Tonight, the Maverick Center in Salt Lake City, Utah was alive with a rambunctious crowd as Bellator presented a night of MMA televised on Spike Television network. While there were plenty of undercard bouts, the main event of the evening hosted Russia v. America as middleweight titlist Alexander Shlemenko (47-9-0) put his belt on the line against American Brenna Ward (9-1-0) in a five round match.
The night ended with a five round fight that pitted Bellator Middleweight top dog Alexander "Storm" Shlemenko (47-9-0) defending against Brenna "Irish Bad Boy" Ward (9-1-0). The "Irish Bad Boy" came out swinging and was as aggressive as his prefight vibrato suggested. The first round was paused midway after Ward clearly landed a knee to the Russian’s groin area, directly on the cup. Shlemenko landed some winging shots but Ward appeared to have landed the more telling blows so it was a difficult round to score. The second round got underway with more aggression by Ward but it was to be his undoing: the experienced Russian was able to end the American’s hope via a perfect Ten Finger Guillotine submission at three minutes and 38 seconds of the round. Shlemenko earned his 50th career win and continues his title reign. Ward will have to regroup and gain more experience prior to taking another shot at a championship.
QUICK UNDERCARD RECAP:
Middleweight Tournament contestants Kendall "Spider" Grove (19-13) and Brett Cooper (19-9) started off the night with a fight scheduled for three rounds. Grove took control early as he dominated the first round, almost ending in the closing seconds. "Spider" maintained control in the second until Cooper landed a solid uppercut followed by an overhand right. Once Grove was down, Cooper finished him, allowing Cooper to continue in the middleweight tournament.
Featherweight Tournament hopefuls vying for the finals kept things going as Will Martinez (9-2-1) took on Des "The Predator" Green (11-2) over three rounds. The fight was relatively competitive as both combatants had their moments. Martinez was able to defend while on the ground and but Green did some more success on the mat and with striking. In the end, the judges awarded Green a unanimous decision by scores of 30-27 (twice) and 29-28, ending Martinez's road to the finals.
Veteran Daniel "The Wessel" Weichel (32-8) and Matt "The Mangler" Bessette (13-4) competed to see who would meet Green in the Featherweight Tournament final match. The meet was also set for three rounds. Weichel’s right hands told the story in the first but Bessette’s work rate equalized the fight after the second. The final round saw "The Wessel" land some shots while Bessette was on his back for the majority of the round. Two judges scored 29-28 while the third had it 30-27 for Weichel, sending him to the final bout of the Featherweight Tournament to face Green at a later date.
Sergio L. Martinez
www.convictedartist.com
