Bellator 113 results: Emanuel Newton gets revenge, splits with Attila Vegh for 205 title
Emanuel Newton thought the judges did him wrong the first time he fought Attila Vegh. On Friday, the second time was the charm – though there was a tense moment.
Bellator interim light heavyweight champion Newton took a split decision from champion Vegh to unify the titles at Bellator 113. Newton took scores of 49-46 and 48-47 over the five-round fight, which Vegh’s corner appeared to believe its fighter was winning through three rounds. Vegh got one 48-47 nod from a judge.
Bellator 113 took place at Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane, Kan. The main card aired on Spike TV following prelims on Spike.com.
Vegh took a split decision from Newton in July 2012 in a fight that Newton and many others believed he won. At Bellator 113, Newton got his revenge to win the title after taking the interim belt in a fight against Muhammed “King Mo†Lawal in November while Vegh was injured. He now will defend his belt for the first time against the winner of May’s fight between Lawal and Quinton “Rampage†Jackson.
The two opened up at range, with Newton trying punches and kicks to the body, including a spinning back kick and a side kick. Newton appeared to be catching Vegh a little off guard with his kicks and his stance. But Vegh pushed forward and landed a solid punch and kick combination that got Newton’s attention. Midway through the round, Newton tried to get inside, but he ate a few shots from Vegh before backing out of trouble. Both fighters took turns changing stances, trying to surprise the other somehow. Vegh finished the round solidly with a kick and punch, but the frame was close.
The second round was more of the same early, with each fighter seeming to be close to putting the other in trouble, but not quite taking advantage. But halfway through the round, Vegh got a break when Newton drilled him with a knee too low in the clinch. But right after the restart, Newton finally went after a takedown. He got one, but Vegh quickly poped back up and went after a guillotine choke. He couldn’t hold it, though, and the two broke off and went back to swinging.
In the third and fourth rounds, Newton’s style was essentially the same – he just outstruck Vegh with kicks and punches and avoided getting into danger. While he never put Vegh in danger, himself, Newton also didn’t seem to be leaving the fight in much doubt – except from Vegh’s corner, who insisted he was up 3-0 after three rounds.
Newton came out strong in the fifth and landed stiff jabs, then shot for a takedown 40 seconds in. They tied up on the fence for nearly a minute, then broke off. Two minutes in, Newton landed a hard right hand, then tied Vegh up on the fence and looked for knees in the clinch. Newton put together a short offensive rally late that backed Vegh up, and probably cinched the round for him.
“It was a tough fight and he was countering me real good,†Newton said. “I think I pushed the pace. But I’m definitely going to have to get better.â€
Newton (23-7 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) won for the fifth straight time since his loss to Vegh at Bellator 72. Vegh (29-5-2 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) lost for the first time since October 2010, seeing his nine-fight winning streak snapped.
Patricky “Pitbull†stuns Rickels and his home crowd
Patricky Freire needed another big win in such a big way. But the way he took out David Rickels was more than even he probably could have expected.
Tired of Rickels’ pre-fight talk, which included saying “Pitbull†was a “chihuahua,†Freire knocked Rickels out quickly into the second round to advance to the semifinals of the Season 10 lightweight tournament – in front of Rickels’ home fans.
Both fighters got inside for left hands 30 seconds in, then backed out. But seconds later, it was Rickels looking to land a knee. Then he pushed Freire away with a three-punch combo followed by a kick to the body. Midway through, a Freire jab was good and popped RIckels’ head back. When things got dirty in the clinch, Freire stood in and landed a nice right uppercut, but Rickels pushed him to the cage. There, Rickels did his best work before breaking off with a minute left in the round.
Freire caught Rickels with a left hook 40 seconds into the second. It hurt Rickels and backed him up. But the home favorite tried to recover with a kick to the body, then a few punches inside. But “Pitbull†fired back and landed two left hands. The second one put Rickels flat on his back. As referee Jason Herzog stood over to see if Rickels would recover, Freire landed a right hand on the ground to be sure of it.
“What motivates me the most is all this cheering against me,†Freire said after the fight.
Freire (12-5 MMA, 5-4 BMMA) won for the second straight time after a rough 1-3 Bellator run over more than two years. Rickels (15-3 MMA, 9-3 BMMA) sees his dream of returning to a lightweight title shot put on hold.
