The seventh season of the Bellator Fighting Championships continues tonight with Bellator 8 from the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.
The preliminary card will begin at 6 p.m. ET on Spike.com and the main card will start at 8 p.m. ET on MTV2 and in commercial free high definition on EPIX HD.
To discuss the fights, use the comments section below and follow Jason Floyd (@jason_floyd) and on Twitter, who will be covering the fights.
Mario Navarro vs. Anthony Bain
Round 1 – Navarro was able to land a right hand and Bain looked to take the fight to the ground with a body lock. However, Navarro would be able to take it to the ground and be in top position. Once on the ground, Navarro was able to transition to the back and locked in a rear-naked choke. Bain would be able to escape the submission, but Navarro still had his back with a body lock. Navarro would be able to once again attempt a rear-naked choke, but Bain would escape and reverse the position and get top position. Bain would begin to land strikes from top position for the final minute of the round and the action moves to the second.
Round 2 – Bain would be able to take the fight to the ground at the one minute mark and Navarro looked for a triangle from his back. He would transition to an arm bar, but Bain would escape. Bain would land strikes from the top position, but Navarro would continue to work his submission game and he would thrown his legs up and locked in a triangle and Bain tapped.
Result: Mario Navarro def. Anthony Bain via submission (triangle choke) – Round 2, 3:18
Chad Coon vs. Shawn Bunch
Round 1 – Bunch came quickly at Coon and immediately took the fight to the ground. Once on the ground, Bunch worked his top game and the referee would end up standing up the fighters after a lack of action. At the restart, Coon threw a kick but Bunch would take the fight back to the ground. While on the ground, Coon would hold onto Bunch and force another stand up. Coon would land a flying knee, but once again Bunch would take the fight to the ground and the round would end in this position.
Round 2 – Bunch would not waste time as he got a takedown in the first ten second of the round. The fighters would exchange strikes on the ground, but once again they were stood up for not advancing their position. Bunch would throw a right hand and would transition to get his opponents back and took the fight to the ground, where Bunch would once again be in top position. While on his back, Coon landed several elbows and looked to get off his back. With 15 seconds left in the round, the fighters were stood up and the fight heads to the third round.
Round 3 – Coon would land a leg kick, that stun Bunch but he would be able to take Coon down to the ground. Coon would continue to throw strikes from the bottom, which slowed down Bunch. After another period of a lack of action, the fighters would be stood up. The rest of the round would be in the stand up position and it appeared that Bunch wanted to cruise his way to the end of the round and a victory.
Result: Shawn Bunch def. Chad Coon via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Brendan Seguin vs. Giva Santana
Round 1 – Santana would take the fight to the ground in the first ten seconds of the round and got the mount fairly quickly. Seguin was able to get Santana out of the mount, but Santana still had top position. From half guard, Santana would transition to full mount and begin to throw strikes to set up an arm bar. He would not be able to get the arm bar and would lose the full mount position. Seguin would be able to get back to the feet, but Santana would take the fight to the ground. Once on the ground, Santana went for a heel hook. Seguin would escape the attempt and get back to his feet. The remaining of the round would be standing with neither fighter mounting much offense.
Round 2 – The fighters would quickly grapple against the cage, with Santana’s back against the cage. Santana would separate from his opponent and Santana would take the fight back to the ground after Seguin landed multiple strikes. Santana would be able to get full mount, but Seguin would escape. He would be in top position, but Santana worked his ground game and ended up finishing the fight with a knee bar.
Result: Giva Santana def. Brendan Seguin via submission (knee bar) – Round 2, 2:33
Terry Davinney vs. Matt Van Buren
Round 1 – Van Buren came out and landed a right hand and missed a wild kick. Davinney would capitalized and landed a left hand that dropped his opponent and the referee came in immediately to stop the fight since Van Buren was out.
Result: Terry Davinney def. Matt Van Buren via knockout (strikes) – Round 1, :15
Jeremy Czarnecki vs. Justin Houghton
Round 1 – Czarnecki looked for a takedown immediately, but Houghton was able to stop the attempt. The fighters would exchange strikes with Houghton landed the better strikes. Houghton would stalk Czarnecki around the cage and controlled the pace. Neither fighter would be able to create much offense and the fight ends to the second round.
Round 2 – The round started just as the last round ended with Houghton stalking down his opponent. Houghton would land the better strikes throughout the majority of the round with Czarnecki mounting not much offense before landing a superman punch at the end of the round.
Round 3 – The fight continued to be in the striking position as the fighters circled around each other and Houghton cutting off the cage. Czarnecki began to came forward and threw strikes, but Houghton landed a knee that backed him off. The fighters would continue to circle each other some more and Czarnecki would come forward at the end of the round and the judges will decide the winner.
Result: Jeremy Czarnecki def. Justin Houghton via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
John Schulz vs. Hector Garcia
Round 1 – Garcia came out and landed a two punch combination that dropped Schulz, but he would be able to get back to his feet. The fighters would grapple against the cage and Schulz would eventually take the fight to the ground. He would transition to get his back and would then move over to get the full mount. He would land strikes from the full mount position. He would then transition to attempt an arm triangle choke, but he would lose the hold and have side control on the ground. Schulz would continue to work his ground game until the end of the round.
