Bellator MMA: Season Eight

Bellator MMA
Genre	Sports
Created by	Bjorn Rebney
Country of origin	United States
Production
Running time	120 minutes
Release
Original network	Spike TV
Original release	January 17 – April 4, 2013
Chronology
Preceded by	Bellator Fighting Championships: Season Seven
Followed by	Bellator MMA: 2013 Summer Series
External links
[{{#property:P856}} Website]

Bellator MMA: Season Eight was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013.

Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight champion, placed their titles on the line during this season.

This season marked the beginning of Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) airing on Spike TV.

Events

Bellator 85

Bellator 85
Information
Date	January 17, 2013
Venue	Bren Events Center
City	Irvine, California
Attendance	3,002

Bellator 85 took place on January 17, 2013 at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, California. The event was distributed live in prime time by Spike TV. It marked the season debut of season eight.

Background

Bellator 85 was to open with a fight chosen exclusively by fans in the "Bellator: Vote For The Fight" contest. Fans could log onto Spike.com to select the two fighters they want to see square off in the first ever Bellator bout on Spike TV. The eligible fighters were all welterweights and included Paul Daley, Douglas Lima, Ben Saunders and War Machine. Initially a bout between Daley and War Machine was announced by Bellator, but it was subsequently cancelled when War Machine tore his ACL and broke his fibula.

Results

Main Card (Spike TV)
Weight Class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Lightweight	Michael Chandler (c)	def.	Rick Hawn	Submission (rear naked choke)	2	3:07
Light Heavyweight	Mikhail Zayats	def.	Renato Sobral	KO (spinning back fist and punches)	1	4:49
Light Heavyweight	Jacob Noe	def.	Seth Petruzelli	TKO (punches)	1	2:51
Featherweight	Pat Curran (c)	def.	Patricio Freire	Split decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47)	5	5:00
Preliminary Card (Spike.com)
Light Heavyweight	Emanuel Newton	def.	Atanas Djambazov	Submission (rear naked choke)	2	2:21
Light Heavyweight	Jason Lambert	def.	Hector Ramirez	Submission (straight armbar)	1	3:59
Catchweight (165 lbs.)	J.J. Ambrose	def.	Brian Warren	Submission (guillotine choke)	2	0:50
Lightweight	Savant Young	def.	Mike Guymon	KO (punch)	2	0:48
Welterweight	Joe Williams	def.	Jamie Yager	TKO (strikes)	1	4:02
Featherweight	Aaron Miller	def.	Joe Camacho	Unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)	3	5:00
Featherweight	Cleber Luciano	def.	Mario Navarro	Unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)	3	5:00

Bellator 86

Bellator 86
Information
Date	January 24, 2013
Venue	WinStar World Casino
City	Thackerville, Oklahoma
Attendance	1,288

Bellator 86 took place on January 24, 2013 at WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma. The event was distributed live in prime time by Spike TV.

Background

Bellator 86 featured the opening round of the Season Eight Welterweight Tournament.

The card also featured the Bellator debut of Muhammed Lawal, against veteran Polish fighter Przemyslaw "Misiek" Mysiala.

Results

Main Card (Spike TV)
Weight Class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Welterweight	Ben Askren (c)	def.	Karl Amoussou	TKO (doctor stoppage)	3	5:00
Light Heavyweight	Muhammed Lawal	def.	Przemyslaw Mysiala	TKO (punches)	1	3:52
Welterweight	Douglas Lima	def.	Michail Tsarev	TKO (leg kicks)	2	1:44
Welterweight	Ben Saunders	def.	Koffi Adzitso	Unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)	3	5:00
Preliminary Card (Spike.com)
Welterweight	Brent Weedman	def.	Marius Zaromskis	Unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)	3	5:00
Welterweight	Raul Amaya	def.	José Gomes	TKO (punches)	1	3:12
Catchweight (140 lbs.)	Jason Sampson	def.	Chris Pham	Submission (armbar)	3	4:55
Lightweight	Damon Jackson	def.	Zach Church	Submission (rear-naked choke)	2	2:43
Middleweight	Cortez Coleman	def.	Matt Jones	Unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)	3	5:00
Unaired
Featherweight	Hunter Tucker	def.	Javier Obregon	Submission (guillotine choke)	2	3:17

Bellator 87

Bellator 87
Information
Date	January 31, 2013
Venue	Soaring Eagle Casino
City	Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Attendance	850

Bellator 87 took place on January 31, 2013 at Soaring Eagle Casino in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. The event was distributed live in prime time by Spike TV.

