Bellator 117 took place on Friday night and Douglas Lima became the third Bellator welterweight champion as he defeated Rick Hawn in the second round to win the vacant title.
From the opening bell, Lima attacked the lead leg of Hawn with kicks as Hawn attempted to counter the strikes. As the round went on, Hawn’s left leg was getting lit up by the low kicks and would eventually fall to the mat.
Lima went for the finish on the ground, but Hawn would make it to the bell. Once the second round started, Lima went back to attacking the lead leg and Hawn fell to the mat on multiple occasions. After Lima dropped him near the three minute mark of the round, Hawn’s head trainer Firas Zahabi would throw in the throw and referee Rob Hinds stopped the fight.
Hawn (26-5) has now won five fight in a row and this victory ties him with Lyman Good for the second most wins in Bellator welterweight division. This defeat marks the second time that Hawn (18-3) has lost a title fight in Bellator and he will likely drop back down to the lightweight division.
Held scores another submission, advances to lightweight final
The co-main event of the fight card was a lightweight tournament semifinal as Marcin Held scored his tenth career win by submission as he defeated Derek Anderson in the second round.
Held was able to get the fight to the ground early and immediately went for a leg lock. Anderson would be able to defend the submission attempt but he would be stuck on the ground with Held for the entire round. Anderson would be able to keep the fight on the feet at the start of the second round, but Held was able to get the fight to the ground with an awkward move. Once on the ground, he locked in a triangle choke and Anderson would tap out.
Held (18-3) now has seven wins in the Bellator lightweight division, which is second most in divisional history. While this is his tenth career win by submission, this is the first time he has won by triangle choke.
Amoussou earns first victory since 2012 with split decision over Gomez
Season six welterweight tournament winner Karl Amoussou snapped a two fight losing streak on Friday night as he defeated Bellator newcomer David Gomez by split decision.
Amoussou opened up the fight by being able to use his jab to creat distance and be the more active fighter during the opening round. He came close to a stoppage victory in the beginning of the second round as he went for a heel hook submission. Gomez would survive the submission attempt and began to land significant strikes during the middle round.
The final round would be high pace with each fighter landing several significant punches. It would be the closest of the three rounds and could have been scored for either fighter. The judges would be split on the decision and two of the three judges had the fight for Amoussou (17-6-2). This is his first victory in 638 days and may secure him a spot in the next welterweight tournament.
Pitbull advances to second lightweight tournament final
The opening bout of the main card was a lightweight tournament semifinal as Patricky Pitbull advanced to his second Bellator lightweight tournament final with a second round TKO victory.
Pitbull got off to a slow start in the fight as Campos was in control during the opening round. However, Pitbull came out quick in the second round as he dropped Campos with a right hand. Campos would be able to survive for a moment as he got back to his feet, but Pitbull would drop him once again and finish the fight on the mat.
The victory for Pitbull (13-5) gives him four tournament victories in Bellator and all of those victories have come by TKO/KO. He has now won three straight and both of his wins in this tournament have come in the second round.
The complete Bellator 117 results are below.
Main Card: (Spike TV)
Douglas Lima def. Rick Hawn via TKO (corner stoppage) – Round 2, 3:19
Marcin Held def. Derek Anderson via submission (triangle choke) – Round 2, 3:09
Karl Amoussou def. David Gomez via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Patricky Pitbull def. Derek Campos via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, :52
Preliminary Card: (Spike.com)
Ryan Jensen def. Mark Stoddard via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1, 3:52
Houston Alexander def. Matt Udhe via TKO (doctor stoppage) – Round 2, 5:00
Martin Brown def. Jared Downing via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Larue Burley def. Cliff Wright Jr. via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-27)
Joe Vedepo def. Ben Crowder via verbal submission (injury) – Round 1, :48
Anthony Smith def. Victor Moreno via submission (triangle choke) – Round 2, :59
Julio Cesar Neves def. Josh Arocho via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 2:37
Jordan Parsons def. Tim Bazer via KO (punches) – Round 2, :04