Eric Prindle vs. Thiago Santos, fight ending low blow comes at the 2:07 mark. All videos in this post props to IronForgesIron.com
Coming fresh off of Last week’s action packed show, Bellator looked to keep building momentum last night in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The good news for Bellator is that, for the most part, the card delivered exciting, entertaining fights. The bad news for Bellator? That above video not only happened, but was supposed to be this season’s heavyweight tournament finale.
Rather, this season’s heavyweight tournament ends with a controversial no contest. On one hand, it would be anti-climatic to name a number one contender by disqualification from to an illegal kick. On the other hand, if Santos was aiming for the inside of Prindle’s thigh, it sure didn’t look like it. Prindle will meet Santos again to determine a contender for Cole Konrad, although a date for their next meeting hasn’t been announced yet.
Fortunately for Bellator, this season’s bantamweight tournament ended with a much more exciting, much less controversial fight. While Alexis Vila managed to push the pace and earn takedowns in the first round, twenty two year old Brazilian prospect Eduardo Dantas came back to take the unanimous decision victory. Dantas utilized his reach advantage to keep Vila at bay and threatened with numerous submission attempts in the second and third rounds. Dantas will meet bantamweight champion Zach Makovsky for a title shot next season.
Also of note, New Jersey native Kurt Pellegrino was knocked out in just fifty seconds by Patricky “Pitbull” Freire. Pellegrino got caught early, and appeared to be working for a takedown while the fight was called. The Atlantic City crowd began chanting bullshit, but after the fight, Kurt announced that he had lost “fair and square” and that this fight would be his last. At thirty two years old, coming off of a loss to a promising lightweight prospect, it’s hard not to believe Pellegrino when he says that he’s retiring for real this time. Thanks for the memories, Batman.
Full results, courtesy of MMA Junkie:
OFFICIAL MAIN CARD RESULTS
Eric Prindle vs. Thiago Santos declared a no contest (unintentional foul) – Round 1, 1:24
Patricky “Pitbull” Freire def. Kurt Pellegrino via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:50
Eduardo Dantas def. Alexis Vila via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Marcin Held def. Phillipe Nover via split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29)
OFFICIAL PRELIMINARY CARD RESULTS
Karl Amoussou def. Jesus Martinez via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:20
LeVon Maynard def. Chris Wing via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 30-26)
Lucas Pimenta def. Doug Gordon via knockout (elbows) – Round 1, 0:40
Scott Heckman def. Brylan Van Artsdalen via submission (standing guillotine choke) – Round 1, 1:38
Gregory Milliard def. Brandon Saling via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)