Rashad Evans snapped a two fight losing streak with a split decision win over Dan Henderson in the main event of UFC 161 in Winnipeg.

They felt each other out for the first 50 seconds of the fight before they began to engaged. Evans was able to land a combination and got out of the pocket before Henderson could counter. After exchanging strikes for a couple of minutes, Henderson landed the first significant strike as he had Evans on his heels. Evans would be able to recover before Henderson could get a finish.

After the first round was over, Evans corner told him to take the fight to the ground which he did in the opening minute of the second round. Henderson was able to get back to his feet and they grappled against the fence. Each fighter landed a significant punch with each guy landing a right hand and they ended up separating and resetting. Evans began to push forward and landed a right hand. With 30 seconds left in the round, Evans landed a combination and attempted to get the fight to the ground but Henderson stopped the attempt as the round closed out.

As the final round opened, Evans appeared to be the fresher fighter and landed his best combination of the fight in the first minute of the round. At the two minute mark of the round, Evans looked for a single leg takedown but Henderson was able to stop the attempt. While they were clinching against the fence, Evans was able to land a combination which Henderson responded to with his own combination. They continued to strike with each other until the final minute when Evans looked to take the fight to the ground. He was unable to get the fight to the ground and the fight went to the judges.

Two of the three judges scoring the fight gave the fight to Evans (18-3-1) and he gets his first win since the beginning of last year when he defeated Phil Davis. Henderson (29-10) has now lost back to back fights and this defeat likely ends his chance for a shot at a UFC title.

Stipe Miocic upsets Roy Nelson
Stipe Miocic was able to execute his gameplan to score the biggest victory of his career as he defeated Roy Nelson by unanimous decision in the co-main event of UFC 161.

The bout opened with each fighter swinging away and both guys attempted to take the fight to the ground. Miocic continued to circle away from the right hand of Nelson and clinched up with him against the cage. Nelson would break away from the clinch. As the fighters exchanged strikes, Miocic began to land combinations and caused Nelson to attempt a takedown. He stopped the attempt and they continued their boxing fight. Miocic landed a right hand that rocked Nelson and he landed several short strikes against the fence. Nelson would be able to survive the flurry of punches and make it out of the opening round.

As the second round started, Miocic continued to control the fight as he was able to land strikes and get out of danger before Nelson could land a punch. Miocic continued to land his strikes and Nelson appeared to be gassing out. Miocic landed a combination with 30 seconds left in the round and heads into the third round up two rounds.

In the final round, Miocic continued to control the bout and Nelson was unable to land his big right hand. Every time Nelson appeared to be getting his offense going, Miocic was able to break away and reset. Miocic would continue to land his jab and he would go on to win the fight by unanimous decision on the judges scorecards. The lost for Nelson snaps a three fight winning streak and all of his defeats in the UFC have come by unanimous decision.

The complete UFC 161 Results are below:

Rashad Evans def. Dan Henderson via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Stipe Miocic def. Roy Nelson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Ryan Jimmo def. Igor Pokrajac via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Alexis Davis def. Rosi Sexton via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-28)
Shawn Jordan def. Pat Barry via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, :59
Jake Shields def. Tyron Woodley via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
James Krause def. Sam Stout via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 3, 4:47
Sean Pierson def. Kenny Robertson def. majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
Roland Delorme def. Edwin Figueroa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Mitch Clarke def. John Maguire via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Yves Jabouin def. Dustin Pague via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Fabricio Werdum proved that he is one of the top contenders for the UFC heavyweight title on Saturday night in the main event of UFC on FUEL TV 10 as he defeated former interim champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira by submission.

The fight opened with Werdum throwing two leg kicks and he took the fight to the ground. He was in the mount position for a moment but Nogueira was able to get him out of the position.

Werdum would be in top position and transitioned into various positions before Nogueira got back to his feet. After Werdum landed a jab, Nogueira clinched him against the fence and Werdum would be able to escape.

Nogueira landed a short punch and began to clinch with Werdum again and landed a couple of body shots. They grappled against the cage and Werdum looked for a single leg takedown. Nogueira stopped the takedown attempt and the fighters clinched against the fence as the bell sounded for the end of the first round.

