Bellator 18 Re-Cap

Bellator 18
Bellator Fighting Championships
Monroe Civic Center
Monroe, LA
May 13, 2010
Fox Sports South

This week we will have the Semi-Finals of the Featherweight division. Last years runner-up Wilson Reis will face Patricio Pitbull and Joe Warren will fight Georgi Karakhanyan. Also on the show Bellator Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard will fight in Bellator for the first time since winning the championship.

Featherweight Semi-Final Fight- Joe Warren (3-1) vs. Georgi Karakhanyan (13-1-1)

Warren advanced in the first round by defeating beating Eric Marriott by decision. Georgi fought on the same show and beat Bao Quach by TKO in the very first round. Georgi is on a 9 fight win streak.

R1- Warren quickly charged in and got a take down in the first 10 seconds. Georgi grabbed a leg submission but Warren powered out of the move. Georgi went for a spinning arm bar so Warren got up and then took Georgi down again. Georgi briefly got back to his feet with a minute and a half left in the round but quickly got taken back down to the mat. Really really controlled this round and he's up 10-9 on my score card.

R2- Warren picked up Georgi and Georgi grabbed a guillotine but Warren was able to break out of the hold and complete a take down. Georgi tried to get up and Warren completed a sick slam. Georgi went for an arm bar but Warren survived. Warren really controlling where the fight goes and I've got him 20-18.

R3- Warren nailed a slam in the first 30 seconds of the round. Georgi got to his feet and landed a driving knee but Warren absorbed it and pushed forward for another take down. Georgi caught Warren in a guillotine in the final minute but Georgi lost it with about 40 seconds left in the fight. I've got to give this fight to Warren. He didn't come close to finishing but he dominated where the fight went and grinded out a victory.

Judges score cards: 30-27 on all score cards

Winner: Joe Warren by Decision (Unanimous)

Featherweight Semi-Final Fight- Wilson Reis (10-1) vs. Patricio Pitbull (13-0)

Reis advanced in the first round by choking out Shad Lierley in the 3rd round of their fight. Pitbull also won his fight over Will Romero by submission. Big Nog is in the corner of Pitbull for the fight.

R1- Reis hit a good left early. Reis got a take down inside of two minutes. Good action on the ground between these two jiu jitsu fighters and Pitbull is able to reverse and briefly take top position. Very competitive first round. I've got Reis 10-9.

R2- Pitbull threw Reis off during a clinch and then landed a knee but Reis grabbed him and clinched again. Pitbull landed a couple knees and a jab. Pitbull very aggressive in this round and is getting the better of Reis. Fight is 19-19 on my score card going into the third round.

R3- They clinched early in the round and Pitbull hit a Magnum TA style belly-to-belly suplex. Pitbull gave up his position with three minutes left to go in the round. Pitbull is starting to find a home for some of his strikes. Reis got a take down with one minute left in the round but Pitbull quickly got back to his feet. Pitbull finished the round on top and then stood up to bang but there was only 10 seconds left. I've got Pitbull taking this round and thus the fight.

Judges score cards: 29-28 on all score cards

Winner: Patricio Pitbull by Decision (Unanimous)

190lb Catchweight Fight- Hector Lombard (24-2-1) vs. Jay Silva (5-3)

Jay Silva is a last minute replacement for Paulo Filho and that's the reason this is a catchweight fight. Lombard is the reigning Bellator Middleweight Champion. He has a background in Judo. Lombard trains at American Top Team. He has 2 decision losses on his record, both came in 2006 against Gegard Mousasi and Akihiro Gono. Lombard is unbeaten in his last 18 fights.

"I got a feeling, that tonight's gonna be a good night"- Jay Silva
"I hope he stands up with me like he stands up with everyone else"- Jay Silva

R1- They came out, Silva threw a quick jab and then backed off. Lombard lunged in and connected with an overhand right and then hit him with a left hand and this one was over. Big time performance by Hector Lombard.

Winner: Hector Lombard by KO R1 0:06

178lb Catchweight Fight- Charlie Rader (11-5) vs. Christian Fulgium (12-6)

Rader has won 9 of his 11 fights by knockout. Fulgium has 6 submissions and 6 knockouts in his 12 wins. Both fighters are from Louisiana and both guys have a background in wrestling.

R1- Rader hit a good jab when Fulgium was coming in and it briefly knocked him off balance. Rader got a take down one minute into the fight. Rader landed some elbows from half guard. Rader continued to land some strikes and Fulgium gave up his back. Rader continued to land strikes once he got Fulgium down again and finished him with strikes. Good showing for Rader.

Winner: Charlie Rader by TKO (Strikes) R1 3:27

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