Bellator 35 Recap & Results

Bellator Fighting Championships made their successful MTV2 debut Saturday, kicking off its season 4 Welterweight Tournament at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, California.  What started as a bracket of eight, has been narrowed down to four, as Brent Weedman, Rick Hawn, Jay Hieron, and Lyman Good were all  victorious in their respective bouts and will move on to the semifinal round later in the season.

The opening match-up featured a rematch between Bellator veterans Brent Weedman and Dan Hornbuckle.  Much of the bout was a closely contended grappling affair, with Hornbuckle establishing top control, while Weedman kept busy looking for submissions off of his back.  Though the crowd appeared to side with Hornbuckle, at the end of three rounds, it was Weedman who got the unanimous decision victory (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

The following bout featured former Judoka Olympian Rick Hawn against the UK’s “Judo” Jim Wallhead.  Despite what their background may have implied, each fighter was content to stand and exchange.  It wasn't until the third round that Wallhead attempted and failed to take his opponent to the mat, and by the final bell Hawn's improved striking had earned him a unanimous decision victory (29-28, 29-28, 30-27).

Controversy arose with the night's third main card fight, which featured UFC and Strikeforce veteran Jay Hieron and Anthony Lapsley.  After exchanging early on, Heiron took Lapsley to the mat and began opening up with ground and pound and multiple submission attempts.  Before long, Lapsley rolled to his stomach allowing the Xtreme Couture product to take his back and lock in a rear-naked choke. Referee Josh Rosenthal called an end to the bout after grabbing Lapsley's arm to check for consciousness.  Though Lapsley immediately leapt to his feet in protest, Hieron was awarded with the first round submission victory.

The final fight of the night saw former Welterweight Champion Lyman Good go head to head with Chris Lozano.  What started as a competitive match-up, quickly gave way to the former champ as he damaged Lozano's left eye in the second round.  From there it became apparent that Good had the upper-hand, as Lozano began to noticeably fade.  In the final round, Lozano looked to take the fight to the ground, however a failed guillotine attempt resulted in Good establishing top control for the remainder of the bout, which ended in a comfortable unanimous decision victory (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) for Good.

Full Results (via FightoftheNight.com):

Main Card:

Brent Weedman defeats Dan Hornbuckle via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Rick Hawn defeats Jim Wallhead via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Jay Heiron defeats Anthony Lapsely via Technical Submision (rnc), Round 1, 3:39

Lyman Good defeats Chris Lozano via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Photo: Sherdog.com