As the second round opened, Werdum landed two leg kicks but Nogueira continued to come forward. Once again, they would grapple against the fence and the fighters went to the ground. As they were going to the ground, Nogueira went for a guillotine choke but Werdum was able to escape.

He would have side control and then transitioned into half guard. He would pass to get the back of Nogueira and began to look for an armbar submission. After securing the submission, Nogueira verbally submitted to the submission and Werdum gets the victory.

Werdum (17-5-1) has now won three straight fights since coming back to the UFC and is likely one more win away from a title shot.

Leonardo Santos wins The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 2
The final of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 2 was the co-main event of UFC on FUEL TV 10 and Leonardo Santos won the reality show with a second round submission.

At the beginning of the fight, Santos looked to grapple with his opponent but Macario was looking to keep his distance. Santos was able to get ahold of his opponent against the fence and looked to take the fight to the ground.

Macario was able to break away an have the fight return to the middle of the octagon. The fight would go to the ground but it was Macario who took the fight to the ground. Macario worked his ground strikes as Santos began to look from submissions from his back.

Santos would get back to his feet and the fighters would separate. As the round began to come to a close, the fight went to the ground as Macario looked for a submission. He would not be able to finish his submission and the fight would head into the second round.

As the second round opened, the output from both fighters slowed down and Santos was the more active fighter. Macario would take the fight to the ground and started in top position. Santos would work his way back to his feet and landed a knee before the fighters grappled. As Santos went for a takedown, Macario grabbed the fence and referee Marc Goodard stopped the action and warned Macario about grabbing the fence and told him a point would be taken away the next time he did it.

On the restart, Santos took the fight to the ground and achieved the mount position where he threw his strikes to led to an arm traingle choke submission. Macario attempted to defend the submission attempt, but Santos applied more pressure and Macario tapped out with 17 seconds left in the second round.

Thiago Silva wins for first time since 2009 with KO over Feijao
Thiago Silva won his first fight since 2009 as he defeated former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante by knockout in the first round.

As the fight started, Feijao landed several punches but Silva continued to come forward and looking to land his right hand. The fighters exchanged punches and Feijao landed a spinning back elbow and stunned Silva.

Silva was able to recover from the spinning back elbow and Feijao’s output began to slow down. Silva was able to capitalize on his opponent slowing down and went on the attack.

He landed an uppercut against the fence and landed another strike before the referee came in to stop the fight.

Silva (15-3, 2NC) improves his UFC record to 6-3, 2NC and five of his wins in the UFC have come by knockout with all of those knockouts coming in the first round.

The full UFC on FUEL TV 7 Results are below:

Fabrico Werdum def. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira via verbal submission (armbar) – Round 2, 2:41
Leonardo Santos def. William Macario via submission (arm triangle choke) – Round 2, 4:43
Thiago Silva def. Rafael Cavalcante via KO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:29
Erick Silva def. Jason High via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 1:11
Daniel Sarafian def. Eddie Mendez via submission (arm triangle choke) – Round 1, 2:20
Rony Jason def. Mike Wilkinson via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 1:24
Raphael Assuncao def. Vaughan Lee via submission (armbar) – Round 2, 1:51
Felipe Arantes def. Godofredo Pepey via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:32
Ildemar Alcantara def. Leandro Silva via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Rodrigo Damm def. Mizuto Hirota via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Caio Magalhaes def. Karlos Vemola via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:29
Antonio Braga Neto def. Anthony Smith via submission (knee bar) – Round 1, 1:52

Cain Velasquez was able to make his first successful title defense with a first round TKO victory over Antonio Silva in the main event of UFC 160 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Velasquez opened the fight by immediately looking for a takedown which was unsuccessful. He would look to take the fight to the ground once again and Silva stopped the attempt.

He then landed right hand that dropped Silva and finished the fight with strikes on the ground. The official end of the fight came at the 1:21 mark of the first round.

Junior dos Santos secures title shot with knockout victory
Junior dos Santos knew a win over Mark Hunt would secure him a title shot and he kicked his way to a title shot with a third round knockout victory.