Background

Bellator 87 featured fights the quarterfinals of the Season Eight Lightweight Tournament.

Patricky Freire was originally supposed to face Guillaume DeLorenzi in the main event. However, on the day of the weigh ins Freire was pulled from the card due to an "undisclosed injury" and replaced by Saad Awad.

Results

Main Card (Spike TV)
Weight Class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Lightweight	David Rickels	def.	Lloyd Woodard	Unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)	3	5:00
Lightweight	Will Brooks	def.	Ricardo Tirloni	Unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)	3	5:00
Lightweight	Saad Awad	def.	Guillaume DeLorenzi	TKO (punches)	1	0:31
Lightweight	Alexander Sarnavskiy	def.	Thiago Michel	Submission (rear-naked choke)	2	3:43
Preliminary Card (Spike.com)
Lightweight	Jason Fischer	def.	Sevak Magakian	Submission (rear-naked choke)	1	3:37
Heavyweight	Karl Etherington	def.	Jason Fish	Verbal submission (strikes)	1	3:45
Catchweight (165 lbs.)	Amir Khillah	def.	John Schulz	Submission (rear-naked choke)	1	4:34
Lightweight	J.P. Reese	def.	David Shepherd	Unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)	3	5:00
Welterweight	Sam Quito	def.	Ben Lagman	Submission (kneebar)	1	3:54
Catchweight (139 lbs.)	Tony Zelinski	def.	Nick Kirk	Split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)	3	5:00

Bellator 88

Bellator 88
Information
Date	February 7, 2013
Venue	Arena at Gwinnett Center
City	Duluth, Georgia
Attendance	4,267

Bellator 88 took place on February 7, 2013 at The Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Georgia. The event was distributed live in prime time by Spike TV.

Background

Bellator 88 featured the opening round of the Season Eight Featherweight Tournament as well as a title fight for the vacant Middleweight title.

A middleweight bout between Kelvin Tiller and Dave Vitkay was originally announced for this card, but failed to materialize.

Results

Main Card (Spike TV)
Weight Class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Middleweight	Alexander Shlemenko	def.	Maiquel Falcão	KO (punches)	2	2:18
Featherweight	Marlon Sandro	def.	Akop Stepanyan	Majority decision (28-28, 29-27, 29-27)	3	5:00
Featherweight	Mike Richman	def.	Mitch Jackson	TKO (head kick and punches)	1	4:57
Featherweight	Alexandre Bezerra	def.	Genair da Silva	Submission (armbar)	1	1:40
Preliminary Card (Spike.com)
Featherweight	Magomedrasul Khasbulaev	def.	Fabricio Guerreiro	Submission (arm triangle choke)	2	1:15
Catchweight (159 lbs.)	Joe Elmore	def.	Jerrid Burke	KO (punch)	2	4:11
Catchweight (152 lbs.)	Ronnie Rogers	def.	Shane Crenshaw	Unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)	3	5:00
Catchweight (159 lbs.)	Clay Harvison	def.	Ururahy Rodrigues	TKO (knee)	3	3:34
Featherweight	George Hickman	def.	Stephen Upchurch	Submission (rear-naked choke)	1	2:19

Bellator 89

Bellator 89
Information
Date	February 14, 2013
Venue	Bojangles' Coliseum
City	Charlotte, North Carolina

Bellator 89 took place on February 14, 2013 at The Bojangles' Coliseum, in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event was distributed live in prime time by Spike TV.

Background

Bellator 89 featured the opening round of the Middleweight tournament.

The event also featured the first defense for Eduardo Dantas of the Bantamweight Title since he won it from Zach Makovsky in May 2012. It marked the first time two training partners and friends have fought for a title in the Bellator promotion.

Results

Main Card (Spike TV)
Weight Class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Bantamweight	Eduardo Dantas (c)	def.	Marcos Galvão	KO (punches)	2	3:01
Middleweight	Dan Cramer	def.	Brian Rogers	Unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)	3	5:00
Middleweight	Brett Cooper	def.	Norman Paraisy	Unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)	3	5:00
Middleweight	Doug Marshall	def.	Andreas Spang	KO (punch)	1	3:03
Preliminary Card (Spike.com)
Heavyweight	David Mejia	def.	Mont McCullens	TKO (punches)	1	4:15
Middleweight	Aaron Johnson	def.	Brennan Ward	Submission (armbar)	1	0:15
Middleweight	Sultan Aliev	def.	Mikkel Parlo	Unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)	3	5:00
Middleweight	Joe Pacheco	def.	Kyle Bolt	TKO (strikes)	2	4:02
Welterweight	Johnny Buck	def.	Chris Mierzwiak	Unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)	3	5:00
Bantamweight	Mike Maldonaldo	def.	Tim Goodwin	Unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)	3	5:00

Bellator 90

Bellator 90
Information
Date	February 21, 2013
Venue	Maverik Center
City	West Valley City, Utah

Bellator XC took place on February 21, 2013 at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. The event was distributed live in prime time by Spike TV.

