Bellator 118 took place on Friday night at the Ovation Hall inside the Revel Casino and Joe Warren won the interim bantamweight title with a decision victory over Rafael Silva.
Warren had to weather adversity in the opening ten minutes of the fight as Silva was able to take an early lead. In the final fifteen minutes of the fight, Warren was able to use his takedowns to keep the fight on the mat and limit the offense of Silva.
Silva would only 13 total strikes in the final round as he struggled to get off the mat. His best moment in the final fifteen minutes came during the fourth round as he went for an armbar submission. Warren would escape the submission and continue to control the fight.
All three judges scored the fight 48-47 for Warren and he is now the interim bantamweight champion. He becomes the first two divisional champion in Bellator history and will face Eduardo Dantas in a unification bout at a date to be announced.
Koreshkov scores another knockout to advance to the tournament final
The co-main event of the card was the second welterweight tournament semifinal as Andrey Koreshkov won his second straight fight by knockout in the first round as he defeated Justin Baesman.
The fight would be on the feet for the entire time and the fighters exchanged strikes for the opening ninety seconds. Koreshkov would end up throwing a jumping knee that dropped Baesman and landed one more punch before referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight.
Koreshkov (16-1) advances to his second tournament final and he will face Adam McDonough later this year. If Koreshkov wins this tournament, he would be the seventh fighter in Bellator history to win two tournaments.
Galvao wins third straight with a decision over Vasquez
In a catchweight bout of 137 pounds, former tournament winner Marcos Galvao won his third straight fight with a decision over Thomas Vasquez.
During the opening round, Galvao was able to get the fight to the ground on multiple occasions and work his ground game. He would continue his game plan of taking the fight to the ground in the second round as Vasquez struggled to get back to his feet.
Galvao would continue to control the fight in the final round with his takedowns and nearly scored a submission victory. He was able to attempt a rear-naked choke submission, but Vasquez defended the attempts and the fight would go to the scorecards. All three judges scored the fight for Galvao (16-6-1) and this is his twelfth career win by decision.
McGeary delivers on prediction, wins by knockout in 22 seconds
The opening fight of the main card was the first opening round bout in the next light heavyweight tournament as Liam McGeary scored the third fastest stoppage in Bellator light heavyweight division history as he knocked out Mike Mucitelli.
The fight opened with Mucitelli taking the fight to the ground, but McGeary was able to reverse the position and they moved back to a standing position. Mucitelli would throw a right hand and as he threw the punch, McGeary countered with a left hand and referee Dan Miragliotta came in to stop the fight.
McGeary (7-0) is now a semifinalist in this tournament and he will face the winner of Joey Beltran and Philipe Lins, which will take place on June 6th at Bellator 121.
The complete Bellator 118 results are below.
Main Card: (Spike TV)
Joe Warren def. Rafael Silva via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
Andrey Koreshkov def. Justin Baesman via KO (flying knee) – Round 1, 1:41
Marcos Galvao def. Thomas Vasquez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Liam McGeary def. Mike Mucitelli via KO (punch) – Round 1, :22
Preliminary Card: (Spike.com)
Dante Rivera def. Gemiyale Adkins via majority decision (29-29, 30-27, 30-27
Jesus Martinez def. Ryan Contaldi unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Tim Woods def. Eugene Fadiora via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Darrion Caldwell def. Joe Pingitore via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:32
Lester Caslow def. Jay Haas via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 2:29
Sidney Outlaw def. Mike Bannon via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Amran Aliyev def. Kevin Roddy via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)