The fight opened with Hunt landing a low kick and Dos Santos fired back with a right hand. Hunt pushed forward and Dos Santos landed a right hand that dropped Hunt.

Dos Santos would go in for the finish but Hunt would survive the flurry of punches from the former champion. He continued to look to land an overhand right but Hunt was able to get away. The continued to exchange throughout the rest of the round with Dos Santos continuing to look for his overhand right.

In the second round, Hunt landed a left hand and Dos Santos followed it up with a right hand. After each fighter landed punches, Dos Santos landed a combination that he went to the body and an overhand right to the face. Hunt continued to come forward and begin to throw leg kicks.

After Hunt landed several punches against the fence, Dos Santos took the fight to the ground with one minute left in the second round. While on the ground, Dos Santos advanced his position to side control and landed short elbows as the round ended.

As the final round opened, both fighters came out swinging for the fences and Hunt connected with several left hands. As the round went on, Hunt appeared to slow down and Dos Santos became more active with punches and kicks.

With 90 seconds left in the fight, Dos Santos landed a left hand that had Hunt step backwards but he did not go in for the finish. With a minute to go, Dos Santos landed a spinning heel kick that dropped Hunt and finished the fight on the ground.

UFC 160 Results:
Cain Velasquez def. Antonio Silva via TKO (strikes) 1:21
Junior dos Santos def. Mark Hunt via KO (spinning heel kick) – Round 3, 4:18
Glover Teixeira def. James Te Huna via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 2:38
TJ Grant def. Gray Maynard via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:07
Donald Cerrone def. KJ Noons via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Mike Pyle def. Rick Story via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Dennis Bermudez def. Max Holloway via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Robert Whittaker def. Colton Smith via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, :41
Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Abel Trujillo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27. 30-27)
Stephen Thompson def. Nah-Shon Burrell via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
George Roop def. Brian Bowles via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 1:43
Jeremy Stephens def. Estevan Payan via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)

Vitor Belfort is always looking for a finish in the first round and he once again achieve a first round stoppage with a TKO win over Luke Rockhold in the main event of UFC on FX 8 in Brazil.

Rockhold missed a head kick at the start of the fight which he slipped but was able to get back to his feet. Rockhold went for a takedown which was unsuccessful and Belfort landed a right hand.

After an exchange of strikes, Belfort landed a spinning head kick which dropped Rockhold and he finished the fight with punches on the ground.

Jacare wins UFC debut by submission:
Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza made his UFC debut on Saturday night at UFC on FX 8 and scored his 14th career submission victory with an arm triangle choke win over Chris Camozzi.

The fight opened with Camozzi bringing the fight to Jacare and the fight went to the ground as Jacare was able to get his opponent to the ground.

Jacare started in top position and looked to past to the half guard position. Jacare stood up from the position and then back to the ground where he achieved side control.

He looked for a submission but Camozzi was able to escape for the moment. However, Jacare would transition to another submission attempt and Camozzi tapped out to an arm triangle choke at the 3:37 mark of the opening round.

Jacare (18-3, 1NC) has now won four in a row since losing the Strikeforce title to Luke Rockhold and proved he is one of the best middleweight fighters in the world.

The complete UFC on FX 8 results are below:

UFC on FX 8 Results:
Vitor Belfort def. Luke Rockhold via TKO (strike) – Round 1, 2:32
Ronaldo Souza def. Chris Camozzi via submission (arm triangle choke) – Round 1, 2:32
Rafael dos Anjos def. Evan Dunham via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Rafael Natal def. Joao Zeferino via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Nik Lentz def. Hacran Dias via unanimous decision (28-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Francisco Trinaldo def. Mike Rio via submission (arm triangle choke) – Round 1, 3:08
Gleison Tibau def. John Cholish via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 2:34
Paulo Thiago def. Michel Prazeres via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Yuri Alcantara def. Iliarde Santos via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:31
Fabio Maldonado def. Roger Hollett via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-27)
John Lineker def. Azamat Gashimov via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 1:07
Jussier Formiga def. Chris Cariaso via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Lucas Martins def. Jeremy Larsen via KO (punch) – Round 3, :13

Bellator 92 on Thursday night at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California featured the featherweight and middleweight tournament semifinals and the tournament finals are now set.