Background

Bellator 90 featured the finals of the Bellator Season 7 Featherweight Tournament.

The card also featured the Light Heavyweight and Welterweight tournament semifinals.

Results

Main Card (Spike TV)
Weight Class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Featherweight	Shahbulat Shamhalaev	def.	Rad Martinez	KO (punch)	2	2:12
Light Heavyweight	Emanuel Newton	def.	Muhammed Lawal	KO (spinning backfist)	1	2:35
Welterweight	Douglas Lima	def.	Bryan Baker	KO (punch)	1	2:34
Light Heavyweight	Mikhail Zayats	def.	Jacob Noe	Submission (armbar)	1	3:38
Preliminary Card (Spike.com)
Welterweight	Ben Saunders	def.	Raul Amaya	KO (head kick)	1	2:56
Catchweight (137 lbs)	Travis Marx	def.	Chase Beebe	Unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)	3	5:00
Welterweight	Jesse Juarez	def.	Jordan Smith	Split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)	3	5:00
Lightweight	Sean Powers	def.	Dave Allred	Submission (rear naked choke)	3	2:10
Middleweight	Lionel Lanham	def.	Joe Rodriguez	TKO (punches)	1	0:49
Featherweight	Shanon Slack	def.	Josh Tyler	Submission (Peruvian necktie)	3	1:56

Bellator 91

Bellator 91
Information
Date	February 28, 2013
Venue	Santa Ana Star Center
City	Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Bellator 91 took place on February 28, 2013 at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. The event was distributed live in prime time by Spike TV.

Background

Bellator 91 featured the first title defense by Light Heavyweight champion Christian M'Pumbu, despite having won the belt in May 2011.

Alexander Sarnavskiy was originally scheduled to face David Rickels in the semifinals. However, Sarnavskiy fractured his hand during his first fight and had to withdraw from the tournament. He was replaced with Jason Fischer.

Results

Main Card (Spike TV)
Weight Class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Light Heavyweight	Attila Vegh	def.	Christian M'Pumbu (c)	Unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 50-45)	5	5:00
Lightweight	Saad Awad	def.	Will Brooks	TKO (punches)	1	0:43
Lightweight	David Rickels	def.	Jason Fischer	Unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)	3	5:00
Preliminary Card (Spike.com)
Women's Bantamweight	Holly Holm	def.	Katie Merrill	TKO (punches)	2	3:02
Lightweight	Blas Avena	def.	Lenny Lovato	TKO (punch)	1	1:40
Featherweight	Andres Quintana	def.	Russell Wilson	TKO (knees & punches)	3	0:32
Bantamweight	Ed West	def.	Josh Montoya	KO (head kick)	2	2:51
Bantamweight	Adrian Cruz	def.	Nick Gonzalez	Submission (scarf hold armlock)	2	3:00
Heavyweight	Josh Appelt	def.	Josh Lanier	TKO (punches)	2	0:16
Catchweight (187 lbs)	Brennan Ward	def.	Yair Moguel	Submission (rear naked choke)	1	0:57

Bellator 92

Bellator 92
Information
Date	March 7, 2013
Venue	Pechanga Resort and Casino
City	Temecula, California

Bellator 92 took place on March 7, 2013 at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California. The event was distributed live in prime time by Spike TV.

Background

The card was originally scheduled to have the season 7 Lightweight tournament final between Dave Jansen and Marcin Held. However, Held was injured and the fight was delayed two weeks to Bellator 93.

Results

Main Card (Spike TV)
Weight Class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Featherweight	Magomedrasul Khasbulaev	def.	Marlon Sandro	TKO (punches)	3	2:38
Middleweight	Doug Marshall	def.	Sultan Aliev	Split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)	3	5:00
Middleweight	Brett Cooper	def.	Dan Cramer	TKO (punches)	3	3:19
Featherweight	Mike Richman	def.	Alexandre Bezerra	Split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)	3	5:00
Preliminary Card (Spike.com)
Lightweight	Akop Stepanyan	def.	Chris Saunders	TKO (spinning back kick & punches)	3	3:55
Middleweight	Keith Berry	def.	Richard Rigmaden	Submission (kimura)	1	1:31
Heavyweight	Josh Appelt	def.	Manny Lara	Unanimous decision (30-24, 30-24, 30-24)	3	5:00
Featherweight	Aaron Miller	def.	Shad Smith	Unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)	3	5:00
Light Heavyweight	Brandon Halsey	def.	Rocky Ramierz	Technical submission (arm-triangle choke)	3	0:50
Unaired
Welterweight	Ricky Legere	def.	Sabah Homasi	Submission (rear-naked choke)	2	2:52
Featherweight	Nick Piedmont	def.	Cleber Luciano	TKO (punches)	1	0:55