Round 2 – After exchanging strikes, Schulz was able to easily get the fight to the ground. He would transition to the mount position and look to use strikes to set up a submission. Garcia would end up giving up his back and Schulz would lock in a body lock. He would transition back to full mount and began to rain down punches. At the end of the round, Schulz went for a choke, but the round ended before it was tight.
Round 3 – The fighters would start the round by exchanging strikes and once again Schulz would easily get the fight to the ground. Once on the ground, he would achieve the full mount position. He would land multiple shots on the ground and the referee would come in to stop the fight after Garcia was not defending himself.
Result: John Schulz def. Hector Garcia via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 2:45
Tony Hervey vs. Alexander Sarnavskiy
Round 1 – Hervey came out with a combination and Sarnavskiy immediately looked to grapple with him. He would end up getting the takedown and be in top position. Hervey attempted to get off his feet, but Sarnavskiy was able to keep the fight on the ground and maintained the full mount. He would attempt an arm bar and appeared to be set for a submission victory. However, Hervey would escape and the action went back to the feet. Sarnavskiy would once again take the fight to the ground. He would work his top game on the ground for the final two minutes of the round and Hervey was unable to get off his back.
Round 2 – Hervey went for a leg kick as the round start, which Sarnavskiy caught and took the fight to the ground. He would once again get the full mount position and Hervey attempted to get out of the position by cage walking. Hervey would be able to eventually get out of the position and get the action back to the feet. They would grapple against the cage before Hervey was able to break away. Sarnavskiy would once again take the action to the ground and have top position and they would stay in that position for the rest of the round with Sarnavskiy working his top game.
Round 3 – After throwing wild shots, Hervey would once again be taken down and Sarnavskiy maintained top position. As Hervey got to his feet, he tried to run up the cage padding to separate from Sarnavskiy. The Russian fighter would maintain top position on the ground and he would transition to the back. He locked in a body triangle and began to look for a rear-naked choke. He would not be able to get the submission and had the back of Hervey for most of the remainder of the round.
Result: Alexander Sarnavskiy def. Tony Hervey via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Kala Hose vs. Doug Marshall
Round 1 – Marshall came out swinging and the fighters exchange strikes. Hose landed a flying knee, but Marshall landed a left hand that landed and knocked out Hose.
Result: Doug Marshall def. Kala Hose via KO (strike) – Round 1, :22
David Rickels vs. Jason Fischer
Round 1 – The action opened with the fighters exchanging strikes and Rickels looked to grapple for a moment. They would separate and Fischer landed a jab and looked for a takedown. Rickels would stop the attempt and they continued to have a stand up fight. After a brief stop to the fight for Rickels mouthpiece following out, Fischer was able to take the fight to the ground. Rickels would be able to get back to his feet. Fischer would once again go for another takedown, but it was unsuccessful and Rickels ended up in top position. Fischer attempted an arm bar near the end of the round, but could not finish the fight.
Round 2 – The fight would continue to be a stand up battle, with the fighters exchanging strikes. Fischer looked to take the fight to the ground, but Rickels would stop the attempt and they would grapple against the cage. Rickels would jump up to take the back and then transition to the full mount. Fischer would be able to get out of the position and went for a heel hook. After he knew he would not finish the fight, he gave up the position and got on top of Rickels. Richels would reverse the position and finished the round with hammer fist.
Round 3 – After a minute of striking, the fighters grappled and Fischer looked for a kimura submission, but could not do anything with it. Fischer would end up in top position and Rickels looked for an arm bar submission from his back. Fischer ended up standing on the face on Rickels to escape the hold. Rickels would stay on his back and looked for a triangle choke submission. Fischer would escape the submission and maintain top position. The action would end in this position with both fighters looking to score points to win the fight.
Result: David Rickels def. Jason Fischer via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Lyman Good vs. Andrey Koreshkov
Round 1 – Good came out of his corner quickly to gain control of the cage. The fighters would exchange strikes with Koreshkov staying on the outside and god attempting to get on the inside. Koreshkov landed a right hand that dropped Good, but he would be able to get back to his feet. They would continue to strike with each other until the end of the round.
Round 2 – As the round opens, they fighters continued to keep their distance and Good would end up getting the fight to the ground. He would get the back of Koreshkov and began to look for a rear-naked choke. Koreshkov would stop the submission attempt and would get back to his feet. They would strike for the remainder of the round with Koreshkov landed the better strikes.
Round 3 – Good would be able to close the distance in the opening minute of the round, but Koreshkov would be able to back away and be on the outside. Koreshkov landed an uppercut and Good countered with knees in the clinch. After Koreshkov attempted a spinning back kick, Good took the fight to the ground but Koreshkov got back to his feet. Then for the first time in the fight, Koreshkov went for a takedown and it was successful. He would have top position and Good would not be able to get off his back and the fight will go to the judges.
Result: Andrey Koreshkov def. Lyman Good via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)