Frodo Khasbulaev (20-5) won his eight fight in a row with a TKO victory in the third round over Bellator tournament veteran Marlon Sandro to advance to the featherweight tournament final.

In the opening round, Sandro landed an illegal knee to the groin that nearly ended the fight. However, Khasbulaev would be able to continue and have two separate submission attempts but Sandro would be able to escape.

Sandro’s best round would come in the second round as he was able to lock in an arm triangle choke near the fence. Khasbulaev would eventually be able to escape and control the rest of the round. In the final round, Khasbulaev would take advantage early by getting the fight to the ground and landing 53 unanswered shots before referee John McCarthy came in to stop the fight.

In the other featherweight tournament semifinal, Mike Richman won a very close split decision victory over Alexandre Bezerra in the opening bout of the main card on Spike TV.

Bezerra was able to control the first round by taking the fight to the ground and having a 38-1 advantage in total strikes. The second round would end up being a different round as Richman was able to keep the fight on the feet, which is his type of fight. He would be able to work his strikes to take the second round.

The final round saw both fighters had their moments with Bezerra getting the fight to the ground and Richman being able to get off his back and score points on the feet. Bezerra did outland in the final round, but Richman landed more power strikes.

Two of the three judges scored the fight for Richman and he advances to the finals to take on Khasbulaev and that fight is scheduled to take place at Bellator 95 on April 4th.

Cooper and Marshall advance to middleweight final
Bellator 92 also saw the semifinals in the middleweight tournament as Brett Cooper had a come from behind victory over Dan Cramer and Doug Marshall won a controversial split decision over Sultan Aliev.

Cramer appeared to be working his way to a decision victory in the third round against Cooper as he was up two rounds on the scorecards. However, Cooper was able to land a right uppercut which started the beginning of the come from behind victory for Cooper. After landing the uppercut that rocked Cramer, Cooper (19-7) would land several more punches before the referee came in to stop the fight.

Marshall defeated Aliev in a controversial split decision, which most media members had Aliev winning the fight 29-28. However, two of the three judges scoring the fight for the California State Athletic Commission felt that Marshall won two of the three rounds.

Aliev was able to control a majority of the fight by taking Marshall down to the mat and working his ground game. He appeared to become tired in the third round and referee Herb Dean stood them up on more than one occasion in the final round.

Dean stood the fighters up with 10 seconds left in the fight and Marshall charged at Alieve with a flying knee, which did not land and Aliev fell to the mat. Marshall would land a couple of punches on the ground before the final bell sound.

Marshall would get the split decision victory with the scores being 27-30, 29-28 and 29-28. He will meet Cooper in the middleweight final, which is scheduled to take place at Bellator 95 on April 4th.

The complete Bellator 92 results are below:

Main Card: (Spike TV)
Frodo Khasbulaev def. Marlon Sandro via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 2:38
Doug Marshall def. Sultan Aliev via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
Brett Cooper def. Dan Cramer via KO (strikes) Round 3, 3:19
Mike Richman def. Alexandre Bezerra via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Preliminary Card: (Spike.com)
Nick Piedmont def. Cleber Luciano via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, :55
Ricky Legere def. Sabah Homasi via submission (RNC) – Round 2, 2:52
Akop Stepanyan def. Chris Saunders via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 3:55
Keith Berry def. Richard Rigmaden via submission (kimura) – Round 1, 1:31
Josh Appelt def. Manny Lara via unanimous decision (30-24, 30-24, 30-24)
Aaron Miller def. Shad Smith via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Brandon Halsey def. Rocky Ramirez via technical submission (arm triangle choke) – Round 3, :50

March 1st edition of The MMA Analysis Podcast proudly sponsored by Radio Influence.  Take a listen as host Pete guides the entire team inlcuding Lance, Jay, Andrew and Joey G, plus a little surprise by the original gansta himself Ivan, through the entire UFC 157 card from last week, a full set of UFC on Fuel TV 8 predictions and a bevy of MMA news and notes that will get you up to speed on anything you’ve missed.  Plus, the team goes uncensored for the final 10 minutes of the show so this is must listen radio!

