Bellator MMA had a great first showing on their new home at Spike TV. A pair of championship fights delivered in hoards as divisional rulers Michael Chandler and Pat Curran defended their crowns as well as three-quarters of the light-heavyweight tournament got underway with some of the key favorites not making it past round one.
Tonight another champion looks to defend their throne as 170-pound king Ben Askren faces Karl Amoussou, also the promotional debut of dual-sport star and former Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion Muhammed ‘King Mo’ Lawal and the welterweight tournament kicks off with DREAM champ Marius Zaromskis, Douglas Lima & UFC vet Ben Saunders among the eight-man field vying for a crack at the welterweight title.
You can catch the preliminary card here and when the action begins on the big-stage you can follow along with live play-by-play and round-by-round scoring by the MMASucka.com staff for each of the featured fights.
Welterweight tournament quarter-final bout: Ben Saunders vs. Koffi Adzitso
Round 1:
Kerry Hatley is the third man in the cage as the pair of welterweights begin as Adzitso explodes early with his strikes before the UFC veteran pushes him against the cage. Adzitso gets the fight to the floor but almost falls into an armbar attempt from Saunders. Saunders is working for a submission in rubber guard as the referee calls for action. In triangle position, Saunders attempt the submission but fails. ‘Killa B’ is aggressive from the bottom with punches but it wasn’t enough to keep the fight on the floor. Back on the feet for a split second before a trip takedown from Saunders puts it back on the mat. Pressed against the cage with Saunders in his guard the tournament finalist works his ground-and-pound but again the fight is stood up. A fierce knee to Adzitso before he presses Saunders against the cage when the buzzer sounds.
Justin Faux scores it 10-9 Saunders
Carlin Bardsley scores it 10-9 Saunders
Jeremy Brand scores it 10-9 Saunders
Round 2:
The fight quickly hits the mat again as Saunders explodes with a powerful shot. In the guard of the Ultimate Combat Training Center product both are active but Saunders gets the better of the grounded exchanges. Again Kerry Hatley turns this into a kickboxing match as haymakers start flowing. Adzitso works against the cage with a single leg for the takedown while Saunders seems the kimura. It hits the mat as Saunders looks for an omoplata but Adzitso manages to escape the danger and winds up on top in guard. Again Saunders throws up his legs for a triangle and again we have a stand-up. The Bellator tournament newcomer starts eating a few knees from the clinch but he presses Saunders against the cage looking for a single leg as the round concludes.
Justin Faux scores it 10-9 Saunders
Carlin Bardsley scores it 10-9 Saunders
Jeremy Brand scores it 10-9 Saunders
Round 3:
Adzitso again seeks the single leg but Saunders has great takedown defense. We scramble to the floor with Saunders winding up on top with a flurry of punches in the guard. Short punches from Saunders as the Utah resident has no answers for it. Saunders postures up with his experienced counterpart on the floor as he nails him with punches. Controlling the fight Saunders passes to side control and lands punches before Adzitso looks to sit up and use the cage to get back to the feet. Pressed against the cage Adzitso attempts a suplex but has all 180-plus pounds of Saunders come crushing on his face. Once again in the clinch Saunders drags it to the floor again and mounts Adzitso. The fight concludes with Saunders punching his way to get an opening for an armbar but the buzzer sounds before he can do anything with it.
Justin Faux scores it 10-9 Saunders
Carlin Bardsley scores it 10-9 Saunders
Jeremy Brand scores it 10-9 Saunders
MMASucka.com has Ben Saunders as the winner by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Official score has Ben Saunders as the winner by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Welterweight tournament quarter-final bout: Douglas Lima vs. Michail Tsarev
Round 1:
Tentative start from both men as Lima takes the center of the cage. Tsarev shoots for a takedown immediately and looks for a single-leg takedown. The Russian grabs the leg but Lima is hitting him with punches as he fails to get it down. It finally hits the mat but Lima scrambles and gets top position in his guard. In the guard action was few and far between so they were forced back to the feet. They exchange leg kicks as Lima begins going upstairs with his boxing but Tsarev fires back with a fierce body kick. Neither is really pushing the action before Lima gets one last leg kick in that knocked his Russian foe down.
