Bellator 111 results: Champ Eduardo Dantas defends with slick submission
Bellator MMA bantamweight titleholder Eduardo Dantas joined some rare company with a second successful defense of his belt, this time against Anthony Leone in Friday’s Bellator 111 headliner.
Dantas (16-3 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) became just the fifth fighter in organizational history to defend his belt twice after securing a second-round submission win over Leone (13-7 MMA, 2-4 BMMA) in the Spike TV-telvised main event at WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Okla.
While Dantas entered the championship affair as a massive betting favorite, the fight was actually a little more difficult than expected for the Brazilian. He was stuck on the bottom defending ground-and-pound for almost the entirety of the first round.
In the second frame, though, Dantas showed his champion chops by making the necessary adjustments to stay on his feet and wait for his moment to capitalize . The finish came when Leone left his back exposed and allowed Dantas to step over for one of the slickest transitions into a submission in Bellator history. Leone attempted to fight off the rear-naked choke, but there was no escaping the position, and the tap-out came moments later.
With the win Dantas keeps his perfect record in Bellator intact and next defends his belt against season 9 tournament winner Joe Warren (10-3 MMA, 8-2 BMMA), who was on hand at the event to send a message to the champion.
“He’s a great champion,†Warren said in the cage immediately following Dantas’ victory. “But he’s got to bring more to the cage to beat this battle-tested warrior.â€
Johnson survives early storm, rallies to stop Martinez
It appeared Lavar Johnson (18-8 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) was on his way to his fourth consecutive loss when Ryan Martinez (10-4 MMA, 3-3 BMMA) took him to the ground early in their Season 10 heavyweight-tournament opening-round bout.
Johnson, notorious for his lack of desire to fight on the ground, was pinned underneath Martinez for most of the first round in a position that had led to many past losses for “Big.†This time, though, Johnson fought his way out of an unfavorable situation, and once upright, he was determined not to hit the ground again unless it was on his terms.
Johnson pursued Martinez with ferocious aggression on the feet and began to find his range with powerful shots to the head and body. It didn’t take long for Martinez to crumble under the pressure when one of Johnson’s strikes sent him crashing to the ground, forcing referee Dan Miragliotta to halt the action.
‘Mighty Mo,’ the submission artist?
While it was pegged as a guaranteed slugfest between former K-1 strikers, the heavyweight quarterfinal between Siala Siliga (6-2 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) and Peter Graham (9-7 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) resulted in the lone heavyweight-tournament bout to end by submission.
Sure, “Mighty Mo†and Graham banged it out on the feet for a good portion of the first two rounds. But in the third, Siliga surprised most fans when he took the fight to the ground and worked for a submission.
Known primarily for his striking, the 43-year-old Siliga showed a new wrinkle in his game when he locked in a modified head-and-arm choke that left Graham no choice but to tap at the 2:31 mark of Round 3.
Graham’s height and use of range in the striking exchanges gave Siliga massive problems throughout the contest, but “Mighty Mo†adapted to the situation, found a position where he was superior, and secured the win.
Volkov makes quick work of Holota
Alexander Volkov (20-4 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) showed that his failed bid to hold the Bellator heavyweight title this past year was a mere bump in the road with a starching of Mark Holota (12-5 MMA, 2-3 BMMA) in their tourney bout.
The Russian needed just 81 seconds to dispatch his opponent after hurting Holota with strikes from the clinch and eventually finishing the fight with a flurry of ground-and-pound on the mat.
All of Holota’s Bellator defeats prior to the event came by first-round stoppage, and this one was no different. Volkov used the American to make a statement and moved one step closer to regaining the heavyweight title and joining Eddie Alvarez as the only fighters with multiple Bellator title reigns.
Ivanov pounds past Hale
Blagoi Ivanov (10-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) wore out and outlasted Rich Hale (21-7-1 MMA, 6-4 BMMA) to advance to the semifinal round in a Spike.com-streamed tournament bout.
Sandwiched between two relatively close frames, a massive second round from Ivanov was the difference-maker in the fight, and he nearly finished Hale on multiple occasions with his heavy hands.
The durability of Hale somehow kept him in the fight, though, as he ate everything Ivanov threw his way and continued to press forward. Ivanov, though, earned the judges’ nod.
The full Bellator 111 results included:
MAIN CARD (Spike TV)
Champ Eduardo Dantas def. Anthony Leone via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:04 – to retain bantamweight title
Lavar Johnson def. Ryan Martinez via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:22 – Season 10 heavyweight tournament opening round
Siala Siliga vs. Peter Graham via submission (head-arm choke) – Round 3, 2:31 – Season 10 heavyweight tournament opening round
Alexander Volkov def. Mark Holata via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:21 – Season 10 heavyweight tournament opening round
PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike.com)
Stephen Banaszak def. Treston Thomison via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 4:56
Blagoi Ivanov def. Rich Hale via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) – Season 10 heavyweight tournament opening round
Cortez Coleman def. Daniel Miller via submission (punches) – Round 2, 4:49
Javy Ayala def. Eric Prindle via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 3, 2:05
Abdul Razak Alhassan def. Matt Jones via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:23
Brent Primus def. Chris Jones via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:45
Chris Gutierrez def. Justin McNally via TKO (knee and punches) – Round 1, 2:50