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Attila Vegh became the second ever Bellator light heavyweight champion on Thursday night in New Mexico when he defeated Christian M’Pumbu by unanimous decision.

Vegh was able to control the fight on the feet and limit the offense of M’Pumbu to win the fight on all of the judges scorecards, with the scores being 48-47, 49-46 and 50-45.

The fight will not be remembered as anything near an exciting fight and the crowd at the Santa Ana Star Center in New Mexico booed the fight from the opening round till the final bell sounded.

Vegh was the aggressor for all five rounds and did land several strikes that rocked his opponent. He had a strikes landed advantage of 81-52 and was able to take the fight to the ground on two occasions.

Vegh (29-4-2) has now won nine fights in a row and will wait to see who wins this seasons light heavyweight tournament to find out who his first title defense will be against.

Awad and Rickels advance to lightweight tournament final
The lightweight tournament semifinals also took place tonight and Saad Awad and David Rickels advance to the finals with victories on the main card. Rickels defeated Jason Fischer in the first fight on the main card with a unanimous decision victory and Awad stopped Will Brooks in 43 seconds with a knockout victory.

Rickels (13-1) was able to control his fight with Fischer on the feet and on the ground. Rickels out landed his opponent 116-43 in total strikes and dominated the fight in the third round when he attempted four submissions. At the end of the fight, the judges scored the fight 29-28, 30-27, 30-27 and this is the third straight decision win for Rickels.

In the other semifinal fight, Awad (14-4) wasted no time in getting a first round knockout over Brooks. He stunned Brooks in the opening moments of the fight and would land 20 total strikes before referee Jason Herzog would come in to call the fight. It was his second straight win in under one minute and he has now won six in a row.

Awad and Rickels will now face each other in the tournament final, which is expected to take place at Bellator 94 on March 28th at the USF Sun Dome in Tampa, Florida.

The full Bellator 91 results are below:

Main Card: (Spike TV)
Attila Vegh def. Christian M’Pumbu via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 50-45)
Saad Awad def. Will Brooks via KO (strikes) – Round 1, :43
David Rickels def. Jason Fischer via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

Preliminary Card: (Spike.com)
Holly Holm def. Katie Merrill via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 3:02
Blas Avena def. Lenny Lovato via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:40
Andreas Quintana def. Russell Wilson via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, :32
Ed West def. Josh Montoya via KO (head kick) – Round 2, 2:51
Adrian Cruz def. Nick Gonzalez via submission (scarf-hold armlock) – Round 2, 3:00
Josh Appelt def. Josh Lanier via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, :16
Brennan Ward def. Yair Moguel via submission (RNC) – Round 1, :57

History was made on Saturday night at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California as the first women’s bout in UFC history took place and once again Ronda Rousey won by first round armbar to retain the UFC women’s bantamweight title.

Rousey defeated Liz Carmouche in the main event of UFC 157 and finished the fight will eleven seconds left in the first round.

She once again won by armbar, which she was looking for once the fight went to the ground.

Carmouche had her moment in the fight when she was able to get the back of Rousey and looked for a rear-naked choke, which she transition to a neck crank. Rousey would escape the submission attempt and would control the rest of the fight.

In the final minute of the first round, Rousey looked for the armbar and Carmouche did her best to defend the attempt. However, Rousey would be able to lock in the armbar and Carmouche immediately tapped out.

Rousey (7-0) has won all of his fights in the first round by armbar and this is now the longest fight in here career. Her longest fight prior to tonight was against Miesha Tate, which lasted until the 4:27 mark of the first round. Carmouche and Tate are the only fighters who have faced Rousey and made it past the first minute of the fight.

This lost snaps a two fight winning streak for Carmouche (8-3) and this is the second time that she has been defeated by submission. She will now have to win another fight or two to get another shot at the UFC women’s bantamweight title.