Justin Faux scores it 10-9 Lima
Carlin Bardsley scores it 10-9 Lima
Jeremy Brand scores it 10-9 Lima
Round 2:
Lima fires off a punch before kicking his leg out from underneath him. Lima leaves him to get back to the feet and right away he punishes with another leg kick. He literally cannot stand properly as Lima lands with a windmill punch and another kick that floors him. Some terrible refereeing as he hops on one leg unable to put weight on it and the relentless Lima smartly chops at it again before the action is stopped.
Douglas Lima def. Michail Tsarev by TKO (leg kicks) at 1:40 of round 2
Light-heavyweight tounament quarter-final bout: Muhammed Lawal vs. Przemyslaw Mysiala
Round 1:
Kerry Hatley once again draws the assignment, Mysiala pushes forward with his punches and fires off with an unsuccessful head kick. ‘King Mo’ catches a leg and hits with a fierce punch as he corners his Polish foe and fires off with his jab. Mysiala is on the defensive as Lawal circles and keeps his back against the cage with his constant left jab. Mo throws a stiff overhand right as Mysiala begins to put together a combination. Lawal comes in with his jab combinations that set up the powerhouse left-hand perfectly to get the one-punch knockout and just walks away without inflicting any damage to his grounded opponent.
Muhammed Lawal def. Przemyslaw Mysiala by KO (punch) at 3:52 of eound 1
Welterweight championship bout: Ben Askren vs. Karl Amoussou
Round 1:
Amoussou explodes early with his strikes and landing a nice right-hand in the opening seconds. Askren catches a leg and put him on his back already. In the guard of the challenger Amoussou is active from the bottom with strikes but Askren keeps top position and lands with his ground-and-pound. The constant pressure from Askren smothers Amoussou who seems comfortable on his back but isn’t winning on the judges cards this way. Askren lands a nice elbow that opens Amoussou wide open and Askren continues to hit in that same position. Amoussou seeks an armbar momentarily but it doesn’t go anywhere. Askren returns to guard and ground-and-pounds him and continues to land with that elbow that have sliced and dices the forehead of the challenger.
Justin Faux scores it 10-9 Askren
Carlin Bardsley scores it 10-9 Askren
Jeremy Brand scores it 10-9 Askren
Round 2:
Within seconds Askren shoots for a takedown that he sets up with his striking but Amoussou scrambles and takes top position momentarily and seconds later almost finds a heel hook that would have caused the major upset. Askren takes top position in guard again and begins firing off with elbows again as the bloodwork begins. The NCAA Division I All-American wrestler is far more aggressive than usual as he postures up in guard and fires off with strikes before passing to half-guard. Askren starts unloading looking for a finish as his grounded foe is turtled against the cage in complete defensive mode. With 30 seconds on the clock Askren begins punishing with punches and Amoussou does nothing but eat them as the round comes to a close.
Justin Faux scores it 10-8 Askren
Carlin Bardsley scores it 10-9 Askren
Jeremy Brand scores it 10-9 Askren
Round 3:
The doctor allows this to continue, the wrestler shoots for the leg and eventually gets it down in half-guard and starts firing punches and using the relentless smothering top game. The Bellator welterweight kingpin doesn’t throw with a lot of power the cumulative effect is clearly taking it’s toll as he doesn’t give the challenger a chance to breathe. In half-guard Askren fires off with elbows and punches as his opponents blood stains the canvas. Askren just continues to land punches as Amoussou is defensive off his back but does nothing to damage the champ. Askren passes to side control and takes full mount with ease. Firing down with punches as referee Jason Herzog tells him to do something while Askren bounds his bloodied foe until the final bell.
Justin Faux scores it 10-8 Askren
Carlin Bardsley scores it 10-8 Askren
Jeremy Brand scores it 10-8 Askren
Ben Askren def. Karl Amoussou by TKO (doctors stoppage) at 5:00 of round 3
