Tag: Emanuel Newton

Bellator 106 Recap: Alvarez Edges Chandler, Newton Picks Apart King Mo, Riggs Becomes The “Fight Master”


(Photo via Tracy Lee/CombatLifestyle.com)

Bellator should be thankful that this card never made it to PPV; the main event was incredible but paying $45 for the rest of the card would’ve turned people off to Bellator for life.

The night started off promising. Mike “The Marine” Richman met Akop Stepanyan and won via TKO in the first round. The match was well fought and exciting.

The same couldn’t be said for the next fight on the card: Joe Riggs vs. Mike Bronzoulis. The two men fought for the honor of being Bellator’s first “Fight Master” winner, a title as dubious as being the first XFL champion. Riggs won a wrestling-heavy decision that sedated the crowd and likely had television audience flipping channels.

Pat Curran vs. Daniel Straus, the first of three title fights on the card, followed Riggs-Bronzoulis. This fight didn’t wow viewers either. There were a few spurts of action — as well as a point-deduction for an illegal knee that essentially KO’d Straus in the third round — but it was a generally lackluster affair that saw Straus take Curran’s featherweight title and in doing so avenge his 2009 loss to Curran.

But Straus wasn’t the only fighter looking to avenge a loss at Bellator 106. Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal sought victory over Emanuel Newton, who humiliated Lawal with a spinning backfist knockout back at Bellator 90. Lawal failed in this task.


(Photo via Tracy Lee/CombatLifestyle.com)

Bellator should be thankful that this card never made it to PPV; the main event was incredible but paying $45 for the rest of the card would’ve turned people off to Bellator for life.

The night started off promising. Mike “The Marine” Richman met Akop Stepanyan and won via TKO in the first round. The match was well fought and exciting.

The same couldn’t be said for the next fight on the card: Joe Riggs vs. Mike Bronzoulis. The two men fought for the honor of being Bellator’s first “Fight Master” winner, a title as dubious as being the first XFL champion. Riggs won a wrestling-heavy decision that sedated the crowd and likely had television audience flipping channels.

Pat Curran vs. Daniel Straus, the first of three title fights on the card, followed Riggs-Bronzoulis. This fight didn’t wow viewers either. There were a few spurts of action — as well as a point-deduction for an illegal knee that essentially KO’d Straus in the third round — but it was a generally lackluster affair that saw Straus take Curran’s featherweight title and in doing so avenge his 2009 loss to Curran.

But Straus wasn’t the only fighter looking to avenge a loss at Bellator 106. Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal sought victory over Emanuel Newton, who humiliated Lawal with a spinning backfist knockout back at Bellator 90. Lawal failed in this task. He looked impressive with his takedowns and pressure early on, but faded fast, and began looking at the clock and taking deep breaths more than he was blocking punches. As the contest stumbled into the championship rounds, Newton gassed too. The latter half of the fight wasn’t Houston Alexander-Kimbo Slice bad but it was getting to that point. Newton won via unanimous decision and earned a shady, gimmick interim title. 

The main event saved the night. Eddie Alvarez and Michael Chandler attempted to rip one another apart for our entertainment (and for money, of course). Their fight rivaled Diego Sanchez-Gilbert Melendez in terms of excitement; it was equally action-packed but far more competitive. Chandler had the upper hand at some points, but it was Alvarez who was just a little quicker, landed a little more, and was a little more aware. The judges awarded Alvarez with a split-decision victory — to Bjorn Rebney’s apparent dismay — but the match took a lot out of both fighters.

The aftermath? Let’s just say Bellator really lucked out that this wasn’t put on PPV. The fights, on the whole, weren’t entertaining enough to warrant a price tag. Even worse, cherished “star” King Mo lost to a fighter many deemed beneath his level in Emanuel Newton for the second time. The positive fallout is that with an Alvarez victory, Bellator has at least one title fight to book that people actually want to see now: A rubber match between Alvarez and Chandler.

