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I am reporting live from Bellator 39 at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT. The fights start at at 9pm EST/ 8pm CST on MTV2. Tonight we will see Eddie Alvarez defend his Lightweight Title against Pat Curran. There will also be a Welterweight Semifinal match up between Rick Hawn and former Bellator Welterweight Champion Lyman Good, a Lightweight Seminfal bout between Toby Imada and Patricky Freier, and the Bellator debut of UFC Veteran Ben Saunders.
Here we go with MMATorch's round-by-round coverage.
Fight 1 - Catchweight 175 lbs.: Ben Saunders vs. Matt Lee
Round 1:
Saunders comes in with a body kick. Lee jabs to feel out his range. Lee in with a combo. Saunders with an inside leg kick. Saunders with a big kick, and again.Ed comes with a combo and they clinch. Lee dirty boxes with big uppercuts. Saunders throws knees in the clinch. They break. Lee throws a kick. Saunders lands a bug shot and clinches and throws knee after knee. The work on the cave and break. Lee with a kick. Saunders comes with a right hand that hits hard and follows with knees. Lee's back is to the cage. They break Saunders lands consecutive right hooks. Then Saunders with more knees oone lands on the chin. How is Lee still up? The bell rings.
Round 2:
Lee is cut open. Saunders unloads on him and pushes Lee to the cage. Saunders gets hit below the belt and rakes a breather. They clinch and Saunders is brutal with the knees again. Lee comes back with a flurry, then he tries to take Saunders down. Lee is eating punches to the face during this takedown attempt. More knees by Saunders. Then left from Saunders. Lee is bleeding badly. The cut over his right eye is bleeding badly. All the old on both fighters is from Lee. Lee is now throwing heat but looks gassed and dazed. Saunders lands an elbow as the bell rings.
Round 3:
Lee comes out and his face looks battered. They clinch to the cage, and Lee cannot take Saunders down. Sanders with knees again. The ref calls time and... stops the fight! The cut was gnarly to say the least. Sanders has a ton of Lee's blood on him from being in the clinch. This is more than a just stoppage.
Ben Saunders def. Matt Lee by TKO (Doctor's Stoppage) - Rd. 3 - 1:28
Fight Rating: (***)
This was a very entertaining fight! Saunders was in control on the feet and especially in te clinch. By the time Lee tried to transition to te ground it was too late as his gas tank was low. The story og this fight was great clinch work and powerful knees from Saunders.
Fight 2 - Lightweight Semifinal: Patricky Pitbull vs. Toby Imada
Round 1:
Both mean circle and feel each other out. Imada comes in with a left hook and a right. pit bull lands a head kick both are awake now. Imada lands a kick and and they both circle again. Imada eats a big leg kick that almost buckles him. pit bull is starting to get his rhythm. pit bull lands a jab, and then a combo. pit bull lands a body kick. They circle and Pitbull lands a flying knee! Then finishes with a left hook followed by a right and then another left. Imada is out.
Patricky Pitbull def. Toby Imada by TKO - Rd. 2 - 2:52
Fight Rating:(***)
That was a flying knee! Patricky Pitbull knows how to stand and bang. He also showed some great leg kicks as well. This was another great fight for the night, and that knee warrants three stars alone.
Post Fight:
He said it was tough for him coming from an injury and know making it to the finals. He is very emotional about it. When asked about what he needs to do for the finals he says he has to train and fight, that is all he knows how to do.
Fight 3 - Welterweight Semifinal: Lyman Good vs. Rick Hawn
Round 1:
The crowd cheers "Let's Go Lyman" as the two circle. Good throws an uppercut that shows his intent is to hurt, but it misses. Both men clinch to the cage, and Hawn has Good pushed against it. The break as Good throws a short combo and a knee and then he is back to the cage. They break for real, and start circling again. Good with a push kick and Hawn moves in. Good lands two hooks. Hawn runs in and they clinch. Good dirty boxes landing stiff uppercuts. Hawn puts Good against the cage again and they wrestle for control. Hawn lands a knee. They break and Good throws a head kick has Hawn backs away. Now Hawn throws a fierce head kick that misses. There was intent behind that. They engage as the bell rings and the ref stops them before a strike lands.
Round 2:
Good comes i with a flurry and then as he advances in on Hawn he is taken down. Hawn is on top and in Good's guard. Good throws an up kick that just misses a postured up Hawn. Good lands an up kick with time. Hawn is working some strikes on the ground, but Good is controlling his head well. It seems as if Good can tie Hawn up but there does not seem to be the threat of Hawn getting submitted while Good is on his back. Hawn stands up and lands a big shot Good's chin and then gets back down into guard. Hawn works right hands to the ribs while he is on top. Hawn backs off Good as the bell rings.