Machida defeats Henderson by split decision in #1 contenders fight
In the co-main event of UFC 157, former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida was able to do enough on the judges scorecards to win a split decision over former Pride and Strikeforce champion Dan Henderson.

Just like in many of his fights, Machida (19-3) forced Henderson to come after him and he was unable to contact with his over hand right. Machida would land more significant strikes throughout the fight, but Henderson landed more total strikes. Henderson would be able to take the fight to the ground in the third round, but was unable to mount much offense in the position.

After the final bell sounded, two of the judges scored the fight 29-28 for Machida and the one judge saw the fight 29-28 for Henderson. Machida is now expected to be the next title contender for the UFC light heavyweight title, which current champion Jon Jones will be making his next title defense in April against Chael Sonnen.

Faber stops Menjivar in the first round by submission
Former WEC champion Urijah Faber may have been fighting for his job at UFC 157 against Ivan Menjivar and he had one of his best performances in the octagon as he won by submission in the first round.

The fight would go to the ground very early and “The California Kid” began to work his ground game. Menjivar would be able to get back to his feet, but Faber would get on the back of his opponent which would be the beginning of the end of the fight. Once on Menjivar’s back, Faber would lock in a rear-naked choke and Menjivar would tap out.

Faber (27-6) now improves to 3-2 in the UFC and his last two wins in the organization have come by submission. With the victory, he showed that he is still one of the top contenders in the UFC bantamweight division and puts himself back into title contention.

The full UFC 157 results are below:

Main Card: (PPV)
Ronda Rousey def. Liz Carmouche via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 4:49
Lyoto Machida def. Dan Henderson via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Urijah Faber def. Ivan Menjivar via submission (RNC) – Round 1, 4:34
Court McGee def. Josh Neer via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Robbie Lawler def. Josh Koscheck via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:57

Preliminary Card: (FX)
Brendan Schaub def. Lavar Johnson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Michael Chiesa def. Anton Kuivanen via submission (RNC) – Round 2, 2:29
Dennis Bermudez def. Matt Grice via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Sam Stout def. Carlos Fodor via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Preliminary Card: (Facebook)
Kenny Robertson def. Brock Jardine via submission (knee bar) – Round 1, 2:57
Neil Magny def. Jon Manley via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Nah-Shon Burrell def. Yuri Villefort via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Bellator 90 took place on Thursday night at the Maverik Center in Utah and Shahbulat Shamhalaev defeated Utah’s own Rad Martinez by TKO in the main event to win the season seven featherweight tournament.

The fight opened with Shamhalaev able to control the fight on the feet and Martinez would get a takedown late in the first round. He was unable to capitalize on the position and the fight would head to the second round.

In the second round, Shamhalaev would be able to keep the fight on the feet and began to land his strikes. He would stun Martinez and he went in for the finish. After a series of strikes, referee Jason Herzog would come in to stop the fight.

Shamhalaev (12-1-1) wins $100,000 and a guaranteed title shot in the featherweight division. The current champion Pat Curran is already scheduled for his next title defense, which will take place on April 4th in Atlantic City against Daniel Straus.

Newton and Zayats advance to light heavyweight tourney final
During yesterday’s weigh-in’s, Emanuel Newton said he was going to shock the world and thats what he did on Thursday night as he knocked out Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal in the first round. Newton landed a spinning back fist that connected on the chin of Lawal and the referee immediately came in to call the fight.

In the other semifinal bout, Mikhail Zayats also won by stoppage as he defeated Jacob Noe by submission in the first round. Zayats dropped Noe early in the round and worked his ground game. After landing punches on the ground, he would transition to attempt an arm bar which would end the fight.

Newton and Zayats will now meet each other in the light heavyweight tournament final and Bellator has not announced when the tournament final will take place.

Lima and Saunders will once again meet in welterweight final
The fight card also saw both of the semifinal bouts in the welterweight tournament and the final is set as Ben Saunders defeated Raul Amaya and Douglas Lima defeated Bryan Baker.

Saunders landed a head kick that finished Amaya in the first round and Lima landed his right hand that dropped Baker and the referee immediately came in to stop the fight.

