Ben “Killer B” Saunders has fought under the bright lights and scrutiny of large promotions. Chris Cisneros hasn’t, and it definitely showed on Saturday night at Bellator 49 in New Jersey.
Saunders took care of Cisneros at in the third round of the Bellator Fighting Championships welterweight tournament quarterfinals. If you were looking for a fight that exhibited many facets of mixed martial arts, then this was the bout to watch. Cisneros seemed to be a minor hurdle for Saunders as Killer B controlled the fight from start to finish.
Saunders came out blazing with a series of kicks and took control of Round 1 within the first minute. The Ultimate Fighter: Season 6 alum exhibited great wrist control and volleyed back and forth between Kimura and Americana attempts. Chris Cisneros was clearly overwhelmed, appearing just happy to be there.
This fight would’ve definitely been over if elbows were allowed in the tournament. I’m not sure if the short notice or lack of big fight experience blinded Cisneros to Saunders’ attacks, but he clearly wasn’t on top of his game.
Saunders did show some fight on the ground with a couple of reversals as well as thwarting off a few of the submission attempts from Saunders, but it was for not. As in many fights before, Saunders’ razor-sharp knees destroyed Cisneros in the clinch, and Saunders swarmed to finish with ground and pound before the referee stepped in and called the fight.
Saunders definitely looks like a solid candidate to win the tournament and challenge for the championship belt. Cisneros should be evaluated when he has a full training camp and against an opponent more on his level.
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