to escape and take top position. Huerta grabbed a knee bar and Hinton tapped out.

Winner: Roger Huerta by Submission (Knee Bar) R3 0:56

Lightweight Quarterfinal Final- Joe Duarte (5-1) vs. Carey Vanier (7-2)

Duarte found out last week that he was taking this fight so he’s taking it on 5 days notice. They also mention he cut 15 pounds in 48 hours.

R1- Vanier got a take down about two minutes into the round. Duarte got up but was taken down again with a minute and a half left in the round. Vanier 10-9, not much damage done by either fighter in the first round.

R2- Not a lot of action in the beginning of this round. Duarte briefly got a take down but Vanier immediately got back up. Vanier landed some punches to the gut against the cage and Duarte answered with a knee. Vanier got another take down with about a minute left in the round. Duarte went for a kimura from the bottom but let it go right before the bell as he couldn’t get leverage on it. That round was a lot closer but I’ve got Vanier 20-18.

R3- Vanier landed a good combination to start the round and then quickly got a take down. Vanier landing some good shots from the top. Vanier landing good shots to the head of Duarte. Duarte tried to grab a guillotine but couldn’t hold it as Vanier slipped out. Vanier had position on Duarte’s back and landed a bunch of punches to the side of Duarte’s head and the ref stepped in and stopped the fight.

Winner: Carey Vanier by TKO (Strikes) R3 4:14

Fight of the Night: Georgi Karakhanyan vs. Bao Quach