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Bellator FC 55: Galvao vs Vila

3K views 10 replies 6 participants last post by  kantowrestler 
#1 ·
Bellator 55
Date: Oct 22, 2011
Location: Yuma, Arizona
Venue: Cocopah Resort and Casino
Broadcast: MTV2 and Spike.com


MAIN CARD (MTV2)

* Marcos Galvao vs. Alexis Vila (bantamweight tourney semifinal)
* Eduardo Dantas vs. Ed West (bantamweight tourney semifinal)
* Champ Christian M'Pumbu vs. Travis Wiuff (non-title light-heavyweight fight)
* Ricardo Tirloni vs. Steve Gable

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike.com)

* Carlos Flores vs. Richard Hale
* Edgar Garcia vs. Jacob Ortiz
* Erin Beach vs. Roscoe Jackson
* Nick Piedmont vs. Jade Porter
* Dano Moore vs. Steve Steinbeiss

In addition to the semifinal round of Bellator's season-five bantamweight tournament, this month's Bellator 55 event also will feature a non-title fight between light-heavyweight champion Christian M'Pumbu (18-3-1 MMA, 3-0 BFC) and veteran Travis Wiuff (65-14 MMA, 0-0 BFC).

Bellator officials today announced additions to the card.

Bellator 55 takes Oct. 22 at Cocopah Resort and Casino in Yuma, Ariz. The main card airs on MTV2 (and in high-definition on EPIX), and Spike.com streams the preliminary card.

The previously announced bantamweight-tourney bouts include Alexis Vila (10-0 MMA, 1-0 BFC) vs. Marcos Galvao (10-4-1 MMA, 1-1 BFC) and Eduardo Dantas (10-2 MMA, 1-0 BFC) vs. Ed West (17-5 MMA, 3-1 BFC).

M'Pumbu won the Bellator title with clean sweep of TKO victories over Chris Davis, Chris Carpenter and Richard Hale in the eight-man season-four tourney. He's now 8-1-1 over his past 10 fights, which included a run with the M-1 organization.

Bellator only awards title fights to tourney winners, and with no current 205-pound tournament taking place, M'Pumbu will hold the belt for the foreseeable future. But he faces a legit test in Wiuff, who's fought for major organizations such as the UFC, PRIDE, IFL and World Victory Road/Sengoku during a busy 11-year career. He makes his Bellator debut on the strength of a 9-1 run with seven stoppage victories; the lone loss came to recent UFC fighter Tim Hague.

In addition to the main card, some bouts have been added to the preliminary card.

Edgar Garcia (10-2 MMA, 0-0 BFC), an Arizona high-school state wrestling champion who fought twice in the UFC, makes his Bellator debut at the event. He takes on Arizona native Lyle Steffens (5-3 MMA, 0-0 BFC), who briefly appeared on "The Ultimate Fighter 11" before an elimination-round loss to Rich Attonito.

Additionally, former light-heavyweight tourney finalist Hale (17-4-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) takes on undefeated Carlos Flores (5-0 MMA, 1-0 BFC) in a tourney-qualifier bout.

Finally, top Brazilian prospect Ricardo Tirloni (13-1 MMA, 0-0 BFC) takes on fellow lightweight and two-time EliteXC fighter Steve Gable (5-1 MMA, 0-0 BFC).
http://mmajunkie.com/news/25618/in-...ator-55-adds-mpumbu-wiuff-non-title-fight.mma
 
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#6 ·
Here's the results if somebody missed it or they would rather read than watch, heh:

Alexis Vila and Eduardo Dantas will meet in Bellator's season-five bantamweight tournament final with a shot at champ Zach Makovsky on the line.

The Cuban wrestler and Brazilian submission ace each advanced to the finals of the eight-man bracket with tightly-contested split-decision wins over Ed West and Marcos Galvao, respectively.

The bouts served as the featured contests of Saturday night's Bellator 55 event, which took place outside the Cocopah Resort and Casino in Yuma, Ariz. The night's main card aired on MTV2.

Vila's win did not come without some controversy, as many fans and pundits believed his opponent had done enough to earn the nod.

The two were cautious in the early going, as Vila circled on the outside while looking to land a bomb. Galvao's reach advantage certainly seemed to frustrate Vila early on, and a takedown from the Cuban wrestler resulted in just a brief moment on the floor. A stiff jab sent an off-balance Galvao to the floor in the final minute of the frame, but neither fighter really did anything to impress during the frame.

Vila pushed forward a little more aggressively in the second, but Galvao defended an early takedown. A wild right hook landed for Vila halfway into the frame, and both fighters came alive in the closing minute. Again, both fighters had moments, but neither made it inarguable. Galvao may have earned the nod with a few late shots to the body, but it was razor-thin.

Both fighters looked ready to throw in the third. Vila tried again for his takedown, but Galvao avoided the shots and stalked from the center of the cage. With Vila retreating and looking for his trademark power hooks, Galvao used his reach to land straight punches while mixing in kicks and a few knees. Vila looked to tire in the closing minutes, but he kept looking to land. Instead, it was Galvao who sprawled-and-brawled his way to his best round of the fight.

Despite the solid finish, Vila was given the result. Two judges saw him taking two of three rounds, while a third actually awarded all three frames to Galvao.

