(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.
(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
The best part about watching combat sports is that no matter what you might be expecting, things are constantly changing. Whatever seemed expected might be completely unimaginable six months from now. For a sport where a fight can change in a…
The best part about watching combat sports is that no matter what you might be expecting, things are constantly changing. Whatever seemed expected might be completely unimaginable six months from now. For a sport where a fight can change in a moment, a day seems almost like an eternity. Sometimes the fights go the way that most […]
At Bellator 49, Douglas Lima defeated Steve Carl in a welterweight quarterfinal bout. With the win, Lima is now two wins away from winning the tournament and earning a title shot against the winner of an upcoming championship bout between Ben Askren an…
At Bellator 49, Douglas Lima defeated Steve Carl in a welterweight quarterfinal bout. With the win, Lima is now two wins away from winning the tournament and earning a title shot against the winner of an upcoming championship bout between Ben Askren and Jay Hieron. Early in the fight, Carl hurt Lima with a right […]
Filed under: BellatorChris Lozano, Ben Saunders, Luis Santos and Douglas Lima all won and advanced to the semifinals of Bellator’s welterweight tournament as Bellator began its fifth season on Saturday night.
Chris Lozano, Ben Saunders, Luis Santos and Douglas Lima all won and advanced to the semifinals of Bellator‘s welterweight tournament as Bellator began its fifth season on Saturday night.
In the main event, Lozano and Brent Weedman fought almost evenly for 15 minutes, but in the end all three judges scored it 29-28 for Lozano. In his post-fight interview, Lozano was quick to praise his opponent. “Brent Weedman is one bad MF-er,” Lozano said afterward. “Brent, that was a war, baby.”
Saunders looked outstanding in beating Chris Cisneros by third-round TKO. Saunders was dominating throughout the fight, but at the start of the third round he came out like a guy who needed a finish: He exploded on Cisneros, kneed him in the face with a Thai clinch and then finished him off with punches on the ground, just 29 seconds after the third round started. It was a great showing from Saunders.
Santos beat Dan Hornbuckle with an easy unanimous decision, 30-27 on all three judges’ scorecards. This was the 50th career victory for Santos, who has mostly fought on small shows in Brazil before signing with Bellator. Hornbuckle has now lost in the first round of two straight Bellator welterweight tournaments, and it may be time for him to ply his trade elsewhere.
Lima beat Steve Carl by unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 on the judges’ scorecards. It was the Bellator debut for Lima, the Maximum Fighting Championships welterweight champion, and he said afterward that he expects Bellator to give him his biggest challenges to date. “A lot of these guys are really tough. There are no easy fights,” Lima said.
The undercard was streamed on Spike.com, as part of a new deal between the network and the promotion. Although the stream only attracted a few thousand viewers, it was a good show, highlighted by a fantastic fight between Joel Roberts and Brylan Van Artsdalen, with Roberts winning by submission with a triangle choke in the second round.
Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney has put in the time required for a Mixed Martial Arts organization to find success. Rebney works 18-hour days and the organization’s recent agreement to air preliminary action live and free on Spike.com is a testament to…
Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney has put in the time required for a Mixed Martial Arts organization to find success.
Rebney works 18-hour days and the organization’s recent agreement to air preliminary action live and free on Spike.com is a testament to his hard work.
Bellator 49, which takes place tonight at New Jersey’s Caesars Atlantic City, will be the inaugural event for the Spike.com stream which begins at 7:00 p.m. ET (4:00 p.m. PT).
Additionally, tonight’s action will air in high-definition on EPIX and MTV 2 at 9:00 p.m. ET (6:00 p.m. PT) and kicks off the opening round of the organization’s welterweight tournament.
Prior to yesterday’s Bellator 49 weigh-ins Rebney spoke with BleacherReport.com regarding the event, Spike.com and the organization’s young stars.
B/R: Congratulations on the prelims being aired on Spike.com, how nice is it to have the preliminary action being aired for the Mixed Martial Arts world to see?
Bjorn Rebney: “It’s awesome, absolutely awesome. You and I know it, you look at Spike (and) you see the name, you see the brand, it’s anonymous with Mixed Martial Arts and it’s where the vast majority of us have gone since 2005 to watch Mixed Martial Arts. It’s the reason what you and I believe is the greatest sport on the face of the earth is crossed over into the general market.
“You think MMA, you think Spike so to be on Spike.com for the preliminary fights for two-full hours and to be associated with that spectacular brand is just an awesome addition to what we’re doing with MTV 2 under that MTV networks umbrella. Now, what we’re doing in HD every week, every Saturday night on Epix, it’s a very powerful way for fans to see four-hours of really spectacular Bellator content, going from Spike.com to MTV 2 and Epix. It’s very exciting to be connected and attached to a brand that has that kind of equity and the space.”
B/R: Bellator 49 features the opening round of the welterweight-tournament, with Ben Saunders, Dan Hornbuckle, Douglas Lima, and others slated to compete. It appears that fans are in for a full night of excitement…
Bjorn Rebney: “I think that when you’re looking at a tournament, whether it’s in basketball, or Bellator, Mixed Martial Arts fighting, or whether it’s in soccer, or whatever your sport is you’re hoping for a tournament where there are a group of world class fighters and not a prohibitive favorite. Where you can walk into any game and think ‘Hey, I’m going to get a great game out of it, or hey, I’m walking into this fight and I can potentially get an amazing fight out of it.’
