Bellator Debuts

The top two lightweights under contract to Bellator Fighting Championships, Eddie Alvarez and Jorge Masvidal, moved one step closer to facing each other, as both won their tournament fights at the organization’s premiere show April 3 in Hollywood, Fla.

The event -- which took place before a crowd estimated between 2,500 and 4,000 -- was broadcast the following night on ESPN Deportes and in English on April 8 on Bellator’s Web site. The promotion, which staged its second event April 10 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut, was built around a series of 16-fighter tournaments that will play out over 12 weeks.

Alvarez recovered from a flash left hook knockdown by Ireland’s Greg Loughran to cinch a fight-winning guillotine choke, while Masvidal took apart Nick Agallar. Toby Imada submitted Alonzo Martinez to advance in the 155-pound bracket. Alvarez told the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show that his opponent was changed at the last minute, and he was not expecting Loughran to have such a hard punch. Semi-final fights for Alvarez and Masvidal will take place May 1 in Dayton, Ohio.

In other BFC action, three featherweights -- Nick Gonzalez, Estevan Payan and Joe Soto -- advanced in the 145-pound draw. The favorite at that weight, Wilson Reis, had his first bout for Bellator on April 10. All April 3 tournament winners took home $25,000 purses, and none suffered injuries that would prevent them from fighting in the next round, according to MMAJunkie.com. The pay scale increases with the semi-final fights and reaches $100,000 for the winner.

There were no television ratings reported for Bellator’s premiere event, but they are not likely to be high considering ESPN Deportes is only available in about five million households, according to the SportsBusiness Journal. The publication reported that ESPN is currently working with cable and satellite providers to allow customers to swap ESPN Classic for ESPN Deportes and ESPNU -- its college sports station.