Their tournament final will take place on March 21st at Bellator 92 in Maine and it will be a rematch of their season five tournament final, which Lima won by knockout. The winner of the fight will win $100,000 and a guaranteed title shot.

The full Bellator 90 results are below:

Main Card: (Spike TV)
Shahbulat Shamhalaev def. Rad Martinez via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 2:12
Emanuel Newton def. Muhammed Lawal via KO (spinning back fist) – Round 1, 2:35
Douglas Lima def. Bryan Baker via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:34
Mikhail Zayats def. Jacob Noe via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 3:38

Preliminary Card: (Spike.com)
Ben Saunders def. Raul Amaya via knockout (head kick) – Round 1, 2:56
Travis Marx def. Chases Beebe via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jesse Juarez def. Jordan Smith via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
Sean Powers def. David Allred via submission (RNC) – Round 3, 2:10
Lionel Lanham def. Joe Rodriguez via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, :49

Provided by Jason Floyd

It was teacher versus student in the main event of Bellator 89 and the student won as Eduardo Dantas successfully defended the Bellator bantamweight title as he won by knockout in the second round over Marcos Galvao.

Dantas was able to use his speed to his advantage and landed several significant punches and kicks during the fight. In the second round, he landed a kick early in the round that rocked his opponent.

The end of the fight would come when Dantas landed an uppercut near the cage that dropped Galvao and would land a couple of more strikes before the referee came in to stop the fight.

Following the finish of the fight, Dantas was emotional since Galvao (13-6-1) is a former training parter and considers him a friend.

Dantas (15-3) is now 5-0 in the Bellator cage and will wait to find out who is next title defense will be against. Currently, Bellator has not announced when the next bantamweight tournament will take place, but they are expected to have a tournament either in the Summer Series or season nine in the fall.

Cramer, Cooper, Marshall and Aliev advance in tournament

Tonight’s fight card also saw the four quarterfinal bouts in the middleweight tournament as Dan Cramer, Brett Cooper, Doug Marshall and Sultan Aliev advanced to the semifinals with victories.

Aliev (9-0) started the tournament off with a decision victory over Marlo Parlo, which all three judges scored the fight 29-28. Aliev was able to win the first two rounds, which Parlo (9-1) struggled to get his offensive attack going. He would be able to take the fight to the ground in the third round, but ran out of time to get the come from behind victory.

Marshall (16-6) kicked off the main card on Spike TV and scored a knockout victory in the first round over Andreas Spang. Prior to the fight, Marshall said he was coming to win by knockout and it was a one punch knockout win for him. After landing the fight ending shot, he walk away from Spang (8-3) before the referee could call the fight.

The other two semifinal bouts would go the distance as Cooper (18-7) dominated Norman Paraisy to win all three rounds on the judges scorecards. He nearly finished the fight in the second round, when he dropped Paraisy (10-3-1). However, he would not be able to finish him and would work his way towards a decision.

In what will likely go down as one of the best fights in Bellator in 2013, Cramer (10-3) would be able to do enough to defeat Brian Rogers on the scorecards. It was a back and fourth fight were each fighter having their moment. Cramer was able to use his striking and grappling to control the fight early on. In the final round, Rogers (10-4) was able to contact on several of his strikes, but Cramer would be able to survive and win a unanimous decision.

The semifinal matchups will be Dan Cramer vs. Brett Cooper and Doug Marshall vs. Sultan Aliev. The semifinals will take place next month and the date and venue for these fights will be announced by Bellator in the coming days.

Main Card: (Spike TV)
Eduardo Dantas def. Marcos Galvao via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 3:01
Dan Cramer def. Brian Rogers via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
Brett Cooper def. Norman Paraisy via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Doug Marshall def. Andreas Spang via KO (punch) – Round 1, 3:03

Preliminary Card: (Spike.com)
David Mejia def. Mont McMullens via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:15
Aaron Johnson def. Brennan Ward via submission (armbar) – Round 1, :15
Sultan Aliev def. Mikkel Parlo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Joe Pacheco def. Kyle Bolt via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:02
Johnny Buck def. Chris Mierzwiak via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Mike Maldonado def. Timothy Goodwin via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)