Here are the complete results for Bellator 106:

Main Card

Eddie Alvarez def. Michael Chandler via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)
Emanuel Newton def. Muhammed Lawal via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
Daniel Straus def Pat Curran via unanimous decision (49-45, 48-46, 48-46)
Joe Riggs def. Mike Bronzoulis via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Mike Richman def. Akop Stepanyan via TKO, 4:05 of round 1

Preliminary Card

Cristiano Souza def. Alejandro Garcia via submission (rear naked choke), 3:06 of round 3
Brandon Halsey def. Hector Ramirez via TKO, 0:52 of round 1
Mike Guymon def. Aaron Miller via submission (triangle choke), 4:20 of round 2
Cleber Luciano def. Joe Camacho via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Josh Smith def. Darren Smith via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

[EXCLUSIVE] Muhammed ‘King Mo’ Lawal Talks His Heated Rematch with Emanuel Newton, Balancing Pro-Wrestling and MMA + More


(Photo via Bellator.)

By Elias Cepeda

Bellator light heavyweight Muhammed Lawal remembers the moment when the switch flipped for him regarding Emanuel Newton. Before they fought this past February at Bellator 90, the former training partners were respectful of one another in public statements.

After Newton shocked Lawal and the world with a spinning backfist KO in the first round, however, “The Hardcore Kid” began to suggest that Lawal had simply received his comeuppance for being cocky. To Lawal, who says he made an effort to not trash talk Newton because of their mutual friend Antonio McKee, it was a criticism that came out of nowhere and it created harder feelings than simply losing had engendered.

“A friend told me that [Newton] had said I was cocky and got what I deserved in an interview and I was like, ‘what?'” Newton remembers. (Ed note: I’d like to think it was one of those extended, overly-dramatic “Say WHAAAAAAAAT?” kind of whats. I’m not even here. -Danga)

It’s not that Lawal is unaware of how he comes off when he saunters into the ring or cage wearing a crown and a cape, it’s just that he didn’t expect to be called that after a fight where he’d made a special effort to not do much trash-talking.

“I don’t know what he’s doing. Maybe he’s trying to play to the media so they can write about him, but I didn’t go into that fight cocky and I didn’t fight cocky. I know the mistake I made in that fight and it was a mistake I’d made before and was working on.”


(Photo via Bellator.)

By Elias Cepeda

Bellator light heavyweight Muhammed Lawal remembers the moment when the switch flipped for him regarding Emanuel Newton. Before they fought this past February at Bellator 90, the former training partners were respectful of one another in public statements.

After Newton shocked Lawal and the world with a spinning backfist KO in the first round, however, “The Hardcore Kid” began to suggest that Lawal had simply received his comeuppance for being cocky. To Lawal, who says he made an effort to not trash talk Newton because of their mutual friend Antonio McKee, it was a criticism that came out of nowhere and it created harder feelings than simply losing had engendered.

“A friend told me that [Newton] had said I was cocky and got what I deserved in an interview and I was like, ‘what?’” Newton remembers. (Ed note: I’d like to think it was one of those extended, overly-dramatic “Say WHAAAAAAAAT?” kind of whats. I’m not even here. -Danga)

It’s not that Lawal is unaware of how he comes off when he saunters into the ring or cage wearing a crown and a cape, it’s just that he didn’t expect to be called that after a fight where he’d made a special effort to not do much trash-talking.

“I don’t know what he’s doing. Maybe he’s trying to play to the media so they can write about him, but I didn’t go into that fight cocky and I didn’t fight cocky. I know the mistake I made in that fight and it was a mistake I’d made before and was working on,” Lawal continues.

Contrary to popular opinion, “King Mo” says that did not have his hands low as the result of an over-reliance on Mayweather-taught boxing or arrogance or any combination of the two. “Watch the whole sequence,” he maintains, “I had my hands up. But I drop them when I load up. I have to stop loading up on punches.”

As he heads into a rematch with Newton this Saturday, Lawal clearly feels that he’s improved and will be ready to avenge the loss. Mo has notched two straight knockout wins since the loss to Newton in February and on Saturday he will vie for the Bellator interim light heavyweight title.

It is interesting to consider how much any fighter can truly improve their skills when they are as busy and competing as often as Lawal has. Not only has Mo already fought four times in 2013, he’s also been balancing that with professional wrestling development work.

Pro Wrestling

When we spoke with Lawal some time ago, shortly after he had signed with both Bellator and TNA Wrestling, he was confident that he could handle simultaneous careers in the physically and emotionally demanding fields. Mo is still enthusiastic about wrestling but admits that the MMA/wrasslin’ balance is harder than he thought it would be.

“Yeah, it is,” he says.