“I think when you look down this fight, the (Chris) Lozano – (Brent) Weedman fight has potential (and) spectacular nature written all over it. The Luis Santos versus Dan Hornbuckle fight, I’ve said it many times it boils down to does Dan Hornbuckle show up or does the “Handler” show up? If the “Handler” shows up against Luis Santos, we could have a fight of the night candidate on our hands. If Dan Hornbuckle shows up against Luis Santos, I think Dan could be in for a very long night. That fight potentially could be something amazing. Lima is really the top prospect in the world at 170 pounds and he’s going to have his hands full with Steve Carl. What’s not fun about Ben Saunders versus Chris Cisneros, stylistically that’s going to be a stand up battle for as long as it lasts. So, I’m pretty excited and I think we have the potential for something pretty special.”
B/R: With the aforementioned matchups on the docket for tomorrow night, is there a particular fight that you’re looking forward to seeing as a fan?
Bjorn Rebney: “The one as a fan when I take the CEO hat off that I’m really looking forward to seeing is Luis Santos versus Dan Hornbuckle and like I said, ‘I hope against hope that the fight is Santos versus the “Handler”, because I know what the Handler can do, because I saw him fight for years before he came to Bellator. Dan had an initial few fights in the tournaments for us a year and a half ago and has not been a great roll as of late.
“But I do know what the “Handler” is capable of and if the “Handler” re-emerges then with his style and the way he puts kicks together, the way he puts punches together, and what he can do on the ground versus Luis Santos, who I know is in very high, very aggressive level right now then it has the makings for an incredible fight. But I don’t think the Dan we’ve seen over the last few fights is a guy who can stand in there with Luis Santos. So, I’m very, very interested in seeing what happens in that fight. That’s kind of the one I’m looking at going ‘Wow, this could be an amazing fight.’
B/R: You’re at Caesar’s in Atlantic City for this event, what has the atmosphere in the city been like leading up to tomorrow’s night action?
Bjorn Rebney: “It’s been great, if you’re here at Caesar’s in Atlantic City, you’re in the greater Philadelphia area or anywhere around New Jersey, I think there’s about 100 tickets left (and) we’re very, very close to a sell out, so people should come down. A lot of posters, a lot of billboards on the highway, a lot of excitement around the fights, (and) a lot of fight fans hanging around the lobby talking to the guys and getting autographs and pictures.
“It’s an exciting environment and there’s a lot of big fight action going on in Atlantic City this weekend. I think there’s an HBO here fight at Boardwalk Hall where we’ll be on October 15 for Eddie’s (Alvarez) fight against Mike Chandler and obviously our show that’s live on Epix and MTV 2. So, (there’s) a big excitement level and a very educated fan base.”
B/R: Your job is primarily to build the Bellator brand and to produce great shows with world class fighters like Eddie Alvarez, Ben Askren and Michael Chandler. What’s it like for you to see Bellator and the fighters continuing to grow and achieve success?
Bjorn Rebney: “It’s awesome, you hit dead center on it, guys like Mike Chandler who came to us with very few fights but have absolutely, unlimited potential, a crazy work ethic, and almost a sponge like ability to gather information and tools in this game of Mixed Martial Arts. If you would’ve asked me when Mike Chandler was going into the finals of the most recent lightweight tournament that he was going to stand and strike with Patricky “Pitbull”, who many people in the MMA space were saying is one of the most dangerous strikers in the world at 155, I would’ve bet the house that he would use his strikes to set up his take-downs and go in for a double leg, put him on his back, and try to win the fight. Chandler’s maturation in this game is like the maturation of Bellator, it’s been at such a fast level and it’s been so dramatic that he actually out-struck Patricky “Pitbull” in that fight. If you watched the fight, it’s kind of awe-inspiring that a guy who up until about three years ago had never hit anyone in the face intentionally in combat sports. He’d been a wrestler, gone through “Mizzou”, an elite collegiate level guy, but had really no striking experience in the game and to progress to that level and out-strike a guy who’s been hitting and kicking people in the face at a world class level since he was a kid is just shocking.
“Also, look at Pat Curran, if there ever is anyone that is a poster fighter for what Bellator can do for a fighter’s career and the opportunity it can provide it’s Pat Curran. He goes in 18 months ago in a lightweight tournament and he got in only because Jeff Curran begged me for a spot for Pat. He said that he wouldn’t disappoint and that if I ever trusted anything he’s said I should believe him that Pat was the real deal.
“Pat goes in and knocks out Mike Ricci, who supposed to be the next GSP (Georges St. Pierre) out of Canada, then beats Roger Huerta in an absolute must win fight for Huerta, then beats Toby Imada wins the lightweight tournament, and faces Eddie Alvarez, goes five rounds against a guy who I feel is the most dangerous puncher in the world at 155 pounds. Then drops to 145 pounds and continues to elevate his game and knocks out Marlon Sandro, who going into that fight was the No. 5 ranked featherweight on earth.
“To watch these guys progress and become some of the best in the world under this banner is awesome, it’s an awesome thing to see.
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Just because the UFC is taking a week off, doesn’t mean MMA does. There is a mass of exciting fights going on this weekend, though, to be honest… Some are going to be more exciting than others. So to decide which fights are worth watching I…
Just because the UFC is taking a week off, doesn’t mean MMA does. There is a mass of exciting fights going on this weekend, though, to be honest… Some are going to be more exciting than others. So to decide which fights are worth watching I invented a system to rank the probability that a […]
Chris Lozano, 
Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney has put in the time required for a Mixed Martial Arts organization to find success.