The Bellator bantamweight title was on the line tonight as the promotion put together the long-anticipated rematch between Joe Warren and Marcos Galvao. Joe Warren entered the cage as champion after claiming the belt by scoring an upset victory over Eduardo Dantas. Warren’s first title defense would come against Galvao, who he previously beat by controversial decision at Bellator 41 in 2011.
Marcos “Loro” Galvao defeats Joe Warren by verbal submission (kneebar) R2
Wow, this fight might well be more controversial than their first fight. When Warren and Galvao met first in 2011, many feel that Galvao was robbed by the judges and this time Warren has every right to feel aggrieved. After a strong first round, Warren entered the second round ahead on the judges’ scorecards but it was Galvao who attacked early. He secured a tight leg lock which caused Warren to let out a scream that referee John McCarthy deemed a verbal submission. Warren disagreed, but Galvao was named the new champion regardless.
Can anyone say immediate rematch? I will be extremely shocked if we don’t get to see these two warriors in the cage one more time.
As always, Zombie Prophet provides a vine of the controversial finish.
L.C. Davis defeats Hideo Tokoro by split decision (28-29, 29-28 x 2)
If you didn’t get the opportunity to watch this fight live, check it out as soon as you possibly can. Davis and Tokoro went to war for 15 minutes, with Davis coming out victorious by the skin of his teeth. In a back and forth fight from the beginning, Tokoro showed off his unorthodox submission skills but was ultimately outscored by Davis, who utilized good striking and superior wrestling which earned him the judges’ decision.
Check out this Zombie Prophet vine that might well show the kick that caused LC Davis to lose his bottom teeth.
Francis Carmont defeats Guilherme Viana by unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
Francis Carmont entered this fight as a huge favorite and while he deserved victory, this fight wasn’t without it’s bad moments for the Frenchman. While Carmont controlled the majority of the fight on the feet with slick muay thai and came close to scoring the finish with barrage of punches in the second, he managed to lose the 3rd round big. Viana took Carmont’s back early in the 3rd round and attacked relentlessly, constantly looking for the rear naked choke, but Carmont was able to do enough to win the decision.
Ryan Couture defeats Dakota Cochrane by submission (rear-naked choke) R1 3:23
When it comes to fight time, Ryan Couture seems to have one plan: take it to the cage, score the takedown, take the back, and get the rear naked choke. Against Dakota Cochrane it was no different. Couture came in fast and pressed Cochrane against the cage and while Cochrane briefly managed to take Couture down, he was able to recover, take Cochrane’s back and submit him with ease.
Preliminary Card Results
Stephen Banaszak scored a rare omoplata submission against Brad Mitchell. Once again, check out a GIF from Zombie Prophet.
Rashad Coulter defeats Jeremiah O’neal by TKO (punches/knees) R1 1:44
Emmanuel Sanchez defeats Alejandro Villalobos by unanimous decision (29-28 x 2)
Sean Holden defeats Tim Roman by unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
Neal Ewing defeats Logan Nail by unanimous decision (30-27 x 2, 29-28)
Stephen Banaszak defeats Brad Mitchell by submission (omoplata) R2 2:51
Klayton Mai defeats Xavier Siller by submission (neck crank) R1 3:55
George Pacurariu defeats J.P. Cole by submission (armbar) R1 2:59
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