Bellator 93

Bellator 93
Information
Date	March 21, 2013
Venue	Androscoggin Bank Colisée
City	Lewiston, Maine

Bellator 93 took place on March 21, 2013 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée in Lewiston, Maine. The event was distributed live in prime time by Spike TV and featured the Season Seven Lightweight Tournament Final.

Background

Ben Saunders and Douglas Lima were scheduled to have a rematch on this card to decide the winner of the Bellator Season 8 Welterweight Tournament Final. However, Lima broke his hand and the match was delayed until later in the year.

Heavyweights Brett Rogers and Eric Prindle were scheduled to face each other on this card. However, the week leading up to the show it was announced that Prindle had pulled out of the bout due to an injury.

Jon Lemke defeated Jesse Erickson to kick off the event for the night and marked Bellator's 800th Fight in the history of the company.

Results

Main Card (Spike TV)
Weight Class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Lightweight	Dave Jansen	def.	Marcin Held	Unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)	3	5:00
Heavyweight	Ryan Martinez	def.	Travis Wiuff	KO (punches)	1	0:18
Welterweight	Marcus Davis	vs	Waachiim Spiritwolf	NC (knee to the groin)	1	3:05
Preliminary Card (Spike.com)
Middleweight	Dave Vitkay	def.	Jesse Peterson	Technical submission (guillotine choke)	1	0:18
Welterweight	Michael Page	def.	Ryan Sanders	KO (punch)	1	0:10
Middleweight	Jason Butcher	def.	Jack Hermansson	Submission (triangle choke)	1	2:24
Light Heavyweight	Mike Mucitelli	def.	Brent Dillingham	Submission (armbar)	1	2:48
Middleweight	Joe Pacheco	def.	Pierre Pierry	Submission (keylock)	1	1:54
Featherweight	Vince Murdock	def.	Joe Raio	TKO (elbow & punches)	3	4:01
Lightweight	Jon Lemke	def.	Jesse Erickson	TKO (punches)	1	2:50

Bellator 94

Bellator 94
Information
Date	March 28, 2013
Venue	USF Sun Dome
City	Tampa, Florida

Bellator 94 took place on March 28, 2013 at the USF Sun Dome in Tampa, Florida. The event was distributed live in prime time by Spike TV and featured the Light Heavyweight and Lightweight Tournament Finals.

Background

Tony Fryklund made his return to mixed martial arts on this card after a 6-year absence. His last fight was a losing effort against Cung Le at a Strikeforce event in June 2007.

A bout between middleweights Ivan Devalle and Rory Shallcross was originally announced for this card, but failed to materialize.

Results

Main Card (Spike TV)
Weight Class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Light Heavyweight	Emanuel Newton	def.	Mikhail Zayats	Unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)	3	5:00
Lightweight	David Rickels	def.	Saad Awad	TKO (punches)	2	5:00
Middleweight	Luis Melo	def.	Trey Houston	Submission (arm triangle choke)	3	1:09
Bantamweight	Rodrigo Lima	def.	Ronnie Mann	Unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)	3	5:00
Preliminary Card (Spike.com)
Welterweight	Julien Williams	def.	Kenny Moss	Submission (guillotine choke)	1	3:19
Heavyweight	Augusto Sakai	def.	Rob Horton	TKO (knee)	2	4:01
Women's Strawweight	Jessica Aguilar	def.	Patricia Vidonic	Split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)	3	5:00
Featherweight	Joe Taimanglo	def.	Ronnie Rogers	Submission (north/south choke)	2	0:33
Lightweight	James Edson Berto	def.	Bruno Carvalho	Submission (heel hook)	1	1:27
Catchweight (157 lbs)	Patrick Cenoble	vs.	Tony Fryklund	Draw (29-27, 27-29, 28-28)	3	5:00
Women's Strawweight	Felice Herrig	def.	Heather Clark	Split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)	3	5:00

Bellator 95

Bellator 95
Information
Date	April 4, 2013
Venue	Revel Casino
City	Atlantic City, New Jersey

Bellator 95 took place on April 4, 2013 at the Revel Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The event was distributed live in prime time by Spike TV.

