Bellator 47 made its Canadian debut on Saturday night at Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario. The event aired live on MTV2 and featured the semifinals of the promotion's Summer Series featherweight tournament. In front of a sell out crowd that was one of the best in Bellator's history, Pat Curran, Marlon Sandro, Chris Horodecki, and Neil Grove earned victories on the MTV2-televised main card.
In front of a sell out crowd that was one of the best in Bellator’s history, Pat Curran, Marlon Sandro, Chris Horodecki, and Neil Grove earned victories on the MTV2-televised main card.
Pat Curran attacks early and cruises late over Ronnie Mann
Pat Curran attacked Ronnie Mann with flying strikes and takedowns for the first two rounds of their main event battle. Curran then stayed true to form and cruised with a lead in the final frame. The usually aggressive Mann was never able to let it all go save for the last 15 seconds of the fight and by then it was too little and too late for the Englishman.
Curran will now face highly ranked featherweight Marlon Sandro in the final of the Bellator featherweight tournament for a shot at $100,000 and a title shot.
Marlon Sandro controls Nazereno Malegarie
Long considered one of the best featherweights in the world, former Sengoku champion Marlon Sandro out fought talented grappler Nazereno Malegarie from start to finish. While Sandro controlled every aspect of the bout, Malegarie showed heart and promise as the twenty-five year old kept coming forward despite Sandro’s clear edge. Malegarie was able to land a few shots while standing but they were not enough to rock the strong chinned Brazilian. If Malegarie tightens up his striking he could turn into one of the better featherweights in the world but for now, his best was simply not enough against Sandro.
With the win, Sandro advances to the Bellator featherweight final at Bellator 48. Sandro will be fighting for $100,000 and a shot at the winner of Bellator featherweight champion Joe Warren and Patricio Freire.
Hometown favorite Chris Horodecki cruises past Chris Saunders
WEC and IFL veteran Chris Horodecki cruised to a unanimous decision victory over Chris Saunders. Saunders was never able to threaten the longtime veteran with anything other than two low-percentage guillotine choke attempts. Horodecki showed clean striking and utilized a solid outside trip to ground Saunders from the clinch. On the ground, the two traded top position early in the fight but as the fight wore on Horodecki controlled top position and constantly looked to advance to a dominant position.
Horodecki is hoping to gain a slot in one of Bellator’s upcoming tournaments at either lightweight or featherweight.
Neil Grove pummels TUF-Alum Zak Jensen
Neil Grove started off the night for Bellator with a first round TKO over TUF alum Zak Jensen. Jensen started the bout off well by rocking Grove and forcing him to drop down to a low shot but then Jensen made a critical mistake by incorrectly pulling guard. That mistake ended up being the turning point as Jensen’s poor submission attempts exposed him to Grove’s striking. A failed armbar attempt by Jensen led to poor ankle lock attempt from Grove but really just turned into position for the two to trade strikes. Jensen eventually recovered guard but Grove’s powerful strikes proved too much for the TUF alum.
After the fight, Grove called out Bellator heavyweight champion Cole Konrad but seemed more interested in revealing the names of his fists (Good night and sleep tight). In their first meeting, Grove was mauled by Konrad before evetually tapping to a keylock in the Season 3 heavyweight final and is hoping to eventually get another shot at him by winning the upcoming heavyweight tournament.
The official results for Bellator 47 were:
MAIN CARD
- Featherweight seminfinal:Pat Curran def. Ronnie Mann via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Featherweight semifinal: Marlon Sandro def: Nazareno Malegarie via unanimous decision (30-27,30-27,30-27)
- Chris Horodecki def. Chris Saunders via unanimous decision (30-27,30-27,30-27)
- Neil Grove def. Zak Jensen via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:00
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Alexandre Bezerra def. Jesse Gross via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:28 (aired on MTV2 card)
- Will Romero def. Dan Langbeen via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Alex Ricci def. Alka Matewa via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 2:40
Anna Kournikova
Hayden Panettiere
Cameron Diaz
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