Press Release – Uncasville, Conn. (April 2, 2011) – Bellator Lightweight World Champion Eddie Alvarez successfully defended his title against Season 2 Lightweight tournament champion Pat Curran in front of a full house at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. for Bellator 39, which aired LIVE on MTV2. The night also saw Patricky Pitbull advance to the lightweight finals via a highlight-reel flying knee TKO (Watch Here: http://bit.ly/dKaDJu), Rick Hawn defeat former champ Lyman Good and Ben Saunders’ claim victory in his Bellator debut.
Eddie Alvarez and Pat Curran did not disappoint MMA fans in the Bellator Lightweight World Championship fight. In front of a partisan crowd for Eddie Alvarez, the champ peppered Curran with punches in Round 1 but was unable to take him down, receiving a knee to the face on one attempt. Round 2 was similar, with Alvarez applying pressure and landing body shots but unable to overcome Curran’s takedown defense. Alvarez dominated Rounds 3 and 4 with continuous body shots, continuing the trend for earlier rounds. At the end of Round 5, Curran took Alvarez down and landed blows from the top position, but it was not enough to impress the judges who awarded Alvarez the victory via a unanimous decision.
“Eddie put on another dominant performance and Patricky’s Knockout was one of the best knockouts I’ve seen in the last couple years,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney.
In lightweight semifinal action, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Patricky Pitbull took on 2009 Submission of the Year Winner Toby Imada. After delivering several solid leg kicks in the first half of Round 1, Patricky landed a textbook flying knee to the face of Imada, followed up with a strong left hook. The referee quickly stepped in front of the relentless Pitbull and stopped the fight, awarding Patricky a TKO victory at 2:53 in Round 1, who now advances to the lightweight finals.
Former Bellator Welterweight World Champion Lyman Good met undefeated Judo Olympian Rick Hawn in the welterweight semifinal fight. Good slightly controlled Round 1 momentum, landing multiple uppercuts. In Round 2, Hawn executed an outside trip and took Good to the ground, where he held position until the bell rang. Hawn applied the pressure in Round 3 but Good effectively landed strikes. However, neither was able to seal the deal, leaving it to the judges who declared Hawn victorious via a split decision.
In the night’s special feature fight, UFC Vet Ben Saunders put on a devastating show against an impressively tough Matt Lee. Saunders set the tone of the fight early in Round 1, landing brutal knees and elbows, resulting in a bloody-nosed Lee. In Round 2, Lee attempted to change levels, but he was unable to take the bigger Saunders to the ground. By Round 3, the crowd at the Mohegan Sun roared in support of the physically hurt Lee. The referee saw enough and stopped the fight to consult the physician, who awarded Saunders the victory via TKO at 1:24 in Round 3.
Official Main Card Results:
World Lightweight Title Fight: Eddie Alvarez def. Pat Curran by unanimous decision [49-46, 50-45, 50-45]
Welterweight Semifinal Fight: Rick Hawn def. Lyman Good by Split Decision [30-27 Hawn, 29-28 Hawn, 29-28 Good]
Lightweight Semifinal Fight: Patricky Freire def. Toby Imada by TKO [2:53, Round 1]
Catch Fight @ 175 lbs.: Ben Saunders def. Matt Lee by TKO [Doctor Stopppage – cut 1:24, Round 3]
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator
About Bellator Fighting Championships
Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company headquartered in Chicago. Bellator’s founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator Fighting Championships’ executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations. Bellator Fighting Championships is the first MMA promotion to hold a nationally televised tournament format. Bellator’s fourth season will begin March 5, 2011, airing LIVE on MTV2.
About MTV2
MTV2 is a man’s best friend, available in nearly 80 million homes and with the highest concentration of males 12-24 and 12-34 on TV today. A vibrant mix of music, lifestyle and action sports programming, MTV2 has reflected the habits and behavior of young people since its launch in 1996. MTV2 is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom, one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.