(Conveniently, Bellator failed to mention whether or not this is a title fight.)
Bellator Fighting Championships announced today that a main event match-up between Bellator lightweight champ Michael Chandler and PRIDE and UFC vet Akihiro Gono will close out its planned Bellator 67 card May 4 at Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario Canada.
A crafty veteran, Gono (32-17-7) should provide a challenge for the undefeated newly crowned 155-pound BFC champ.
“I’m just excited to get back into the cage,” Chandler said of the planned bout. “I fought four times in 2011 and I’m ready to get back to work. Gono has beaten some of the best fighters in the sport and this should be a good test for me.”
(Conveniently, Bellator failed to mention whether or not this is a title fight.)
Bellator Fighting Championships announced today that a main event match-up between Bellator lightweight champ Michael Chandler and PRIDE and UFC vet Akihiro Gono will close out its planned Bellator 67 card May 4 at Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario Canada.
A crafty veteran, Gono (32-17-7) should provide a challenge for the undefeated newly crowned 155-pound BFC champ.
“I’m just excited to get back into the cage,” Chandler said of the planned bout. “I fought four times in 2011 and I’m ready to get back to work. Gono has beaten some of the best fighters in the sport and this should be a good test for me.”
While Gono, 37, holds the edge in experience, 25-year-old Chandler has an advantage in youth and well-roundedness. An All American wrestler who has worked tirelessly with former Xtreme Couture boxing coach Gil Martinez to improve his striking, Chandler also possesses a fierce submission game. Although one could argue that Gono, who is 4-6 in his last ten and 0-2 in his past two fights, is a step down in competition for the 9-0 Missouri fighter who defeated Eddie Alvarez and Patricky “Pitbull” Feire in his last two outings, it should still be an entertaining fight.
The event will be broadcast LIVE starting at 8 p.m. ET on MTV2 and in commercial-free HD on EPIX. Doors open at 6 p.m. EST, with the first fight scheduled for 7 p.m. EST. The preliminary card, featuring the area’s top local talent will be streamed LIVE and FREE around the world on Spike.com starting at 7 p.m. ET.
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.
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.
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)
Filed under: Bellator, ResultsMMA Fighting has Bellator 44 results of Hector Lombard vs. Falaniko Vitale, Michael Chandler vs. Patricky Pitbull and the rest of the May 14 card in Atlantic City, N.J.
Bellator middleweight champion Lombard knocked out H…
Bellator middleweight champion Lombard knocked out Hawaii MMA veteran Vitale in a non-title bout. Meanwhile, Chandler bested Pitbull in the finals of this season’s lightweight tournament, banking $100,000 and a shot at champion Eddie Alvarez.
MMA Fighting has