The Weekly Wrap: Aug. 7 - Aug. 13

Bellator Season 3 Underway

The first punch of the Bellator Fighting Championship’s third season got things off to an exciting start on Aug. 12, as a left jab from U.K. slugger Neil Grove put Eddie Sanchez down and in peril in the first bout of this season’s heavyweight tournament. Sanchez came up wobbly and hesitant to engage, causing the referee to wave off the fight in the first.

The bout kicked off the premiere of the season from Hollywood, Fla., which airs on Fox Sports Net and concludes Oct. 28. The promotion will host heavyweight and bantamweight tournaments as well as a 115-pound women’s field.

The heavyweight tournament continues next week with Damian Grabowski vs. Scott Barrett and Cole Konrad vs. Rogent Lloret. The promotion announced this week it had rounded out its heavyweight field with Russian Alexey Oleinik, who will face Mike Hayes on a card to be determined.

The top-ranked fighter under Bellator contract, Megumi Fujii, made a big stride toward taking the female bracket. She tapped two-time All-American wrestler Carla Esparza, a late replacement for Angela Magan, with a second-round armbar. Fujii had trouble shooting, but got Esparza to the mat by rolling into leglock attempts. American Top Team product Jessica Aguilar also advanced, tapping Lynn Alvarez with an arm triangle in the first. Zoila Frausto faces Jessica Pene next week in the tournament, with Lisa Ward vs. Aisling Daly on a show to be determined.

Also Aug. 12, middleweight champion Hector Lombard picked up his third straight first-round knockout by dropping former NFL running back Herbert “Whisper” Goodman in 38 seconds with wild, wide power punches. Lombard, who for no apparent reason called out Josh Barnett after the fight, faces season two tournament winner Alexander Shlemenko in his first title defense, possibly in October. Another veteran, Yves Edwards, got a win on the card, taking a 29-28 decision over Luis Palomino.