Round 3:
Both men exchange jabs. They dance around and try to get in and get out. Hawn lnds a nice hook to the body. He tries to take Good down and he shrugs Hawn off. Hawn pushes Good to the cage and Good gets off easily. He throws a kick, but both men are not committing all the way to there combos. Good is backing up as Hawn stalks, but Good is striking while he back peddles. They clinch with :20 left and Hawn gets a takedown. Hawn pushes in on him and Good throws a fierce set of up kicks and the bell rings.
Rick Hawn def. Lyman Good by Split Decision
Fight Rating: (**+/-)
This was not the best fight as both seemed tentative. Good had the first round easy, but he ran into trouble when he got put on his beck for the better part of the second. Hawn looked as though he might have gotten into Good's head a tad bit.
Fight 4 - Lightweight Championship: Eddie Alvarez vs. Pat Curran
Round 1:
Alvarez lands a jab and Curran throws a counter. Both men get active early, but not much lands. Alvarez is circling and throwing combinations. Curran is moving out the way and is mountg a tad bit of offense. cur an lands a shot to te body. Alvarez grabs a leg and takes Curran down.. Curran gets back up and they tie up on the cage. Curran lands knee and they break. Curran lands leg kick. Alvarez lands a good combo and Curran backs up. They both throw a flying knee and they negate each other. Curran throws a front kick and it gets caught. Alvarez lands some shots as he pushes him back to the cage. Curran lands a great hook to the cheek. Alvarez lans a great shot and the bell rings.
Round 2:
Both men circle and not too much happens until they clinch. Alvarez has Curran against the cage. HE knees Curran in the leg. They break and Alvarez is showing his foot work and is throwing jabs and uppercuts, but Curran evades. They clinch to the cage again, and dirty box. Back in the center Alvarez almost shoots in and then backs Curran up to the cage. They break, and exchange and Curran catches Alvarez in the face with a flying knee. Alvarez seems fine as he keeps pushing for award and works Curran to the cage. As thy break Curran delivers an elbow. The bell rings.
Round 3:
Alvarez comes out swinging hard, and his boxing well, great head movement. He lands some good right hooks to Curran's body. Curran comes back with a cross to the face. Curran throws a stiff combo as he himself walks into a stiff left. These two are boxing for broke at the moment. Alvarez shoots in and ends up pushing Curran to the cage. Curran is throwing knees and Alvarez lands a couple punches to the ribs. Curran pushes Alvarez off and they are in the center of the cage. Curran attempts a flying knee and misses. Alvarez is landing great combos to the body of Curran, and then he gets his takedown. currants back to his feet. Alvarez has not had a chance to work his ground an pound in this fight. Alvarez with a strong left hook to Curran's body.
Round 4:
Alvarez throws a combo and shoots in. Curran throws knees as he fends off the takedown. Curran is against the cage and he works off. Alvarez lands a right ooh to the head follow by a left. Then a nice combo ending with an uppercut to Curran's chin. Curran is jabbing and he throws a front kick. Alvarez is stalking Curran and sliding in with his jab.Alvarez again with a jab to the mouth. Curran is bloody. Curran counters a jab with a head kick. Alvarez moves in and is out boxing Curran. Alvarez with a pair of hooks to the head. Curran's hands are up, but Alvarez is landing at will. Alvareaz walks back and claps for a second and then goes back in with an uppercut. He takes Curran down with :10 left in the round. The bell rings.
Round 5:
Curran comes out with some pep. Alvarez moves about avoiding most of Curran's attempts. Alvarez gets the takedown and Curran pops up only until Alvarez tries to take him down again. The get back to the center and Alvarez is stalking Curran. Curran is starting to fire back, but Alvarez lands a left hook to the head follows by right. Curran is tough to say the least. Alvarez lands a kick and swings in. He tries to take a leg, but Curran stays up.Curran lands a straight right and goes for a combo that gets avoided.Alvarez lands an uppercut and then a right. A knee connects to the face. Alvarez jumps and then shoots. Curran ends up taking Alvarez down with 30 seconds left. Curran works ground and pound, but Alvarez stands back up. They both swing for the lights until the bell rings.
Eddie Alvarez def. Pat Curran via Unanimous Decision
Fight Rating: (**+)
Alvarez looked good, but he seemed a bit tentative. Curran was in it the whole way. His bloody knows looked worst than it was. This was a good fight, but it was played a bit smart by Alvarez and rightfully so as he could have been caught by Curran at any point in the fight. Curran was throwing bombs, and showed why he earned his title shot.
Alright everyone, that was another one from Mohegan Sun. Check back to night for notes from the Bellator Press Conference.
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