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Bellator: Warren, Shlemenko win season two tourneys

Cagewriter

The self-proclaimed "baddest man on the planet," Joe Warren won a split decision, 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 over Patricio "Pitbull" Freire. With that third decision win, Warren takes the Bellator season two featherweight tourney.

Freire owned the first round. Pitbull had more than one chance to finish the fight. First, he caught Warren in a standing arm triangle, but couldn't finish. Next, he knocked Warren to the ground near the end of the round, continued with more strikes on the ground and even took his back for a rear naked choke attempt as the bell rang. Warren somehow survived.

For the rest of the bout, Warren shook off the first round and came out aggressively and showed off the wrestling skills that won him a Greco-Roman world championship in 2006. He took Freire down at will, and then threw punches and elbows at Freire's head.

Though Warren lost the first round badly, it was not scored 10-8 by any of the judges, which made it possible for Warren to come back and win the bout. With this win, Warren will now go on to face Joe Soto for the Bellator featherweight title.

Alexander Shlemenko earned a shot at the Bellator middleweight belt with a first-round TKO of Bryan Baker. When Baker shot in for a takedown, Shlemenko threw a knee into Baker's chest, which forced Baker to slump to the ground. Shlemenko finished the bout by landing a series of punches to the dazed Baker, and the bout was stopped at 2:45 in the first round.

With the win, Shlemenko wins the Bellator season two middleweight tournament, and a chance to fight Hector Lombard for the Bellator title. Shlemenko, a Russian fighter, won the title with a decision win over Matt Major, a TKO after Jared Hess' gruesome injury and now another TKO over Baker.

Rosi Sexton and Zoila Frausto started off the card with a bang. In the first round, Zoila Frausto took advantage of Sexton's bad shot, and hit Sexton with a train of a left knee. It knocked Sexton straight to the ground. Frausto followed up with a few punches, but Sexton was out cold at the two-minute mark of the first round.

Sexton will be a part of the Bellator women's tournament during their third season, starting this fall. The tourney will be contested at 115 lbs., smaller than Frausto has ever fought at.