The co-main event of Bellator 106 was for the interim light heavyweight title as Emanuel Newton defeated Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal for a second time in 2013 as he defeated him by unanimous decision.
The fight opened with the fighters striking for the first 40 seconds before Lawal took the fight to the ground. Newton was able to get back to his feet quickly but Lawal maintained his grip on him. He would get the fight back to the ground.
As Newton was working back to his feet, Lawal landed several punches before they broke away from each other. Lawal would be able to get the fight back to the ground after he timed the punches of Newton.
Once on the ground, he went into the guard of Newton but could not maintain the position as Newton got back to his feet and the fight moved into the second round.
The opening 90 seconds of the second round would be on the feet before Lawal looked for a takedown against the fence. He would score the takedown with a slam and had top position on Newton. Newton got back to his feet and landed a head kick that hurt Lawal.
Lawal was able to recover from the head kick but Newton started to push the pace. He threw various strikes from different angles that landed and Lawal was in a defensive mode. The second round came to an end with Newton pushing forward and having Lawal on his heels.
The third round would be on the feet the entire round as Lawal was unable to get the fight to the ground in the final minute of the round. During the round, Lawal was coming forward, but Newton landed more strikes in the round.
As the championship rounds started, Lawal continued to come forward but Newton still landed his strikes. While Lawal would land one strike, he struggled to put together combinations. Newton would stop two takedown attempts in the two minute of the round but he would finally get the fight to the ground at the three minute mark.
However, Newton was able to get back to his feet and separate from Lawal. The remainder of the round would be on the feet and Newton landed a kick as the round came to a close.
The striking battle continued for the first two minutes of the final round before Lawal looked for a takedown. The takedown was unsuccessful and the fight moved back to the center of the cage.
With less than a minute to go in the fight, Lawal took the fight to the ground but Newton would get back to his feet. Lawal would score one more takedown before the fight ended and the scorecards would decide the winner.
All three judges had it 49-46 for Newton and he wins the interim light heavyweight title. He will now meet Attila Vegh in a unification bout and Vegh is the only fighter to defeat Newton in Bellator.
Bellator 106 Results:
Emanuel Newton def. Muhammed Lawal via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
Daniel Straus def. Pat Curran via unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 49-45)
Joe Riggs def. Mike Bronzoulis via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Mike Richman def. Akop Stepanyan via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:05
Cristiano Souza def. Alejandro Garcia via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 3:06
Brandon Halsey def. Hector Ramirez via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, :52
Mike Guymon def. Aaron Miller via submission (triangle choke) – Round 2, 4:20
Cleber Luciano def. Joe Camacho via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Josh Smith def. Darren Smith via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)