Bellator 43 Results And Recap

Added on May 08, 2011 by John Petit in

UFC & MMA

Bellator 43 took place last night in Newkirk Oklahoma in front of a full house. The main event featured the culmination of their Welterweight Tournament with a fight between Jay Hieron and Rick Hawn. The event took a few hits over the past month or so, but the Bellator staff was able to pull together what would end up being a solid night of fights for the crowd, and the MTV 2 viewers at home.

Official Main Card Results:

Jay Hieron Vs Rick Hawn

There is no doubt that this was a close fight, and as much as I love judo and Rick Hawn I gave it to Hieron. I thought Hawn did enough to win the the third round, and I thought Hieron won the first round easily. The second round is the money round in this fight, and it was a razor close. After watching it for the second time I would be just fine with a draw in this fight, even though it would have monkey wrenched the tournament for a few months. Hawn did find his range toward the end of the fight, but for most of the bout he was having a real hard time with his range and finding the chin of Hieron. I am not convinced that Hieron was dropped by that punch because it looked a lot like a slip to me. It was such a close round where not a lot happened, and at that point on the card it because opinion. In mine, I agreed with the judges, but ideally this should have been draw.

Jay Hieron def. Rick Hawn by Split Decision (29-28. 28-29, 29-28)

Bryan Baker Vs Joe Riggs

Joe Riggs into the same problem when he fights at middleweight, and he has a hard time dealing with the size of his opponent. Baker was clearly the bigger fighter, and once Baker figured out he could bully Riggs around a bit, it was a different fight. Riggs landed some solid shots, and I thought he really tested Baker’s chin a bit. Baker was creative in the ring, and he was using flying knees to disrupt even the idea of Riggs shooting in on him. This will end up being a real important fight in the career of Bryan Baker. After they exchanged some punches in close, I think it was Riggs who pushed off Baker to get some distance, but he left is chin stick out. Baker looped in with a left hook, and Riggs dropped to the floor. Baker followed up with a few punches, and got the win.

Bryan Baker def. Joe Riggs by TKO (Strikes, 3:53 Round 2)

Chase Beebe Vs Jose Vega

Chase Beebe was looking to take this fight to the ground as soon as they touched gloves. As in most of Beebe’s fights, he is the shorter opponent, and Vega used his length really well. Although Beebe was landing the occasional punch or two, it was Vega who was putting together combinations on the chin of Chase. In Chicago, I have had the chance to watch Beebe fight SEVERAL times cage side, and thats including his last 3 wins. This was classic Chase, and the man knows his guillotine chokes. Not only does he know he has it, but he knows when he doesn’t. When most fighters pull guard with a guillotine choke I scream inside NOO! More times than not, the head sneaks out and you are dealing with an angry guy on top of you punching you in the face. Beebe is a different story, and when he leaned back and felt the hand slide under the chin, he wrapped it up.

Beebe has earned himself a spot in next seasons Bantamweight Tournament with the win.

Chase Beebe def. Jose Vega by Submission (Guillotine 4:06, Round 1)

Ron Sparks Vs Vincent Lucero

Ron Sparks and Vincent Lucero took the center of the cage, and it was close to a toe to toe affair for a minute or so. Sparks wasn’t necessarily getting the better of all the exchanges, but he was landing hard shots when he connected. At one point, he threw a kick at the head of Lucero, and even though he put his hands up and blocked it, you could tell it still got through a little. When Sparks connected with a left hook Lucero crumpled, and he dove in to end up in side control of Lucero. From there it was a matter of time before Sparks got the key lock. Hats off to Lucero, that arm was at a nasty angle and he still didn’t tap, and he only tapped when he had too. Dominant show by Sparks.

Ron Sparks def. Vince Lucero by Submission (Keylock 2:18, Round 1)