“I feel like every time I take a step forward in my development in pro wrestling, I fall two steps backwards because I have to do a fight. Wrestling is definitely hard on the body. I remember one day we had a two hour practice led by Al Snow and then I had to go do a match that night. It is incredible how these guys do this every day and do four or more matches a week and travel. I enjoy doing it and I’m getting better. I’m good at the moves and taking bumps but there’s so much to learn about match psychology. I don’t want to just go do appearances out there, I want to be good at it and put on great matches. I’m still excited to do it it is just hard to find the time to improve the way I want to. I might take extra time after this next fight to focus on wrestling practice.”

The road back

Lawal says that it wasn’t hard for him to recover from his loss to Newton and get focus on winning again. “Not really,” he says flatly.

It wasn’t that he had been knocked out. It wasn’t that a fluke type of shot put him out. Lawal is a competitor. He’s been doing it in amateur wrestling at the highest levels since he was a kid and he knows how to get ready for a competition. Losses are not welcome but they don’t get into his head.

“A loss is always bad but it didn’t affect me psychologically,” he explains. “It just isn’t hard to get back in there and train and get ready for the next one. That’s what I did and I’m ready for this next one.”

Mo doesn’t offer any detailed or boasting predictions for his rematch with Newton but it’s clear that he feels superior to his opponent in more ways than one.

“He’s so cheesy isn’t he?” he asks, having his own answer.

“He’s corny and boring.”

And really, how can a king lose to someone like that?

Rematch Alert: Bellator to Give King Mo Another Chance to Defeat Emanuel Newton on November 2nd PPV


(Let’s just say that Mo’s reaction to referee Rob Hinds’ magic trick didn’t subvert any stereotypes.) 

Quick hypothetical: You’re the #2 MMA promotion in the world, desperately trying to separate your brand from the #1 promotion while simultaneously trying to draw in their audience. So you sign a relatively big name to this pro-wrestling double deal thingamajig and what does he do? Get knocked the fudge out by a relative unknown. Thankfully, you manage to shoehorn him back into your LHW tournament and he scores a couple solid victories, but how do expedite him into the title picture ASAP? YOU REMATCH HIM WITH THE NO-NAMER FOR AN INTERIM TITLE, THAT’S HOW.

Clearly, the folks over at Bellator follow this line of reasoning, as they have recently booked Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal and Emanuel Newton in an interim-title rematch set for their November 2nd pay-per-view extravaganza (which the UFC doesn’t even plan on counter-programming, BTW). It also appears that King Mo has learned his lesson about arrogantly shit-talking his opponent this time around, recently complimenting Newton for being “as hard as baby s–t.” So by the associative property, I guess that makes Mo a calf’s nut sack, then?

While some of you naysayers out there will surely argue that this matchup is a steaming crock of bullshit stew, citing such “facts” as “Emanuel Newton already won the LHW tournament *and* beat King Mo, so why isn’t he fighting for the title?” you should first know that 1) LHW champ Attila Vegh is injured and 2) well, that’s pretty much it.

Featuring a lightweight title rematch between Eddie Alvarez and Michael Chandler as well as a headlining bout between whatever is left of Tito Ortiz and Rampage Jackson, Bellator: Reruns and Rematches goes down from the Long Beach Arena on November 2nd. Anyone see Newton capturing lightning in a bottle again?

–J. Jones


(Let’s just say that Mo’s reaction to referee Rob Hinds’ magic trick didn’t subvert any stereotypes.) 

Quick hypothetical: You’re the #2 MMA promotion in the world, desperately trying to separate your brand from the #1 promotion while simultaneously trying to draw in their audience. So you sign a relatively big name to this pro-wrestling double deal thingamajig and what does he do? Get knocked the fudge out by a relative unknown. Thankfully, you manage to shoehorn him back into your LHW tournament and he scores a couple solid victories, but how do expedite him into the title picture ASAP? YOU REMATCH HIM WITH THE NO-NAMER FOR AN INTERIM TITLE, THAT’S HOW.

Clearly, the folks over at Bellator follow this line of reasoning, as they have recently booked Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal and Emanuel Newton in an interim-title rematch set for their November 2nd pay-per-view extravaganza (which the UFC doesn’t even plan on counter-programming, BTW). It also appears that King Mo has learned his lesson about arrogantly shit-talking his opponent this time around, recently complimenting Newton for being “as hard as baby s–t.” So by the associative property, I guess that makes Mo a calf’s nut sack, then?

