(Chris Lozano jacks Brent Weedman with an uppercut during their three-rounder at Caesars Atlantic City. Photo via Bellator)
Bellator’s fifth season kicked off last night, featuring the quarterfinals of their latest welterweight tournament. Still undefeated since his release from the UFC last year, Ben Saunders grabbed his second Bellator victory — and a spot in the semi-finals — in classic “Killa B” fashion, abusing Chris Cisneros for two rounds before ending the bout early in the third frame with a storm of knees from his infamous Thai clinch. Former MFC welterweight champion Douglas Lima also impressed in his promotional debut, winning a unanimous decision over Steve Carl.
On a less-triumphant note, former Bellator standouts Chris Weedman and Dan Hornbuckle ate their second-consecutive losses at the event. Weedman, who ran through his first four opponents under the Bellator banner before getting outpointed by Jay Hieron at the Season 4 Welterweight Finals, fell short once again against Chris Lozano. Weedman took the first round easily on the strength of a knockdown and a slam-takedown, but Lozano controlled the next ten minutes and won a unanimous nod from the judges. Earlier in the evening, Dan Hornbuckle was thoroughly handled by season Brazilian vet Luis “Sapo” Santos.
Spike.com’s broadcast of the prelims turned out to be a crowd-pleasing affair, as all five local feature fights ended by stoppage. Full Bellator 49 results are below.
Main Card (Season 5 Welterweight Quarterfinals)
– Chris Lozano def. Brent Weedman via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
– Ben Saunders def. Chris Cisneros via TKO, 0:29 of round 3
– Luis Santos vs. def. Dan Hornbuckle via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
– Douglas Lima def. Steve Carl via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27 x 2)
Spike.com Prelims
– Alexandre Bezerra def. Scott Heckman via TKO, 1:38 of round 2
– Giedrius Karavackas def. LeVon Maynard via TKO, 1:32 of round 3
– Joel Roberts def. Brylan Van Artsdalen via technical submission (triangle choke), 1:47 of round 2
– Lester Caslow def. James Jones via TKO (injury), 0:15 of round 2
– Azunna Anyanwu def. J.A. Dudley via TKO, 4:16 of round 2