Lightweight Tournament Semifinals Targeted for Bellator 66 in Cleveland
Bellator Fighting Championships recently announced that the Season 6 lightweight tournament semifinals will take place April 20 at Bellator 66.
Rick Hawn will square off with Lloyd Woodard in one semifinal pairing, while Thiago Michel Pereira Silva and Brent Weedman occupy the other side of the bracket. All four men qualified to participate in the semifinal round by earning wins this past Friday at Bellator 62.
Advertisement
A former standout at 170 pounds, Hawn fought his way to the Season 4 welterweight tournament finals only to drop a split decision to Jay Hieron. The onetime judo Olympian bested Ricardo Tirloni in the Season 6 lightweight quarterfinals, leveling the Brazilian with a hard right hand and finishing him with ground-and-pound.
Woodard put forth an excellent performance in his quarterfinal pairing against Season 4 lightweight finalist Patricky Freire, submitting “Pitbull” with a second-round kimura. The win marks the 12th career victory for “Cupcake,” who suffered the only loss of his career to future Bellator champion Michael Chandler in the Season 4 semifinals.
Like Hawn, Weedman also competed at welterweight before dropping to 155 pounds. Weedman snapped a two-fight skid by besting J.J. Ambrose in the quarterfinals, forcing the Bellator newcomer to submit to a shoulder choke in round two.
Silva, known simply as “Thiago Michel” in his native Brazil, proved to be the only semifinalist to go the distance at Bellator 62. His split verdict over Rene Nazare marks the first time the lightweight has gone to the judges’ scorecards in his five years as a professional.
Related Articles