While some of you naysayers out there will surely argue that this matchup is a steaming crock of bullshit stew, citing such “facts” as “Emanuel Newton already won the LHW tournament *and* beat King Mo, so why isn’t he fighting for the title?” you should first know that 1) LHW champ Attila Vegh is injured and 2) well, that’s pretty much it.

Featuring a lightweight title rematch between Eddie Alvarez and Michael Chandler as well as a headlining bout between whatever is left of Tito Ortiz and Rampage Jackson, Bellator: Reruns and Rematches goes down from the Long Beach Arena on November 2nd. Anyone see Newton capturing lightning in a bottle again?

–J. Jones

Bellator 94 Recap: Rickels Scores “Controversial” Win in Lightweight Finals, Emanuel Newton’s Cinderella Story Continues


(David Rickels enlists the help of Steven Spielberg to secure the Potato Award for Greatest Walkout of 2013. They’re filling up fast, people. All gifs via ZombieProphet/BloodyElbow.) 

As has become the standard for a Bellator event, last night’s Bellator 94 was packed to the brim with exciting stoppages, grueling decisions, and a fair share of controversy thrown in for good measure.

The main card kicked off with a Season 9 bantamweight tournament qualifier bout between Rodrigo Lima and Ronnie Mann, the latter of which was making his bantamweight debut. As noted by the Bellator broadcast team, the characteristic speed that led Mann to the featherweight tourney semifinals in Season 6 was all but negated against Lima, who outgunned, outgrappled, and plain outworked Mann in every aspect of the fight en route to a unanimous decision victory.

The evening’s next bout was also a season 9 qualifier, this time at welterweight, and pitted Trey “That Just Happened?” Houston (Seriously, that’s his nickname. Do we have a Worst Nickname category for this year’s Potato Awards? Because I think we have found yet another front-runner.) against Luis Melo. In what turned out to be a rather entertaining affair, Houston attempted to turn things into a brawl while Melo opted to take things to the ground as often as possible. After getting rocked and nearly submitted in the second round, Melo was able to turn the tides on a fading Houston in the third and secured an arm-triangle finish just over a minute into the round.


(David Rickels enlists the help of Steven Spielberg to secure the Potato Award for Greatest Walkout of 2013. They’re filling up fast, people. All gifs via ZombieProphet/BloodyElbow.) 

As has become the standard for a Bellator event, last night’s Bellator 94 was packed to the brim with exciting stoppages, grueling decisions, and a fair share of controversy thrown in for good measure.

The main card kicked off with a Season 9 bantamweight tournament qualifier bout between Rodrigo Lima and Ronnie Mann, the latter of which was making his bantamweight debut. As noted by the Bellator broadcast team, the characteristic speed that led Mann to the featherweight tourney semifinals in Season 6 was all but negated against Lima, who outgunned, outgrappled, and plain outworked Mann in every aspect of the fight en route to a unanimous decision victory.

The evening’s next bout was also a season 9 qualifier, this time at welterweight, and pitted Trey “That Just Happened?” Houston (Seriously, that’s his nickname. Do we have a Worst Nickname category for this year’s Potato Awards? Because I think we have found yet another front-runner.) against Luis Melo. In what turned out to be a rather entertaining affair, Houston attempted to turn things into a brawl while Melo opted to take things to the ground as often as possible. After getting rocked and nearly submitted in the second round, Melo was able to turn the tides on a fading Houston in the third and secured an arm-triangle finish just over a minute into the round.

Now, onto the “controversial” ending of the co-main event, lightweight tournament final between David Rickels and Saad Awad. After spending the majority of the first round on the defensive, Rickels was able to get his offense going in the second. As the 10 second clack went off, so did Rickels, unleashing a flurry of punches that ended with a brutal right hand that sent Awad crashing face first to the canvas as the bell rung. While Awad wasn’t exactly Thiago Silva vs. Lyoto Machida unconscious, he was clearly out of it, as he rolled over to his back and was initially unable to get to his feet.

Recognizing this, referee Troy Waugh waved off the bout, which was immediately met with protest by both Awad and commentator Jimmy Smith. Although if you were to ask me, the fact that Awad was on rubber legs the entire time he was protesting should say more about Waugh’s decision than anything else. In either case, Rickels will now face Michael Chandler for the Bellator lightweight title. No word yet on whether he will be forced to trim his Glorious Beard of Absolute Victory before that fight.