Background

The event was initially scheduled to feature a championship match for the Featherweight Title between Pat Curran and Daniel Mason-Straus. However, on February 26, it was announced that Straus had broken his hand and had to pull out of the fight. On February 27, it was announced that recent tournament winner Shahbulat Shamhalaev would advance with his title shot and he faced Curran on this card.

The card was to feature the #1-ranked 125-pound female fighter according to the Unified Women's MMA Rankings Jessica Eye vs. Munah Holland in a Women's Flyweight bout, but Eye had to withdraw due to a back injury.

Results

Main Card (Spike TV)
Weight Class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Featherweight	Pat Curran (c)	def.	Shahbulat Shamhalaev	Technical submission (guillotine choke)	1	2:38
Featherweight	Frodo Khasbulaev	def.	Mike Richman	Decision (unanimous) (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)	3	5:00
Middleweight	Doug Marshall	def.	Brett Cooper	KO (punch)	1	3:39
Welterweight	Rick Hawn	def.	Karo Parisyan	KO (punches)	2	1:55
Preliminary Card (Spike.com)
Welterweight	Lyman Good	def.	Dante Rivera	Decision (unanimous) (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)	3	5:00
Catchweight (173 lbs)	Sam Oropeza	def.	Shedrick Goodridge	TKO (strikes)	2	4:22
Catchweight (188 lbs)	Tom DeBlass	def.	Carlos Brooks	TKO (doctor stoppage)	2	5:00
Lightweight	Phillipe Nover	def.	Darrell Horcher	Decision (unanimous) (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)	3	5:00
Catchweight (140 lbs)	Jimmie Rivera	def.	Brian Kelleher	Decision (unanimous) (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)	3	5:00
Featherweight	Will Martinez	def.	Michael Hess	KO (punches)	1	4:15
Featherweight	Kevin Roddy	def.	Brylan Van Artsdalen	Submission (armbar)	2	1:04
Light Heavyweight	Liam McGeary	def.	Anton Talamantes	TKO (elbows and punches)	1	1:18

Tournaments

Featherweight tournament bracket

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

Alexandre Bezerra

SUB

Genair da Silva

1

Alexandre Bezerra

DEC

Mike Richman

3

Mike Richman

TKO

Mitch Jackson

1

Magomedrasul Khasbulaev

DEC

Mike Richman

3

Marlon Sandro

DEC

Akop Stepanyan

3

Marlon Sandro

TKO

Magomedrasul Khasbulaev

3

Fabricio Guerreiro

SUB

Magomedrasul Khasbulaev

2

Lightweight tournament bracket

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

Saad Awad

TKO

Guillaume DeLorenzi

1

Saad Awad

TKO

Will Brooks

1

Will Brooks

DEC

Ricardo Tirloni

3

Saad Awad

TKO

David Rickels

2

Thiago Michel

SUB

Alexander Sarnavskiy

2

Jason Fischer

DEC

David Rickels

3

Lloyd Woodard

DEC

David Rickels

3

Welterweight tournament bracket

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

Marius Zaromskis

DEC

Brent Weedman

3

Bryan Baker

TKO

Douglas Lima

1

Douglas Lima

TKO

Michail Tsarev

2

Douglas Lima

KO

Ben Saunders

2

José Gomes

TKO

Raul Amaya

1

Raul Amaya

KO

Ben Saunders

1

Koffi Adzitso

DEC

Ben Saunders

3

• Paul Daley was forced out of the Welterweight tournament on December 25, after being unable to obtain a visa to enter the United States.

Middleweight tournament bracket

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

Brett Cooper

DEC

Norman Paraisy

3

Brett Cooper

TKO

Dan Cramer

3

Brian Rogers

DEC

Dan Cramer

3

Brett Cooper

KO

Doug Marshall

1

Sultan Aliev

DEC

Mikkel Parlo

3

Sultan Aliev

DEC

Doug Marshall

3

Andreas Spang

KO

Doug Marshall

1

Light Heavyweight tournament bracket

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

Seth Petruzelli

TKO

Jacob Noe

1

Jacob Noe

SUB

Mikhail Zayats

1

Renato Sobral

TKO

Mikhail Zayats

1

Mikhail Zayats

DEC

Emanuel Newton

3

Muhammed Lawal

TKO

Przemyslaw Mysiala

1

Muhammed Lawal

KO

Emanuel Newton

1

Emanuel Newton

SUB

Atanas Djambazov

2

External links

• Bellator