Saunders, Lima Secured Spots in Welterweight Finals at Bellator 53
Oct 9, 2011 Comments
(PRESS RELEASE) -- There were eight at the start but after Bellator
53 in Miami, OK, just two men remain in the Bellator Season 5
Welterweight Tournament. Ben "Killa B" Saunders and Douglas Lima
will advance to the welterweight finals after finishing each of
their opponents in front of a sold out crowd inside the Buffalo Run
Casino Resort.
“Our Welterweights were simply electric tonight” said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Lima looked spectacular on his feet against a top, top tier striker in Chris Lozano and Ben Saunders on the ground was spectacular. Top to bottom this was an incredible show, and our Welterweight Finals should be something very special.”
Saunders scored an impressive victory with a dominating performance
on the ground against veteran Luis Santos, a fighter with over 50
career wins. Santos succeeded in taking the fight to the mat but
Saunders dictated the pace of the fight from his back with arm
locks and a stiff underhook. In the third and final round, Saunders
found himself in top position on the mat for the first time in the
fight. He advanced to half guard and finished the fight by keylock
to secure victory and his spot in the Welterweight Finals later
this season.
"The Assassin" Chris Lozano was dealt just the second loss of his young career at the hands “The Phenom” Douglas Lima. More than half of Lozano's wins inside the cage have come via knockout, and it was evident by Lozano’s willingness to stand and trade with Lima. It backfired however in the second round as Lima caught Lozano coming in with a perfectly timed right cross following a failed left hook by Lozano. Lima knocked “The Assassin” out cold to advance to the finals of the Bellator Welterweight Tournament.
In a Season 6 Featherweight Tournament Qualifier fight, Ronnie "Kid Ninja" Mann defeated Kenny Foster in impressive fashion. Foster managed to take "Kid Ninja" to the ground twice in the first round, but Mann proved just as dangerous from his back as he's shown to be on his feet. He constantly worked for submissions until he caught his opponent in a triangle choke near the end of the opening round and forced Foster to tap. Mann dedicated the fight to the memory of his coach Shawn Thompkins who passed away on Aug. 14. Thompkins was a respected member of the MMA community and was also the coach of Bellator veteran Chris Horodecki.
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator
About Bellator Fighting Championships
Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company headquartered in Chicago. Bellator’s founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator Fighting Championships’ executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.
About MTV2
MTV2 is a man's best friend, available in nearly 80 million homes and with the highest concentration of males 12-24 and 12-34 on TV today. A vibrant mix of music, lifestyle and action sports programming, MTV2 has reflected the habits and behavior of young people since its launch in 1996. MTV2 is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom, one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.
About EPIX
EPIX, a joint venture between Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), its Paramount Pictures unit, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) and Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), is a next-generation premium entertainment channel, video-on-demand and online service launched on October 30, 2009. With access to more than 15,000 motion pictures spanning the vast libraries of its partners and other studios, EPIX provides a powerful entertainment experience with more feature films on demand and online and more HD movies than any other service. It is the only premium service providing its entire monthly line-up of new Hollywood titles, classic feature films, original series, music and comedy specials through the linear channel, video-on-demand and online at EpixHD.com, the leading online destination for movies.
EPIX has made the commitment to deliver the industry's most expansive online collection of movies, making more than 3,000 titles available on EpixHD.com. The service is available to over 30 million homes nationwide through distribution partners including Charter Communications, Cox Communications, DISH Network, Mediacom Communications, NCTC, Suddenlink Communications and Verizon FiOS.
“Our Welterweights were simply electric tonight” said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Lima looked spectacular on his feet against a top, top tier striker in Chris Lozano and Ben Saunders on the ground was spectacular. Top to bottom this was an incredible show, and our Welterweight Finals should be something very special.”
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"The Assassin" Chris Lozano was dealt just the second loss of his young career at the hands “The Phenom” Douglas Lima. More than half of Lozano's wins inside the cage have come via knockout, and it was evident by Lozano’s willingness to stand and trade with Lima. It backfired however in the second round as Lima caught Lozano coming in with a perfectly timed right cross following a failed left hook by Lozano. Lima knocked “The Assassin” out cold to advance to the finals of the Bellator Welterweight Tournament.
Josh Burns and Thiago Santos were fighting for a reserve spot in
Bellator’s Heavyweight Tournament as semifinalist Mike Hayes, who
knocked off Neil Grove at Bellator 52, may be under a 60-day
suspension and unable to compete due to a broken orbital from his
fight against Grove. Santos was on task from the beginning in his
fight with Burns as he systematically pressured him against the
cage, took him down, softened him up with numerous strikes and
finished the fight by rear naked choke after Burns gave up his
back. With the victory, Santos may join fellow heavyweights Ron
Sparks, Blagoi Ivanov and Eric Prindle in the semifinals of the
Heavyweight Tournament.
In a Season 6 Featherweight Tournament Qualifier fight, Ronnie "Kid Ninja" Mann defeated Kenny Foster in impressive fashion. Foster managed to take "Kid Ninja" to the ground twice in the first round, but Mann proved just as dangerous from his back as he's shown to be on his feet. He constantly worked for submissions until he caught his opponent in a triangle choke near the end of the opening round and forced Foster to tap. Mann dedicated the fight to the memory of his coach Shawn Thompkins who passed away on Aug. 14. Thompkins was a respected member of the MMA community and was also the coach of Bellator veteran Chris Horodecki.
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator
About Bellator Fighting Championships
Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company headquartered in Chicago. Bellator’s founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator Fighting Championships’ executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.
About MTV2
MTV2 is a man's best friend, available in nearly 80 million homes and with the highest concentration of males 12-24 and 12-34 on TV today. A vibrant mix of music, lifestyle and action sports programming, MTV2 has reflected the habits and behavior of young people since its launch in 1996. MTV2 is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom, one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.
About EPIX
EPIX, a joint venture between Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), its Paramount Pictures unit, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) and Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), is a next-generation premium entertainment channel, video-on-demand and online service launched on October 30, 2009. With access to more than 15,000 motion pictures spanning the vast libraries of its partners and other studios, EPIX provides a powerful entertainment experience with more feature films on demand and online and more HD movies than any other service. It is the only premium service providing its entire monthly line-up of new Hollywood titles, classic feature films, original series, music and comedy specials through the linear channel, video-on-demand and online at EpixHD.com, the leading online destination for movies.
EPIX has made the commitment to deliver the industry's most expansive online collection of movies, making more than 3,000 titles available on EpixHD.com. The service is available to over 30 million homes nationwide through distribution partners including Charter Communications, Cox Communications, DISH Network, Mediacom Communications, NCTC, Suddenlink Communications and Verizon FiOS.