Emanuel Newton’s Cinderella story continued in the night’s main event, as he was able to successfully utilize his grappling background and heavy hands to keep fellow tournament underdog Mikhail Zayats off balance en route to a UD victory. Although Zayats was able to land early and often in the first round, Newton secured the second with a few strong takedowns and sealed the deal in the third with a two-punch combo that dropped Zayats. The tough-nosed Russian was able to brave the storm but was ultimately unable to put together anything that could have balanced the round out. With the win, Newton will now face newly crowned champ Atilla Vegh in a rematch of their controversial scrap at Bellator 72 that saw Vegh emerge victorious by way of split decision.

Now, let’s talk about our girl Felice Herrig, the cosplay-enthusiast who got all up in opponent Heather Clark’s grill at the weigh-ins yesterday. In the first round of their card-opening affair, Herrig was utterly dominated by Clark’s relentless top game and positioning. In the second, however, Herrig was able to turn the tables with her trademark combinations and managed to capitalize on a botched headlock throw by Clark to take her back as the round expired.

The third was largely contested on the mat, with Herrig scoring mount at one point and nearly securing a one-armed rear-naked choke. Although Clark was able to wriggle her way out of it and get on top toward the end of the round, things really got interesting after the bell (see above). Apparently still harboring some ill will towards Clark, Herrig decided to engage her opponent in a little post-fight taunting. Clark didn’t appreciate this and promptly backhanded Herrig (because she’s been pimpin’ been since pimpin’ since been pimpin’), who had to be separated by the ref to ensure that a Paul Daley-type incident didn’t occur.

Full results for Bellator 94 are below.

Emanuel Newton def. Mikhail Zayats by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
-David “Caveman” Rickels def. Saad Award by TKO at 5:00, R1
-Luis Melo def. Trey Houston by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 1:09, R3|
-Rodrigo Lima def. Ronnie Mann by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
-Julien Williams def. Kenny Moss by submission (guillotine choke) at 3:19, R1
-Augusto Sakai def. Rob Horton by TKO at 4:01, R2
-Jessica Aguilar def. Patricia Vidonic by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
-Joe Taimanglo def. Ronnie Rogers by submission (north-south choke) at :33, R2
-Edson Berto def. Bruno Carvalho by submission (heel hook) at 1:27, R1
-Tony Fryklund vs. Patrick Cenoble fought to a draw (29-27, 27-29, 28-28)
-Felice Herrig def. Heather Clark by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

–J. Jones

Fresh Off His Knockout Of ‘King Mo’, Emanuel Newton Believes Bellator LHW Title Will Be His


(Photo via Bellator.com)

By Elias Cepeda

Last month, former Strikeforce champion Muhammad Lawal was scheduled to take his next academic step towards the Bellator light-heavyweight tournament title. Sure, he had to fight someone, but no one seemed to give much credit to his opponent, Emanuel Newton.

The two had traveled and trained in the same circles, even together, but their careers couldn’t have been more different. Lawal was a former top international wrestler that entered high-level MMA with great fanfare and quickly became one of the most dangerous 205-pound fighters in the world.

Newton, instead, had toiled on mostly the regional circuits for nearly ten years. He had fought, and sometimes beaten, guys who would go on to fight and win in the UFC, but Newton’s own shot at the big time had yet to come.

Fighting in the Bellator tournament, however, gave him his chance. Both Newton and Lawal won their first-round fights in January and advanced to face one another. All the attention, including from this writer and site, was on Lawal.

With his pedigree, brash public persona, and world class skills, “King Mo” was the story. The world took for granted that he had taken a step down to fight in Bellator after being fired by Zuffa (the parent company of Strikeforce and the UFC) and that Lawal would easily stomp through every one of his opponents in the tournament, Newton included.


(Photo via Bellator.com)

By Elias Cepeda

Last month, former Strikeforce champion Muhammad Lawal was scheduled to take his next academic step towards the Bellator light-heavyweight tournament title. Sure, he had to fight someone, but no one seemed to give much credit to his opponent, Emanuel Newton.

The two had traveled and trained in the same circles, even together, but their careers couldn’t have been more different. Lawal was a former top international wrestler that entered high-level MMA with great fanfare and quickly became one of the most dangerous 205-pound fighters in the world.

Newton, instead, had toiled on mostly the regional circuits for nearly ten years. He had fought, and sometimes beaten, guys who would go on to fight and win in the UFC, but Newton’s own shot at the big time had yet to come.

