Pat Curran contra Joe Warren no Bellator 60. Foto: Bellator/Divulgação.

O Bellator 85 rolou nessa quinta-feira, em Irvine, nos Estados Unidos, e não faltou emoção no cercado cinza. Estreando no canal Spike TV, o evento contou com ótimos combates e não economizou no quesito emoção. Para o Brasil a noite não foi das melhores, com três lutadores no card, apenas Cleber “Tomadinha” Luciano venceu. Depois de três rounds os jurados decretaram o triunfo do brasileiro por decisão unânime sobre Mario Navarro.

Apostando apenas na trocação, Patrício Pitbull acabou superado por Pat Curran, que manteve o cinturão dos penas do Bellator. Sem tentar levar o combate para o chão, o potiguar usou os punhos para acertar o americano, que respondeu na mesma moeda e avariou mais o rosto do brasileiro. Após cinco rounds com muitos socos e chutes, Pat Curran levou por decisão dividida.

Já Renato Babalu vinha bem contra Mikhail Zayats até o minuto final do primeiro round, quando tomou um soco giratório e sentiu o golpe. O russo aproveitou o momento e despejou uma sequência de socos, até o brasileiro cair. No chão, algumas marretadas sacramentaram o resultado.

Ainda na jaula do Bellator, Michael Chandler usou o Jiu-Jitsu e finalizou Rick Hawn com um mata-leão, mantendo o cinturão dos leves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZypofmbegc

Bellator 85: Chandler vs Hawn
Bren Center, Irvine, Califórnia
17 de janeiro de 2013

Michael Chandler finalizou Rick Hawn com um mata-leão aos 3min7s do R1
Jacob Noe venceu Seth Petruzelli por nocaute técnico aos 2min51s do R1
Mikhail Zayats venceu Renato Babalu por nocaute técnico aos 4min49s do R1
Pat Curran venceu Patrício Pitbull por decisão dividida dos jurados
Aaron Miller venceu Joe Camacho por decisão unânime dos jurados
Jason Lambert finalizou Hector Ramirez com uma chave de braço aos 3min59s do R1
J.J. Ambrose finalizou Brian Warren com uma guilhotina aos 50s do R2
Emanuel Newton finalizou Atanas Djambazov com um mata-leão aos 2min21s do R2
Savant Young nocauteou Mike Guymon aos 48s do R2
Joe Williams venceu Jamie Yager por nocaute técnico aos 4min2s do R1
Cleber Luciano derrotou Mario Navarro por decisão unânime dos jurados

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney (left) stands with lightweight champion Mike Chandler (right). Photo by Erik Fontanez

IRVINE, Calif. — Mike Chander and Pat Curran successfully defended their Bellator championship belts at the company’s debut on Spike TV in Irvine, Calif., at UC Irvine’s Bren Center on Thursday night.

Chandler finished Rick Hawn in the second round by locking on a rear-naked choke at 3:07 of the frame, while Curran went the distance with Patricio “Pit Bull” Freire for a split decision win.

“It was a big night for us,” Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said during the post-fight press conference. “Man, did [the fighters] deliver … All praise to you guys.”

Chandler looked dominant in his performance, establishing a takedown early in the fight and working actively in the guard to score points with strikes. The champ controlled Hawn for a majority of the opening frame and appeared to win the round.

The Alliance MMA lightweight continued his push in the second round, getting a slam of Hawn in the first 60 seconds on the way to sinking in the submission to finish the contest.

“It hasn’t really all sank in yet,” Chandler told GRACIEMAG.com of his win on Bellator’s first Spike TV broadcast. “I just want to keep getting better, [train] and see how good I can be.”

With the win, Chandler maintains his undefeated record at 11-0, while Hawn drops to 14-2.

Featherweight champion Pat Curran sits with his championship belt. Photo by Erik Fontanez

Curran, the featherweight title holder, and Pit Bull Freire opened the main card with the 145-pound title fight. Both fighters kept a conservative approach, measuring each other before deciding to engage with more offense in the latter stages of the contest.

The champion wasn’t really surprised, he said, that his opponent didn’t come out guns blazing. It’s a five-round fight and the fighters needed to pace themselves, he added.

“If he was going to come at me really hard, I was ready for it,” Curran said at the press conference. “I knew he had to pace himself because he has gotten tired in the past. I knew that was in the back of his head.”

The fighters went back and forth before the fight went to the final round, but it was Curran that landed enough strikes to bloody up Freire’s nose. The contest was scored 47-48, 48-27 and 48-47 in favor of the Curran.

With the win, Curran improves his overall record to 18-4, while Freire drops his tally to 17-2.

In addition to the title fights, Mikhail Zayats and Jacob Noe each scored first-round technical knockouts in their main card performances. Zayats topped MMA veteran Renato “Babalu” Sobral at 4:49 of the opening round, and Noe beat Seth Petruzelli at 2:51 of their first frame.

The Bellator 85 prelim results are as follows:

• Aaron Miller def. Joe Camacho via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
• Jason Lambert def. Hector Ramirez via sub (inverted armbar) at 3:59, R1
• JJ Ambrose def. Brian Warren by sub (guillotine) at 0:50, R2
• Emanuel Newton def. Atanas Djambazov via sub (rear-naked choke) at 2:21, R2
• Savant Young def. Mike Guymon by KO (punch) 0:48, R2
• Joe Williams def. Jamie Yager via TKO (strikes on the ground) 4:02, R1 
• Cleber Luciano def. Mario Navarro by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)

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