Held taps Cavalheiro with first-round toe hold
Marcin Held finished another opponent with a leg submission. Because of course he did.
Held tapped out Rodrigo Cavalheiro less than two minutes into their lightweight tournament fight, stopping him with a toe hold to advance to the tourney semifinals.
Held came inside early and often, trying to put together combinations. But when Cavalheiro swung back, Held dropped down and took him to the canvas. He held onto Held’s arms to keep him from posturing up, but Held tried to slam his way out of the spot on top, and finally did. And that’s when he went to work.
The famous leg specialist grabbed hold of Cavalheiro’s right leg. Cavalheiro worked diligently to roll his way out of a foot lock, and it looked like he might escape. But Held stayed after it, and before long, Held changed to a a toe hold and torqued. Cavalheiro had to tap before taking any major damage to his knee.
“It’s not always that easy – sometimes I have to put a lot of power into it,†Held said afterward. “He tried to block it, but finally I got it. I think I’m confident with it because I do it a lot, and I know it works.â€
Held (18-3 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) won for the seventh time in eight fights – and the fourth time in Bellator with a leg submission. Cavalheiro (14-3 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) had his 10-fight winning streak snapped in his Bellator debut.
Campos dominates Welch to move into lightweight semis
Derek Campos nearly had Tim Welch finished in the second round, then cruised to a unanimous decision victory in the lightweight tournament.
Much of the first round was spent in feel-out territory as each fighter looked for an opening, but neither finding a way to land the big one until the final minute. That was when Campos landed a couple hard rights, and Welch tried to find his range with hard jabs and a kick upstairs.
In the second, Campos put Welch in big trouble with an inside left hand, then a right that wobbled Welch as he backpedaled. Campos threw him to the canvas and landed punches, but Welch recovered while Campos took him to the canvas. Campos wrapped up an arm choke and stepped over into mount, but he couldn’t finish the submission attempt and Welch recovered to half-guard with half the round remaining and survived the round.
It was mostly Campos again in the third, as he outwrestled Welch and tried to work him over with ground-and-pound. Welch reversed late in the round, but it was too little too late and Campos was on into the semifinals with a sweep of the judges’ scorecards.
Campos (14-3 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) won for the fifth straight time. Welch (10-5 MMA, 0-2 BMMA) is back in the loss column and falls to 0-2 for Bellator.
Anderson destroys Girtz with second-round knee
Brandon Girtz did good early work against Derek Anderson, but after the fight, he was left wondering, “What just happened?†as Anderson moved into the lightweight tournament semifinals.
Girtz got an early takedown, but Anderson quickly worked his way back to his feet. After trading strikes on the feet for a bit, Girtz again got to where he wanted to be – on the ground. Both fighters looked for armbars, and Girtz got his and had Anderson in an awkward position with his arm extended high. But Anderson shook it off, in part perhaps thanks to holding the cage, then found himself on top on the ground punching his way to the end of the round while defending more arm attempts from Girtz.
But in the second, things went south for Girtz in a major hurry. Girtz changed levels while throwing an overhand left, and Anderson countered perfectly. He landed a vicious right knee to Girtz’s chin, and Girtz was out immediately. There was no need for Anderson to throw anything further, holding off before referee Rob Hinds could get in to stop it.
Anderson (11-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) stayed unbeaten and won for the 10th time in 11 fights by stoppage. Girtz (10-4 MMA, 2-3 BMMA) had a two-fight winning streak snapped.
Bellator 113 results:
MAIN CARD
Emanuel Newton def. Attila Vegh via split decision (47-48, 48-47, 49-46) – light heavyweight title unification bout
Patricky Freire def. David Rickels via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 0:54 – lightweight tournament opening round
Marcin Held def. Rodrigo Cavalheiro via submission (toe hold) – Round 1, 1:56 – lightweight tournament opening round
Derek Campos def. Tim Welch via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) – lightweight tournament opening round
PRELIMINARY CARD
Derek Anderson def. Brandon Girtz via knockout (knee) – Round 2, 0:23 – lightweight tournament opening round
Israel Giron def. Cody Carrillo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Eric Weisly def. Donnie Bell via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
Daniel Gallemore def. Frederick Brown via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:34
Bobby Cooper def. Marcio Navarro via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
L.C. Davis def. Taurean Bogguess via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 3, 4:58
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