Fighting in the Bellator tournament, however, gave him his chance. Both Newton and Lawal won their first-round fights in January and advanced to face one another. All the attention, including from this writer and site, was on Lawal.

With his pedigree, brash public persona, and world class skills, “King Mo” was the story. The world took for granted that he had taken a step down to fight in Bellator after being fired by Zuffa (the parent company of Strikeforce and the UFC) and that Lawal would easily stomp through every one of his opponents in the tournament, Newton included.

For his part, Lawal insisted to us that Newton was a real fighter who posed real danger, but no one really listened. Fighting is intrinsically meritocratic when left to its own devices, however, and our expectations and prejudices have no bearing on what happens in the ring.

On February 21st, Emanuel Newton cut Muhammed Lawal’s Bellator coronation short by knocking him out cold in the first round with a spinning back fist. The punch, like Newton himself, looked to be an afterthought. But both packed more power and surprising timing than was expected, and tonight Newton finds himself in the finals of Bellator’s Season 8 light-heavyweight tournament against Mikhail Zayats.

The day before weighing in for the fight this week, Newton insisted to CagePotato that Lawal’s hype didn’t faze him leading up to their bout last month. “I didn’t feel too much, man. I didn’t let the hype, the attention for my opponent, anything, affect me. I had a fight in front of me and that was it,” he told us.

Not buying into your opponent’s hype is one thing, but being such an overlooked underdog had to have motivated “The Hardcore Kid.” Still, the plain-speaking Newton insists that he didn’t feel slighted. Rather, he was too busy training to worry about being insulted by being dismissed. He does allow that winning was sweet, though.

“Afterwards it was definitely sweet,” he said. “I  liked showing what I can do.”

Predictably, Newton didn’t let his surprise KO of Bellator’s biggest star distract him from his next task — fighting Zayats in about a month’s time. “I had to move forward,” he said. “I have a tough guy in front of me.”

Indeed he does. Zayats has won his past seven fights, including a TKO over former UFC title challenger, Renato “Babalu” Sobral.

Newton may not talk trash, but his confidence is unmistakable. It is also clear that much of it comes from his faith.

“I feel like I’ve got God with me and so there’s nothing I can’t do,” Newton told us.

He doesn’t seem to mean that God wants him to win and not Zayats, necessarily. Newton just seems to believe that the higher power he believes in makes anything possible for him, if he reaches out and grabs it.

“I think Mikhail is a God-fearing man as well,” Newton ended.

“But it’s just my time, now.”

Bellator 90 Recap: ‘King Mo’ Dethroned Via Spinning Backfist, Ben Saunders Adds Head Kick KO to Highlight Reel

(The Emanuel Newton vs. King Mo spinning-backfist falling-tree knockout, via RockOwnsPunk.)

When you’re watching a Bellator event, you can only hope that a memorable finish or two will make up for the general lack of star power compared to those other guys. And oh man, did last night’s Bellator 90 event in West Valley City, Utah, deliver the goods, with all four fights on the Spike TV main card ending within the first two rounds, and three more stoppages featured on the prelims.

But the card’s generous helping of violence was a mixed blessing, since the list of victims included Bellator’s light-heavyweight marquee attraction, and their marketable featherweight inspirational figure. If you didn’t tune in last night, here’s what you missed:

Season 8 Welterweight Semi-Finals: Ben Saunders faced Raul Amaya for the second time in his Bellator stint, and while Killa B completely dominated their first meeting en route to a unanimous decision win, he didn’t even let Amaya out of the first round this time. Amaya was aggressive from the opening bell, but wasn’t able to find his range against the lanky Saunders, who landed counter-punches and body-kicks at will, before putting Amaya’s lights out with a left high kick. (GIF here, via ZombieProphet/BloodyElbow)

The fight on the other side of the 170-bracket was just as quick and one-sided. Douglas Lima didn’t give Bryan Baker a chance to get in the fight, abusing Baker’s legs with low kicks for a couple minutes, then firing a devastating right hand that crumpled “The Beast” to the mat. Lima will now face Saunders in the Season 8 Welterweight Tournament Final at Bellator 93, in a rematch of their Season 5 Welterweight Tournament Final in November 2011, which Lima won by knockout.


(The Emanuel Newton vs. King Mo spinning-backfist falling-tree knockout, via RockOwnsPunk.)

