This Saturday, some very important fights are going down at Bellator 39. Champion Eddie Alvarez will look to further cement his status atop the Bellator lightweight division in a title defense against Pat Curran. Along with welterweight and lightweight semifinals bouts taking place, Zuffa veterans Ben Saunders, Dave Jansen, Dan Cramer and Matt Veach will be fighting on the card.
Bellator Fighting Championships 39
April 2, 2011
Uncasville, Connecticut, United States
Bellator Lightweight Championship
Lightweight (155 lbs)
[#5] Eddie Alvarez (21 – 2 – 0) vs. [#38] Pat Curran (13 – 3 – 0)
Eddie Alvarez is regarded as one of the top lightweights in the world. He is on a 6 fight win streak, stopping all 6 opponents. Alvarez is looking to continue his rise up the ranks outside the UFC. He knows that if he is ever to be regarded as the top lightweight in the sport, he will have to fight in the UFC. Pat Curran stunned Bellator fans last season when he won the Lightweight tournament in season 2 of Bellator. Curran, who is the younger cousin of featherweight fighter Jeff Curran, is on a 4 fight win streak. His last fight was a contentious split decision victory over Tobey Imada in the finals of the aforementioned tournament. If Curran is able to defeat Alvarez, it would be a tremendous upset.
Bellator Welterweight Tournament Semifinal
Welterweight (170 lbs)
[#54] Lyman Good (11 – 1 – 0) vs. [#60] Rick Hawn (10 – 0 – 0)
After losing the Bellator welterweight championship in a 5 round unanimous decision to Ben Askren, Lyman Good is looking to blaze through his second tournament to earn another title shot. Good advanced to the semi finals after beating Chris Lozano by unanimous decision at Bellator 35. Now the undefeated former Olympic judoka Rick Hawn stands in his way. Hawn won his way into the semis by besting “Judo” Jim Wallhead with a unanimous decision victory. Whoever comes out on top in this bout will most likely be viewed as the favorite to win the tournament.
Bellator Lightweight Tournament Semifinal
Light Heavyweight (205 lbs)
[#42] Toby Imada (29 – 15 – 0) vs. [#132] Patricky Freire (8 – 1 – 0)
Both of these fighters will be very interested in the main event tonight. Bellator season 1 lightweight tournament finalist Toby Imada has won 13 of his last 15 since March 2007. One of those two losses came to current Bellator lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez. Imada has been in the game since 1998, and has truly come into his own in the past 4 years. Imada defeated Josh Shockley by armbar at Bellator 36 to earn his spot in the semi finals. He will face the older brother of Bellator fighter Patricio Freire, Patricky Freire. Since returning to active MMA competition in April 2010, Freire has gone 4 and 0, finishing 3 of those opponents. Freire earned his spot in the semis in a relative upset over former WEC lightweight champion “Razor” Rob McCullough. A win over Imada would be a huge feather in the hat of Patricky Freire.
Other Bouts
Welterweight (170 lbs)
[#68] Ben Saunders (9 – 3 – 2) vs. [#315] Matt Lee (13 – 10 – 1)
Ben Saunders is attempting to put some wins together after being released by the UFC. He lost 3 of his last 4 inside the Octagon, resulting in Saunders’ return to the regional circuit. He has won 8 of his 9 fights by stoppage, including forcing Elijah Harshbarger to submit to strikes back in November 2010. Matt Lee has won 3 of his last 5, and has gone 5 and 5 in his last 10 fights. Lee will have his hands full as Saunders looks to turn some heads inside the Bellator cage. Don’t expect this bout to go the distance.
Lightweight (155 lbs)
[#149] Dave Jansen (14 – 2 – 0) vs. [#312] Scott McAfee (9 – 2 – 0)
After going 1 and 2 in his WEC run, Dave Jansen is looking to inject himself into the lightweight picture in Bellator. Prior to back to back decision losses in WEC, Jansen had mounted a 14 fight undefeated streak. Scott McAfee is coming off of 2 wins, and has won 4 of his last five. 9 of his 10 wins have come by stoppage. Look for McAfee to come out swinging and try to gain an early advantage over Jansen, who will most likely look to take this bout to the ground and flex his submission game.
Middleweight? (185 lbs)
[#173LHW] Greg Rebello (12 – 2 – 0) vs. [#196MW] Dan Cramer (5 – 2 – 0)
Rhode Island native Greg Rebello comes into this bout riding an 11 fight win streak. Rebello has not tasted defeat since December 2005. Two time UFC and “Ultimate Fighter” season 7 competitor Dan Cramer is looking to show that he is more than a reality show afterthought. Cramer has won 4 of his last 5 fights. Expect the winner of this fight to show up in the next season’s middleweight tournament.
Welterweight (170 lbs)
[#346] Mike Winters (4 – 0 – 0) vs. [#347] Ryan Quinn (4 – 2 – 0)
Cortland, NY Team Bombsquad fighter Mike Winters has won all 4 of his fights since his pro debut in March 2010; 3 by TKO. Ryan Quinn makes his second appearance inside the Bellator cage, previously losing a unanimous decision to Matt Lee at Bellator 15 in April 2010. Quinn is 2 and 2 in his last 4 fights.
Lightweight (155 lbs)
[#131] Matt Veach (15 – 3 – 0) vs. [*] Rene Nazare (6 – 0 – 0)
Following back to back losses in the UFC to Frankie Edgar and Paul Kelly, Matt Veach was released from his contract. After being released, Veach went on to score 4 victories in a row. Veach’s winning streak was broken by Drew Fickett via armbar in February 2011. Rene Nazare was more active a couple of years ago, not competing since August of 2009. Nazare is looking to add a win over a UFC veteran to his 6 fight undefeated streak. 4 out of 6 of Nazare’s victories come via stoppage.
Bantamweight (135 lbs)
[*] John McLaughlin (3 – 0 – 0) v.s. [*] Blair Tugman (5 – 3 – 0)
John McLaughlin has won all 3 of his pro fights via stoppage in the “Reality Fighting” promotion. Blair Tugman’s most notable fight is a unanimous decision loss to bantamweight prospect Jessie Riggleman in March 2009. Tugman has only fought once since that loss; a rear naked choke submission win over Todd Sweeney October 2010.