COMMENTARY | Finishes were abundant during Bellator Fighting Championship's debut on Spike TV, with only one bout on the main card requiring the services of the judges. Here are the results of the Bellator 85 fight card held on Jan.17, at the UCI Bren Events Center in Irvine, Calif:
Jacob Noe def. Seth Petruzelli
Noe improved his Bellator record to 2-0, making quick work out of Petruzelli. After an uneventful feeling out period, Noe made Petruzelli pay for a weak takedown attempt, sprawling and transitioning to back mount. He followed up with some vicious ground-n-pound, forcing referee Jason Herzog to call an end to the contest at the 2:51 mark of the first round.Michael Chandler def. Rick Hawn
Chandler added another impressive win to his record at Bellator 85, successfully defending the lightweight title and keeping his undefeated record intact. Despite Hawn's judo pedigree, Chandler was able to take him down at will, dominating their encounter with his wrestling. He eventually sealed the deal in the second round, finishing Hawn off with a rear-naked choke.Mikhail Zayats def. Renato "Babalu" Sobral
Babalu dominated the majority of their Bellator 85 encounter, roughing up Zayats against the cage. Unfortunately for Babalu, Zayats caught him with a spinning back-fist towards the end of the opening round, and he dropped him shortly after with some hard punches against the cage. The Russian followed up with some vicious hammer-fists on the ground, forcing referee John McCarthy to stop the fight with 11 seconds left in the round.Pat Curran def. Patricio "Pitbull" Freire
Both men came out swinging at Bellator 85, and it led to a very competitive and entertaining bout. Freire got off to a solid start, getting the better of the exchanges early in the fight. However, Curran landed the more damaging blows. By the championship rounds, Pitbull had slowed down a bit, and Curran was able to capitalize on it.Judge Gene Lebell scored the fight 48-47 Freire, while Judges Michael Bell and Ron McCarthy scored the same but in favor of Curran, who successfully defends his Bellator featherweight title for the first time.
It was one of those fights that could have gone either way, as every single round of their Bellator 85 clash was tightly contested.
Undercard:
Aaron Miller def. Joe Camacho (unanimous decision)
Jason Lambert def. Hector Ramirez (straight armbar, round one)
J.J. Ambrose def. Brian Warren (guillotine choke, round two)
Emanuel Newton def. Atanas Djambazov (rear-naked choke, round two)
Savant Young def. Michael Guymon (KO, round two)
Joe Williams def. Jamie Yager (TKO, round one)
Cleber Luciano def. Mario Navarro (unanimous decision)
David is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and boxing practitioner who has watched and studied MMA for the past 8 years. Follow him on Twitter @davidkingwriter and check out his blog.
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