From MMA Junkie
Bellator 18 recap: Lombard earns six-second KO; "Pitbull," Warren book 145-pound final
by MMAjunkie.com Staff on May 13, 2010 at 10:05 pm ET
Former WEC champ Paulo Filho might need to send a thank you note to immigration officials.
After Filho had trouble securing a work visa in time for Wednesday's scheduled "super fight" with Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard at at Monroe Civic Center in Monroe, La., two-time UFC veteran Jay Silva stepped in to fill the role.
But does one actually need a visa for six seconds of work?
That was all Silva could manage against Lombard as the hulking Cuban judoka came forward with a quick flurry that included a right-left combo that sent Silva crumpling to the canvas. The referee mercifully waved off the contest, and the official time was announced as 6.12 seconds.
Lombard (25-2-1 MMA, 4-0 BFC) now has a 14-fight winning streak and a 19-fight unbeaten streak that is marred only by a 2007 draw to current "The Ultimate Fighter 11" contestant Kyle Noke.
Meanwhile, late replacement Silva (5-4 MMA, 0-1 BFC) has now dropped three-straight fights.
In the night's co-feature, former EliteXC champ Wilson Reis came up short in his second-stright tournament semifinal bout by dropping a unanimous decision to Patricio "Pitbull" Freire.
The action was quite even early, and neither fighter was able to earn any significant offense in the opening frame. That changed in the second as Freire began to score with flying knees, kicks to the body and powerful punches. Reis looked for the takedown in the final two rounds, but when the action did hit the canvas, it stayed there only briefly and the submission ace was unable to capitalize.
In the end Freire (14-0 MMA, 2-0 BFC) kept his undefeated mark intact and booked a spot in the 145-pound tournament finals with a unanimous-decision win, 29-28 on all three judges' cards.
Meanwhile, Reis (10-2 MMA, 3-2 BFC), who was eliminated by eventual champion Joe Soto in Bellator's debut tournament, loses for just the second time in his career.
In the evening's first televised contest former Olympic wrestler Joe Warren displayed the value of a grappling base as his non-stop takedown attack allowed him to cruise to victory over Georgi Karakhanyan on the judges' cards.
Despite Warren's control of the positioning, it was Karakhanyan who routinely threatened from the bottom. Guillotine chokes, knee-bars, arm-bars – Karakhanyan tried it all. But each time, Warren worked himself free and returned to the top. Karakhanyan made a case for himself with the action, but judges disagreed.
Warren (4-1 MMA, 2-0 BFC) was awarded the fight on all three judges' cards, 30-27, and moves on to the tournament finals to face Freire. Karakhanyan (13-2-1 MMA, 1-1 BFC) sees a nine-fight win streak come to an end.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
•Hector Lombard def. Jay Silva via knockout (punches) - Round 1, 0:06
•Patricio "Pitbull" Freire def. Wilson Reis via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
•Joe Warren def. Georgi Karakhanyan via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
PRELIMINARY CARD
•Shawn Jordan def. Douglas Williams via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 0:19*•William Albrecht def. Jason Anderson via submission (armbar) - Round 1, 0:36*•Lamont Stafford def. Jules Bruchez via TKO (punches) - Round 2, 0:19*•Brock Kerry def. Mike Braswell via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 3:20*•Charlie Rader def. Christian Fulgium via knockout (punches) - Round 1, 3:20