When you’re watching a Bellator event, you can only hope that a memorable finish or two will make up for the general lack of star power compared to those other guys. And oh man, did last night’s Bellator 90 event in West Valley City, Utah, deliver the goods, with all four fights on the Spike TV main card ending within the first two rounds, and three more stoppages featured on the prelims.

But the card’s generous helping of violence was a mixed blessing, since the list of victims included Bellator’s light-heavyweight marquee attraction, and their marketable featherweight inspirational figure. If you didn’t tune in last night, here’s what you missed:

Season 8 Welterweight Semi-Finals: Ben Saunders faced Raul Amaya for the second time in his Bellator stint, and while Killa B completely dominated their first meeting en route to a unanimous decision win, he didn’t even let Amaya out of the first round this time. Amaya was aggressive from the opening bell, but wasn’t able to find his range against the lanky Saunders, who landed counter-punches and body-kicks at will, before putting Amaya’s lights out with a left high kick. (GIF here, via ZombieProphet/BloodyElbow)

The fight on the other side of the 170-bracket was just as quick and one-sided. Douglas Lima didn’t give Bryan Baker a chance to get in the fight, abusing Baker’s legs with low kicks for a couple minutes, then firing a devastating right hand that crumpled “The Beast” to the mat. Lima will now face Saunders in the Season 8 Welterweight Tournament Final at Bellator 93, in a rematch of their Season 5 Welterweight Tournament Final in November 2011, which Lima won by knockout.

Season 8 Light-Heavyweight Semi-Finals: The Spike card led off with a 205-pound match between Mikhail Zayats and Jacob Noe, who you may remember as the guys who beat Renato Sobral and Seth Petruzelli at Bellator 85. Zayats took control from the very beginning, flooring Noe with a right hand and establishing top position on the mat. After some ground-and-pound, Zayats established mount and methodically set up an armbar, cranking it for the tap.

You’d think that Zayats would now be set up for high-profile meeting with Muhammad Lawal in the tournament finals, but Emanuel Newton went and screwed those plans up later in the evening. Unlike Przemyslaw “The Inanimate Object” Mysiala, Newton wasn’t afraid to stand toe-to-toe with Mo; Lawal’s shots might have been cleaner during their striking exchanges, but Newton was getting his licks in and making it a battle. But that battle didn’t last long. Halfway through the opening round, Newton whiffed so hard on an overhand right that he found himself with his back turned to Mo. So he figured, hey, why not throw a completely-blind spinning backfist? And because the MMA Gods have a sadistic sense of humor when it comes to fight promotions putting all their eggs into a single fighter’s basket, that spinning backfist landed across Lawal’s jaw, sending the King into a slow-motion tailspin. And so, it’ll be Newton vs. Zayats for all the marbles. How do you like that.

Season 7 Featherweight Tournament Final: The fight between Rad Martinez and Shahbulat Shamhalaev was originally supposed to go down in December, but Shamhalaev had to bow out at the last minute due to food poisoning. Shamhalaev was in fine form last night, punching Martinez to the mat in the first round, and nailing him with leg kicks. Martinez’s best moment came as he scored a takedown to stifle Shamhalaev’s momentum near the end of the round. Once the fighters were re-started for round two, it was all Shamhalaev, who dinged Martinez with unanswered power punches that staggered the Utah native, then smashed him with an overhand right that effectively ended the match — GIF here, via ZombieProphet/BloodyElbow — punching his ticket to a future title shot against Pat Curran.

Full Bellator 90 results are below.

Main Card
– Shahbulat Shamhalaev def. Rad Martinez via KO, 2:12 of round 2 *
– Emanuel Newton def. Muhammed Lawal via KO (spinning backfist), 2:35 of round 1 **
– Douglas Lima def. Bryan Baker via KO, 2:34 of round 1 ***
– Mikhail Zayats def. Jacob Noe via submission (armbar), 3:38 of round 1 **

Preliminary Card
– Ben Saunders def. Raul Amaya via KO (head kick), 2:56 of round 1 ***
– Travis Marx def. Chase Beebe via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
– Jesse Juarez def. Jordan Smith via split-decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
– Sean Powers def. David Allred via submission (rear-naked choke), 2:10 of round 3
– Lionel Lanham def. Joe Rodriguez via KO, 0:49 of round 1

* Season 7 Featherweight Tournament Final
** Season 8 Light-Heavyweight Tournament Semi-Final
*** Season 8 Welterweight Tournament Semi-Final