Bellator crowned its inaugural women’s featherweight champion Friday night at Bellator 174 as Julia Budd knocked out former Strikeforce titleholder Marloes Coenen in the fourth round in the company’s first main event headlined by two women.
The 35-year-old Coenen is one of the sport’s pioneers, but she just didn’t have enough in the tank heading into the championship rounds.
She’s fought some of the best female fighters on the planet, including Miesha Tate and Cris Cyborg, but this was the end of the road for her in what will be remembered as a storied career.
As for Budd, it was a huge notch on her belt to take out one of the sport’s all-time female fighters. Having only lost to the likes of Ronda Rousey and current UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes, Budd now has the Bellator 145-pound belt to call her own.
This main card had plenty of great fights on it, as all but one bout was finished inside the cage. Here are the results from Bellator 174’s main card:
BELLATOR 174 MAIN CARD RESULTS
Marloes Coenen vs. Julia Budd — Budd TKO 2:42 R4.
Brandon Girtz vs. Fernando Gonzalez — Gonzalez UD 29-28, 29-27, 30-26.
Justin Wren vs. Roman Pizzolato — Wren sub (arm triangle) 2:35 R1.
Rafael Lovato Jr. vs. Charles Hackmann — Lovato, TKO, 0:13 R1.
Lovato smokes Hackmann
There isn’t much to say about Rafael Lovato Jr.’s fight against Charles Hackman. It was not a bad fight by any means, but it just didn’t last long enough to have many talking points.
The fight was the sixth-shortest bout in Bellator history as Lovato was able to finish Hackmann within 13 seconds.
Not bad for his Bellator debut.
It was a big finish for Lovato to put his name on the radar for bigger fights, especially seeing as he’s known primarily for his extensive background in jiu-jitsu. One of the world’s most respected black belt practitioners on the mat, the thought of Lovato being able to put together a stand-up game to go alongside his dominance on the ground is truly terrifying.
The win was Lovato‘s first in the organization, and he will surely look for bigger fights in the 185-pound division. As for Hackmann, he couldn’t have predicted a worse debut. It’s back to the drawing board for the American, who now drops to 4-5 overall in his MMA career.
The Big Pygmy impresses once again
Is there a better nickname in MMA than Justin Wren’s?
Wren, also known as The Big Pygmy, was not messing around once he entered the cage Friday night. Within 15 seconds, he had his grip around Roman Pizzolato and threw him to the ground in a manner that is usually reserved for WWE wrestlers, not cage fighters.
Not only was this sequence pretty on the eye, it’s what Wren did once he got Pizzolato on the ground. For such a large man, Wren showed some pretty nifty maneuvers to get Pizzolato in a tough position on the canvas. At first, it looked like Wren was looking for a rear-naked choke once he Pizzolato gave up his back, but then once The Big Pygmy got full mount, that was basically game over.
He eventually got the arm triangle for the finish, but more so than the victory, Wren made a statement tonight and increased his following. It will be interesting to see who he fights next.
Gonzalez wins the war
Unlike the other fights on the main card, this fight went the distance. While there wasn’t an exciting finish, there was plenty of action in the fight to keep the fans entertained.
It was close, but Fernando Gonzalez showed the will of a true warrior in the cage tonight with a great display of durability and boxing to keep Brandon Girtz at bay.
The second round was the deciding factor in this fight as it looked like Girtz won the first round by an inch while Gonzalez put on a show in the third and final round.
Gonzalez, deservedly so, came out on top 29-28, 29-27 and 30-26, but the 30-26 scorecard from one of the judges is a bit of a head-scratcher. It doesn’t make sense that one judge gave the fight to Gonzalez at 29-28 while it seems like one judge gave Gonzalez every round, including a 10-8.
But alas, this is the exact reason why you don’t leave a fight in the hands of the judges.
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