Vila (11-0 MMA, 2-0 BFC) remains undefeated in his professional career. Galvao (10-5-1 MMA, 1-2 BFC) will likely request his next fight not take place in Arizona, where he has lost two controversial decision in the past six months.

In the evening's first televised tournament matchup, Brazilian prospect Dantas booked his spot in Bellator's season-five bantamweight tournament final with an impressive high-paced decision win over West.

West was rocked in the early going with a crisp right, and it looked as if Dantas might swarm for a first-round finish. However, West deftly maneuvered into an armbar position and threatened with the hold. But Dnatas escaped, and the two went back-and-forth for the remainder of an entertaining opening frame.

In the second, quick, crisp striking was again on full display in the early going. But as the round wore on, the grappling prowess of both fighters also factored into the bout. It was Dantas who appeared certain to lock in a rear-naked choke for a few tense moments before West escaped, reversed and landed a few big shots from top position. At the bell, the advantage was tough to call, but both fighters looked to have plenty in the tank for the final round.

The pace settled a bit in the final frame as each fighter looked for a significant opening. An accidental West eyepoke stopped the action briefly, but Dantas elected to fight on and stood firm in the pocket until the final bell. Both fighters landed a few significant strikes, West relying more on kicks than punches, but neither could end the contest. In the end, it proved an entertaining matchup until the end, and Dantas walked away with an oddly scored split-decision win.

Just 22 years old, Dantas (12-2 MMA, 2-0 BFC) is riding a five-fight win streak. West (17-6 MMA, 3-2 BFC), who looked utterly shocked at the decision, sees a two-fight win streak snapped.

Wiuff scores upset, Tirloni nabs submission win

Bellator light heavyweight champion Christian M'Pumbu became the first promotional champ to lose in non-title action as he was outwrestled by Travis Wiuff over the course of 15 minutes and dropped a unanimous decision.

After a brief feeling-out process, Wiuff ducked in and took the bout to the floor. Once there, the longtime veteran wasn't especially busy, but he did open a small cut near M'Pumbu's left eye. M'Pumbu looked relatively close on an armbar attempt, but Wiuff survived the attempt.

Wiuff survived an early knee from M'Pumbu in the second round and eventually muscled the fight to the floor. Wiuff again preferred position over damage for most of the round. M'Pumbu again threatened from his back with a triangle-choke attempt, but Wiuff elevated his opponent and slammed out of the technique, remaining on top until the bell.

With Wiuff slowing in the final frame, M'Pumbu finally found his stride with punches, visibly rocking his opponent and sending him to the floor. M'Pumbu made a key tactical error by pressing in and allowing Wiuff to reverse the position, allowing him to last until the final bell and claim the decision win.

Wiuff (65-14 MMA, 1-0 BFC) would now seem a certainty for Bellator's next light-heavyweight tournament. M'Pumbu (18-4-1 MMA, 3-1 BFC) sees a three-fight win streak snapped and will have to sharpen up his grappling game if he wants to prevent a repeat performance.

In the night's first contest, lightweight submission stylists Ricardo Tirloni and Steve Gable went back-and-forth throughout the opening round while looking for an advantage in position. But in the second, Tirloni landed a few knees inside before taking the fight to the floor and working from top position.

Twice Tirloni worked to mount, and while Gable regained guard in the first instance, he had no such luck in the second. Punching from the top, Tirloni forced Gable to turn in defense and then locked in a rear-naked choke, earning the tap.

Tirloni (14-1 MMA, 1-0 BFC) proves victorious in his Bellator debut and appears likely to take part in a future lightweight tournament for the promotion. Gable (5-2 MMA, 0-1 BFC) sees a two-fight win streak snapped.

OFFICIAL MAIN CARD RESULTS

* Alexis Vila def. Marcos Galvao via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28) - bantamweight tourney semifinal
* Eduardo Dantas def. Ed West via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27) - bantamweight tourney semifinal
* Travis Wiuff def. Champ Christian M'Pumbu (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) - light-heavyweight non-title fight
* Ricardo Tirloni def. Steve Gable via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 2, 3:54

OFFICIAL PRELIMINARY CARD RESULTS

* Efrain Escudero def. Cesar Avila via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 1, 1:55*
* Richard Hale def. Carlos Flores via knockout (strikes) - Round 1, 0:18
* Jacob Ortiz def. Edgar Garcia via knockout (punch) - Round 1, 4:06
* Erin Beach def. Roscoe Jackson via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 3:52
* Jade Porter def. Nick Piedmont via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
* Steve Steinbeiss def. Dano Moore via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 4:52

* - Bout took place following main event
http://mmajunkie.com/news/25770/bellator-55-results.mma
 
#9 ·
How come Christian M'Pumbu's champion belt wasn't on the line? How come in Bellator sometimes champions fight in non-title bout?

In UFC, champions only fight in champion fights other than if a champion is fighting out of his weight class, like when Anderson Silva fight at 205 against James Irvin and Forrest Griffin. Why is Bellator different?
 
#10 ·
I don't agree with the whole "title not on the line" thing.

Bellators champ loses and keeps the title? That's a worthless belt. Travis Wiuff can really capitolize with the media on that one.
 
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